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Start discussion here for The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara.

About the Book (from BookRags)

The Motorcycle Diaries consist of diary entries written by Ernesto "Che" Guevara as he travelled with his friend Alberto Granado across Latin America. Che Guevara was born in 1928 on June 14th in Rosario, Argentina. He grew up middle class, the son of Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna. Che grew up with asthma, which prevented him from going to school until he was nine; he grew up in Alta Gracia, a town new Cordoba. Che went to Buenos Aires for medical school in 1948 and in 1950 took a break to embark on a 4,500 kilometer journey around the north of Argentina. The next year, in October, Che and his friend Alberto Granado come up with the idea to ride La Poderosa II, Alberto's motorbike, all the way to North America. Alberto is a biochemist interested in lepers and leprology, whereas Che is a young medical student with a budding interest in the topic. They begin their journey leaving Cordoba in December 1951 and meet Che's family for farewells in Buenos Aires. The book consists of notes written on their trip from December well into 1952.

About the Author

Guevara is most famous for his role in the establishment of the communist dictatorship government of Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1956-58. He helped Castro to overthrow the authoritarian ruler of Cuba at the time, Batista. They eventually win, with Che as one of the commanders of the revolutionary forces. He then becomes a leader in the government but believes in spreading communist revolution across Latin America. He becomes well-known across the world for his advocacy on behalf of the world's poor and tries to start revolution in other countries. He visits to Soviet Union, China and many other communist countries. After he is killed in 1966 trying to start a communist revolution in Bolivia, Che becomes the stuff of legend; he is quickly elevated to a symbol of working class revolution, social and economic equality, and generally as a hero fighting for justice. The "Che" of the Motorcycle Diaries is not the Che of the Cuban Revolution, as Che notes early on in the book. This was a pre-revolutionary Che, a boy of twenty-three and twenty-four, looking for adventure and beauty on the road in Latin America. In the book, Che is a risk-taker, and a bit of a hooligan graduate student...

I read this one a few years ago. Shows a different Che than the one most are familiar with.

I just started this and I look forward to reading about the pre-revolutionary Che. This trip exposed him to the poverty that helped change his political ideas, so I am interested to read his impressions as events happened in real time.

I finished this today, and it was quite an interesting memoir. The stories of the places they traveled are not the most compelling part of the memoir to me. It was relatively repetitive, especially once the motorcycle broke down since they were continuously looking for a ride and somewhere to get room and board. What interested me were their observations about the people they met. Ernesto and Alberto were very aware of the mistreatment of the indigenous people in each country. They were also empathetic of the depressing lives of the lepers and of the lack of care the lepers received in the substandard clinics. I can see why the people they met on this trip and other trips around Latin America made a lasting impression on Che.

I love that this book made the cut! I've always wanted to read this and learn this man's story. Ironically, I just finished reading a terrific book by BBC and The Guardian Peter Chapman called Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World. Terrific background for this book.

As a pharmacist I had another fun moment. One of the early chapters heading mentions gripe - an old remedy no longer available for stomach nausea and vomiting. We have better options today, but it was fun to see this in his diary.

Here's the Wikipedia information on gripe water for those interested.


I'd probably pass on alcohol, water, sodium bicarbonate (equivalent of Tums), with dill oil too!!!

Dear friends,


I want to buy copyright for the translation of this book. Do you know with whom should I contact?

Thanks!