Che’s Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image

by: Michael Casey

Published by: Vintage Books

Reviewed by Barbara Fielder

Che’s Afterlife is an intriguing documentary of Che Guevara’s past, insight into his haunting photo images and the impact they have on human nature and perceptions. The author is the Buenos Aires bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires and a frequent correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. As such, he devotes his research to facts, yet his story of Che is woven tightly to recollection, interpretation and intrigue.

For those who missed the 1960s, the decade in which Che Guevara, the revolutionary, made a name for himself as he aided Cuba’s Fidel Castro, this book will fill you in on these details and more.

The book is segmented into three parts. Each part will lead you through the “Frozen Millisecond” in which Che’s image is forever carved into our history and psyche by famed photographer Alberto Korda, and then to the international reverence of the man and further exploring the dichotomy of wholesale marketing of his image. The reader will discover that Che’s image is used as a brand by corporations, entrepreneurs, and left-wing groups worldwide.

The three parts are as follows:

Part I: Becoming El Che: The making of a global brand

Part II: Mimicking a Martyr: San Ernesto of Latin America

Part III: Globalizing the Spirit of Che: The Paradoxical Afterlife of a Post-Cold-War, Fidel Castro, Postmodern Cuban Icon

This book will complement Che research papers, historical research and an understanding of the making of an international icon.

Armchair Interviews says: A most interesting bio.