Che was an incredibly prolific writer. As a youth he had always been surrounded by books and he developed a genuine thirst for learning that would follow him for the rest of his life. He also possessed a keenly analytic mind; well-suited for his initial goal of becoming a doctor. Che was forever analyzing events, so it only seems logical that he would want to write down his observations. His earliest writings were highly personalized, and somewhat overwrought poems detailing his youthful experiences with longing and unrequited love. On his first trip through Northern Argentina with his friend Alberto Granados, Che kept a diary (recently published as, Los Viajes Sudaméricanos (The Motorcycle Diaries of Che Guevara), and it is this work which constitutes his first attempt at formal writing.

Between 1959 and 1964, Che wrote a number of articles describing some of his experiences as a combatant and guerrilla commander. These reminiscences were later published in Cuba as a book entitled, Pasajes de la Guerra Revolucionaria (Episodes of the Revolutionary War). The book was widely translated, and is considered an important document of the revolutionary struggle, albeit, from a singular perspective. Wanting to codify the guerrilla methodolgy responsible for the triumph of the revolution, Che published a short treatise entitled: Guerra de Guerrillas: Un Metodo (Guerrilla Warfare: A Method.). This became the handbook for aspiring guerrillas throughout the world, as well as required reading on U.S. campuses, along with the works by Herbert Marcuse, Frantz Fanon, Mao Zedong, and Eldridge Cleaver, the latter, the Minister of Information for the Black Panthers. Incidentally, the book also became required reading for the CIA and U.S. counter-insurgency officers. During his stints as Director of the National Bank and Minister of Industries, Che continued to write, penning many essays devoted to economic development and banking. Most of these are somewhat dry and of limited interest to the general public.

While on a three-month overseas trip, during which he addressed the United Nations General Assembly and visited a number of African countries, Che wrote what is probably his best-known essay, "El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba," (Socialism and Man in Cuba). Written in the form of a letter, and addressed to Carlos Quijano, the editor of the Uruguayan weekly, Marcha, the essay was published in early 1965, and is the clearest exposition of what epitomizes the revolutionary ethos. A direct result of his African sojourn, was Che's military campaign in the Congo; an expedition that resulted in abject failure. While Che kept a diary, it has not, as of yet, been officially published. Totally dispirited, Che would seek another arena in which to renew the revolutionary struggle. Fidel and Che chose Bolivia as the staging center for a continent-wide revolution. On this ill-fated expedition, he wrote what is arguably his most famous work, his diary of the Bolivian campaign, which, once in the hands of his captors, would supply the Bolivian authorities with further proof of his identity as the "notorious communist" Che Guevara. In 1994, Pathfinder Press published a new translation of the diary, which includes additional material, and is supposedly superior to the work edited by Daniel James in the late 60s.

I have included, both, Guerrilla Warfare and Socialism and Man in Cuba in their entirety. I have also included the full text of Che's speech at the U.N. in 1964, "Colonialism is Doomed," as well as his famous pamphlet, Message to the Tricontinental: "Create two, three...many Vietnams." Che's unfinished essay, "Camilo," displays a tender affection towards a friend. In it, Che pays tribute to his fallen comrade, the exuberant Camilo Cienfuegos, whom Che characterized as the best-loved of all the heroes of the Cuban Revolution. I have included this work, as it is one of my personal favorites. There are a number of collected works available; I have relied on Venceremos!: The Speeches and writings of Che Guevara, edited by John Gerassi and published by Simon and Schuster under its "Clarion Books" imprimatur. The book was published in 1968, the year following Che's death in Bolivia. I purchased it as a freshman in high school; my imagination captured by the heroic image of Che Guevara. I can't claim to have understood all that I read, but Che's words and his personal integrity as a revolutionary, left a deep impression--an impression that has remained with me throughout the years.

Socialism and Man in Cuba Guerrilla Warfare: A Method Message to the Tricontinental Camilo The United Nations Speech, Dec. 11, 1964 Che's Letter to Fidel