Patrick Symmes Livres

"Armed with little more than a notebook, a copy of Che's book, and a few extra spark plugs, Patrick Symmes sets off on his BMW R80 G/S in search of the people and places encountered by Che. And a new adventure of man and motorcycle begins: a wanderer's quest for food, shelter, and wisdom. Symmes runs out of gas in an Argentine desert, wipes out in the Andes, and drinks himself blind with Che's travel partner, Alberto Grando, in Cuba. Here, too, is the portrait of a continent whose dreams of utopia give birth to not only freedom fighters, but tyrants whose methods include torture and mass murder."--BOOK JACKET.

In 1952, 24-year-old Ernesto Guevara left his native Argentina to motorcycle the back roads of South America. Eight months later, Ernesto returned, transformed into 'Che' the revolutionary. His account of that journey, "Motorcycle Diaries", has become a classic. Nearly half a century later, Patrick Symmes set off on his BMW R80/GS along the same route in search of the people and places encountered by Che. Symmes' own adventures - he runs out of petrol in an Argentine desert, breaks down in the Andes, and drinks himself blind in Cuba with Che's travel partner, Alberto Granado - counterpoint those of the great revolutionary. The book gives an insight into the moulding of the great Latin American hero and paints a portrait of a continent whose dreams of utopia give birth not only to freedom fighters but also tyrants. But above all it is the story of a great journey on the open road, where man and machine traverse the unknown in search of the spirit's keenest desires.

Intrepid journalist Patrick Symmes sets off on his BMW R80 G/S in search of the people and places in Ernesto "Che" Guevara's classic Motorcycle Diaries , seeking out his own adventure as well as the legacy of the icon Che would become, Symmes retraces the future revolutionary's path. And on the way he runs out of gas in an Argentine desert, talks a Peruvian guerrilla out of taking him hostage, wipes out in the Andes, and, in Cuba, drinks himself blind with Che's travel partner, Alberto Granado. Here is the unforgettable story of a wanderer's quest for food, shelter, and wisdom. Here, too, is the portrait of a continent whose dreams of utopia give birth not only to freedom fighters, but also to tyrants whose methods include torture and mass killing. Masterfully detailed, insightful, unforgettable, Chasing Che transfixes us with the glory of the open road, where man and machine traverse the unknown in search of the spirit's keenest desires. From the Trade Paperback edition.