Includes over 20 minutes of video documenting the important events in both men's lives.
Includes pictures.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
Men do not shape destiny. Destiny produces the man for the hour.” – Fidel Castro, 1959.
The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.” – Che Guevara
Fidel Castro is one of the most influential and controversial men of the last 50 years, equally revered and reviled by people across the globe. To the West, Castro has long been one of the prominent faces of Communism, and the main reason Cuba has been ostracized by many liberal democracies, particularly the United States. On the other hand, Castro has been admired by those who despised capitalism, and despite the fact the political platform Castro advocated has been almost universally repudiated and only maintains a weak hold even in Cuba, Castro’s Marxist-leaning writings and speeches have influenced other leaders across the globe, from Hugo Chavez to Nelson Mandela.
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known to the world as Che, has led two lives. In the first of these lives, the Argentine-born revolutionary was a remarkable and flawed doctor-turned-guerilla who left behind a highly controversial political legacy. In the second, he was – and is – first and foremost an image. Specifically, he is one particular image in which he appears as a wavy-haired, bearded young man with a beret and an intense gaze. The photograph, entitled Guerrillero Heroico and taken on March 5, 1960 by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, is said to be the most reproduced image in the history of photography. Although Che’s face, as captured by Korda, first achieved its global iconic status during the student revolts of the 1960s, it has subsequently reappeared again and again as a branding device for a wide array of products. Korda himself brought a copyright lawsuit against Smirnoff Vodka for using Guerillero Heroico in an advertising campaign, and since Korda’s 2001 death his daughter has gone to court with several other companies. There is little market for the type of revolution that Che advocated and pursued, but the aura of rebellion that his image exudes still carries a notable sway.
This book chronicles the lives, careers, and revolutions Castro and Che were involved in, while analyzing the controversies and legacies they left in their wake. Along with videos and pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Fidel and Che like you never have before.
