Che's unique and splendid writting style manifests itself in this excellent book, detailing the myriad battles and episodes of the Cuban Revolution. A must for all!!!

First, a great book! Second, the author is none other than Che Guevara. Third, humorously and eloquently written, Che explains a revolutionary's fight for a better life in Cuba leading up to the victory in 1959! A must read for any Che or Cuba fan!

El ocaso de la revolución nicaragüense ni fue inevitable, ni fue porque la falta de la conciencia política de los obreros y campesinos nicaragüenses, ni tampoco porque los mismos trabajadores se dejaron engañar por el hambre y así votar a favor de la representativa de los ricos. No, no fue así. El liderazgo del Frente Sandinista con su política de "concertación" con los capitalistas domésticos de la ciudad y del campo desmoralizó al pueblo trabajador, y aún así no ganaron ¡ni una concesión de los imperialistas yanquis como prometió el mismo liderazgo del FSLN al pueblo nicaragüense! El pueblo trabajador que yo encontré en Nicaragua durante la guerra con la "contra" en 1986 estaba dispuesto a sacrificar cualquier cosa en defensa de SU gobierno obrero y campesino nicaragüense como existió entonces, de bajo del liderazgo del FSLN,que fue un liderzgo revolucionario entonces. El pueblo fue traicionado por sus propias dirigentes que tenían y tienen hasta hoy más fe en el capitalismo que confianza en los trabajadores. Las lecciones de la degeneración del FSLN y la derrota del gobierno obrero y campesino que se trata en este libro son basadas en las experiencias de un partido revolucionario obrero en los EE.UU. que defendió a la revolución a través de su periodismo socialista con un buró permanente en Managua durante todos los años de la revolución. Las lecciones son de igual importancia que las lecciones de la victoriosa revolución socialista en Cuba. Todavía nosotros, los trabajadores aquí en Norteamérica podemos aprender mucho del curso del FSLN en su época revolucionaria, como también podemos aprender de la obra del comandante Carlos Fonseca, fundador del FSLN, sobre el camino al poder, que también se incluye aquí.

He encontrado en las revistas de política y teoría marxista Nueva Internacional una fuente indispensable de información, análisis y orientación política. Como indica su título, las revistas de dedican a educar y forjar una nueva vanguardia de la clase obrera a nivel mundial. Bien vale el tiempo necesario para leer y estudiarlas y compartir los artículos con otros trabajadores.

Este número ofrece un análisis a fondo de la revolución sandinista en Nicaragua, presentando documentos adoptados por el Partido Socialista de los Trabajadores en el curso de la revolución. Su propósito era explicar la revolución y orientar a militantes y activistas a defenderla contra los ataques del imperialismo norteamericano. Para mí --igual de muchos de mi generación-- la revolución nicaragüense fue muy importante e inspiradora, y este libro me ayudó mucho en entender y aprender de la experiencia.

Explica el desarrollo de un gobierno revolucionario de los trabajadores y campesinos, de la lucha por tumbar la dictadora somocista, y del comienzo de luchas anticapitalistas y en contra del dominio norteamericano en la región. Analiza la reforma agraria, indispensable para forjar una duradera alianza obrero-campesina; y el proceso de autonomía de los pueblos indígenas de la Costa Atlántica-- incluso la rectificación de errores iniciales cometidos por la dirigencia sandinista.

Son imprescindibles las explicaciones del las raíces de la caída del gobierno revolucionario en su negativa a finales de los 1980s a luchar contra el poder económico de los capitalistas, y la subsiguiente desmoralización de muchos obreros y campesinos revolucionarios.

Rosa Luxemburg was a revolutionary born in a Poland, which had been divided up amongst Germany, Austria, and Russia. This historical accident enabled her to be a participant in the working class movement in Poland, Russia, and Germany. She was a member of Germany's massive Social Democratic Party for the bulk of her life. This collection includes writings on subjects ranging from the German socialist leadership's betrayal of its working class following, capitalism and war, why workers can and should understand economics, and the new road to social justice opened by the Russian revolution.

It is no wonder that the German ruling class, anxious to hold the line against the rising tide of workers and farmers revolution, murdered this fighter in 1919.

This collection is worth it for the article "What is economics" alone. You'll never feel the need to plough through another tedious economics tome again. She applies her razor-sharp wit to ripping apart conventional economists' dronings. Explaining how early 19th century economists really tried to elucidate the workings of the system, she lays out how, once they'd realized that they were exposing a class system of exploitation that had no future, the whole lot just dissolved into obscurantist ramblings in order to befuddle the rest of us. Her exposé certainly makes Greenspan and his ilk look like either benighted fools or not-very-sophisticated snake oil peddlers. I loved it. No wonder I flunked Economics 101 - it didn't seem to make any sense because it doesn't. You'll never feel like a fool reading the Business section again.

Che lives in the Cuban revolution. If you don't believe it read this book that contains articles on Cuba reprinted from the Militant newspaper in 1997, the 30th year after Che was murdered in Bolivia. They are mostly interviews with Cuban revolutionists, summarizes of debates in Cuba, and speeches and writing about Che by his comrades, his friends, and by his daughter. They show how Cuba's communist leaders aim to continue and deepen the revolutionary struggle for socialism Che led. Whether it is the interviews with Pombo and others fought alongside Che in Cuba, Africa, and Bolivia, or the speeches by Cuban communist leaders on why they reject the Soviet model of socialism and why they continue to fight for revolutionary communism, this is an inspiring historic collection of documents and reports.

Former Algerian President's Ahmed Ben Bella's article from Le Monde Diplomatique about Che and Cuba's collaboration with the Algerian and African revolutions is worth the whole price of this book by itself. Also recommended: To Speak the Truth, Che Speaks, Capitalism's World Disorder, Pombo: A Man of Che's Guerilla, The Opening Guns of World War III

Mary-Alice does a wonderful job of describing Che's political ideas, and tying them in with today's political issues in the United States, Cuba, and all around the world. This pamphlet is a must for anyone interested in Che, Cuba, or worldwide trends in the capitalist system as a whole.

Este libro cuenta la historia de los jóvenes militantes socialistas norteamericanos que unieron con otros para realizar acciones en defensa de la soberanía cubana y de su revolución, tanto durante la invasión de la Playa Girón (llamada por acá la "Bahía de Cochinos") como durante la crisis de octubre de 1962 (acá "la crisis de los mísiles"). Lo más importante es que este libro plantea la experiencia de unos militantes proletarios que construyen un partido obrero como parte del movimiento laboral, con la perspectiva de ayudar a dirigir un movimiento de millones a hacer una revolución aquí. Sí, aquí, -en las entrañas de la bestia imperial-. Explica la etapa actual de la crisis económica mundial del capitalismo, entrado ya en depresión mundial, la guerra de los superricos en contra los trabajadores en los EE.UU. y en contra de los trabajadores y campesinos del mundo entero, el crecimiento permanente de resistencia. Plantea un programa de acción de aquí y ahora para unir los trabajadores y agricultores pequeños de los EE.UU. con nuestros hermanos y hermanas de clase en el dizque "Tercer Mundo". Por supuesto se trata de la necesidad del movimiento laboral norteamericano por ser el defensor de las nacionalidades oprimidas, los trabajadores inmigrantes y de las mujeres. Como dijo un líder socialista norteamericano: cuando se alza, la clase trabajadora norteamericana podrá levantar el mundo.

Speeches by Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, given in Cuba in 1991, discuss the role that Cuba played in the movement against apartheid. Mandela gives tribute, not only to Cuba?s military action, in defending Angola from South African invasion, but also its example of successful resistance to the oppressors. Castro, for his part, hails the contribution the South African people mad to the worldwide fight for justice, and his growing confidence in the capacities of the exploited.

Did you know that Cuba played a crucial role in the successful battle to end racist apartheid in South Africa? Probably not. In the United States, this is a non-fact. "How Far We Slaves Have Come" breaks the curtain of silence about these dramatic events. And it does so in the words of two of the principal figures involved -- Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. They describe how combined Cuban and Angolan military forces defeated the South African army, which had invaded Angola, at the battle of Cuito Cuanavale. An army of Blacks and mestizos crushing the army of South Africa -- the supposed all-powerful bastion of white supremacy? This was not supposed to happen!

Coming after years of resistance and struggle by Blacks in South Africa, their defeat at Cuito Cuanavale demoralized the apartheid regime. As Nelson Mandela says in the book, "The defeat of the apartheid army was an inspiration to the struggling people inside South Africa! Without Cuito Cuanavale our organizations would not have been unbanned!...Cuito Cuanavale has been a turning point in the struggle to free the continent and our country from the scourge of apartheid!"

If you're interested in South Africa, Cuba, or just in history you're not supposed to know, you should read this book.

Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela together in Cuba, not simply celebrating the victory of the South African Freedom struggle, not simply celebrating the continued life of the Cuban revolution, but speaking the truth about how the oppressed of the world can fight,can struggle, can win. Just the idea that this little book exists, let alone its stirring, intelligent words, reminds me that though the battles have been tough, working people fighting like these two fighters can win.

Nobody thought that Ernesto Che Guevara, born in an argentinian burgeois family could develop advanced ideas in the revolutionary palaestra. A latinamerican traveller, a dreamer. Later, the great revolutionary that made a whole story in the guerilla warfare which still many leftists all over the world. Bolivia was the begining of the leggend and in the daily we can found the meaning of phrases as "Forever until victory". Never surrender. A book that equals a summary of guerilla tactics and the deception of 60's latinamerican politics, a sadness that never ends.

Che went to Bolivia because he (and the Cuban leadership) thought that the situation was ripe for revolution. It tells the story of how he built a cadre of fighters with dedicated youth who wanted to fight until freedom or die. He wrote this diary in the mountains, fighting the Bolivian army as well as hunger and asthma. Despite everything, he was always focused on the goal, not his own pain or suffering. He was constantly evaluating their situation, politically and militarily, and determining the next move.

I first read Che's diary in the early 1970s because I wanted to learn more about him. At the time I thought it was interesting, but it didn't make much sense to me. This new edition is far superior to the Ramparts edition I read back then. The Pathfinder editors went to Cuba to collect photos and maps to make the diary come to life. This book includes accounts by surviving guerillas who fought with Che in Bolivia. There is a chronology and a glossary so you can understand who everyone was, where they came from, and what happened to them. If you want to read this famous book, make sure to read this edition!

If you read this book, THIS edition, you will begin to know the real Che-- who gave his life building an embryo of the kind of leadership required to rid the world of Yankee Imperial domination and military dictators.Bolivians,Argentines,Peruvians, and Cubans fought side by side, changing themselves as they fought, with food and water and ammo and BOOKS in their knapsacks.Studying indigenous languages, among other things--- with the full support of Fidel Castro and the Cuban government.

And they fought to take the heat off brutalized,heroic Vietnam, even just a little.They were defeated in combat, but victorious in the example they set : "the highest form of the human species" , yes they were.To defeat this monster in the USA, working people will have to emulate these men and women.Not in the mountains, but on strike picketlines, street demonstrations,studying together, as we fight the Imperial march towards Depression, fascism, and war. Excellent introduction points to struggles in Argentina,Bolivia,Chile, afterward :now it begins again...

Any one who is interested in Cuba, or more specifically why and how the Cuban Revolution continues to survive, anyone interested in the future of humanity, or in the ideas ( unlike the myth )of Che Guevara -- you should start with this book.This book explains why the invasion of " Cuban exile" mercenaries at the Bay Of Pigs was not a "fiasco" : it was a military and political defeat of the Yankee Empire. This book shows vividly that the ordinary Cuban working men and women and farmers who fought and died at the Bay Of Pigs to defend their new-won independence did so for the sake of their own and their children's future : a Cuba free of Yankee domination and plundering for profits.The authors -- Fidel Castro and Che Guevara among them-- explain the ideas of the new socialist Cuba and the fight for new and better humans to change themselves that were the power behind the people behind the guns (and planes )that defeated the invaders at Playa Giro`n/ Bay Of Pigs. The ideas as a guide to action that have helped socialist Cuba survive it's toughest times in the 90s.And survive today as an example of what humans can do to begin to build a human society.

The book also describes how the activities against the invasion by a group of students at a small Midwestern college changed them forever--and convinced them to devote their lives to making a revolution like the Cubans made --here in the belly of the imperial beast.

If you are repelled by the barbaric effects of the "globalization" of the market system and its worship of the Almighty Dollar -- and you want to do something about making an end of it once and for all -- do yourself a favor and read this book.

I first read this book the first day of beach season. Instead of spending time in the water, I just sat there and read this book until it was too dark to read. This account is an activist account of the fight from Cuban and US fighters who see and saw the US invasion and resistance in Cuba and the United States not as history to be deciphered but part of an ongoing struggle against imperialism, against war, and for the power of working people. I never stopped caring; I never stopped seeing what was hidden from me in 1961, I never stopped seeing lessons for the future. A good read.

Playa Giron/Bay Of Pigs: Washington's First Military Defeat In The Americas offers detailed and authoritative information on the historic and ill-fated invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed forces popularly referred to as the Bay of Pigs. Included are three contemporary speeches by Fidel Castro informing and rallying the Cuban people and describing to the socialist character of the revolution. Jose Ramon Fernandez (today a vice president of Cuba) was at the time of the military incursion, the commander of the main column of Cuban forces which successfully repelled the CIA-organized and American supplied forces at Playa Giron. Highly recommended reading for students of Cuban and American international studies and history, the informative text is enhanced with more than two dozen maps and charts, dozens of photographs, a chronology of events, a glossary, and an index.

My two favorite sections of this book are the introduction by Mary-Alice Waters and the essay by Evelyn Reed, "The Woman Question and the Marxist Method." In the intro, Waters explains 1) how the status of women in the US has changed since WWII; 2) what the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s accomplished; and 3) a scientific explanation for why this powerful and inspiring movement declined. It is the definitive answer to Susan Faludi's thesis in Backlash, written 8 years before Faludi's book appeared! For that alone, this book is worth buying and reading and studying and discussing with others.
Reed's essay sums up the political debate at the center of the book (see other reviewers' summaries of this) and, like Waters, launches a factual, scientific examination of the roots of the oppression of women and how our concepts of beauty, fashion, and cosmetics are tied to the rule of a handful of capitalists over the majority who toil for a living. A must for women (and men) who want to understand why sexism exists in our society and how to fight it.

A fascinating and instructive collection, this is the written record of a debate carried out in the pages of the socialist newsweekly, the Militant, in the mid-1950s.

You get a serious look at the roots of the oppression of women in capitalist society, including the powerful psychological pressure exerted through mass media, marketing, and bosses to compel women to "need"--and hence buy-- the "right" clothes, cosmetics, and so-called beauty treatments. The discussion takes up the changing relations between men and women as human society has evolved from earliest times to today's class-divided society, debunks the notion of an eternal standard of beauty, and much more.

It's also a wonderful example of how to analyze and understand political and social questions from the standpoint of the interests of working people and not succumb to the prejudices and fetishes of capitalist society. You see how political activists can thrash out sharp differences over tough questions in the framework of an open exchange of views.

An extensive introduction covers the impact of the capitalist crisis of the 1980s on women and the decline of the mass women's rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

This entertaining and thought-provoking book had a curious beginning - a 1954 exchange of news articles and letters to the editor in the socialist newsweekly the Militant. The original article joked about the declining use of cosmetics and subsequent problems of the cosmetics industry. A reader's reaction quickly brought a discussion of the role of women in society, their increasing participation in the workforce, and the source of the imaging of women in culture.
This dispute, which became a debate within the Socialist Workers Party, took place well before the rise of the 1960s women's liberation movement. It took place at a time generally regarded as one of bland social conformity. Obviously, social attitudes towards, and by, women were much more complex than met the eye. An introduction by Mary-Alice Waters puts the book in its modern-day context