The Motorcycle Diaries

Before Che Guevara was a was one of the most influential revolutionaries in Latin and South America, he embarked on a motorcycle roadtrip to see every South American country he could. This book is his diary entries of that trip where we get to see him practice medicine, flirt with his landlords wife, hustle for the modern equivalent of $5, see tragic Inca ruins, and play cards with strangers. His perspective is incredibly introspective and humanist, giving you context for what lead him to be such a successful leader.

Life changing book, I strongly recommend.

If you're into journey books and road trips this one's for you, which is something I discovered I don't care much about. Che is 23 in this book, and is not the revolutionary Che yet. This journey through the countries of South America definitely was a starting point for him, with all the CIA backed coups happening around him, the criminalization of Communism, the poverty, famine, racism towards Natives etc... but not as much social commentary in the book as I would've preferred.

However, included in the book is a speech given to young Cuban doctors in 1960, “A child of my environment”, that I would totally recommend reading, and which I loved enough to want to read Che's later on books.