The Bolivian Diary

This is Che Guevara's last diary, compiled from the notebooks found in his knapsack when he was captured by the Bolivian army in October 1967 and subsequently executed. It is the basis of a new biopic directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) starring Benicio del Toro as Che.

Now revised by Che's widow (who originally transcribed the diary), this is the definitive account of the attempt to spark a continent-wide revolution in Latin America.

The story of the publication of The Bolivian Diary is itself a remarkable saga. Initially published as extracts by the CIA in order to discredit Che's guerrilla movement and to justify mass arrests in Bolivia and elsewhere, it was also used in the trial of Regis Debray and to suggest a romance between Che and Tania (the subject of Ulises Estrada's book Tania: Undercover with Che Guevara in Bolivia, published by Ocean Press in spring 2005), who will be portrayed by Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Supremacy) in Soderbergh's movie.

Features of this new edition include an insightful preface by Che's eldest son Camilo Guevara; a range of new materials such as photos, maps, documents, and a glossary prepared in collaboration with the Che Guevara Studies Center (Havana); as well as memoirs by guerrillas who fought with Che in Bolivia.

The Soderbergh movie about Che Guevara will be based on two new Ocean Press fall 2005 titles: The Bolivian Diary and Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War.