Rating: 
Summary: Trail of Broken Icons
Review:
He's an icon and, like most icons, the legend of his life has overtaken the facts. In Bolivia, the site of his execution has become a tourist mecca. In college dorm rooms, his image (defiant gaze, beret adorned with a red star) remains a perennial favorite among wannabe revolutionaries,pop star Madonna has even copied his image. Sartre called him "the most complete human being of our age." Journalist Daniel Wolf, in a recent issue of England's Spectator magazine, labeled him "one of the most oversold figures of the past half century." Thirty-seven years after he was executed in Bolivia, Che Guevara lives - and then some. The man who helped Fidel Castro spearhead the Cuban revolution remains a potent and divisive figure, even though most North Americans today know him only as an image, an abstract radical.
Almost 50 years after Che's trip, author Patrick Symmes sets out on his 12 year old BMW to explore the legend and recreate the journey Che made (started...) on his '39 Norton.
The book is true to its title. The author is 'chasing Che', the REAL Che, rather than simply out for adventure on two wheels. Yet Patrick and his blue and orange R80G/S certainly have their share of 'moments', traveling 10,000km in four months through the demanding landscapes of the Americas.
He survives mad dogs, bad fuel, puncture and plug problems, bandits and the various 'authorities'. Wading through the Che 'industry' of T-shirts, fridge magnets, mud-flaps(?), beer, skis, et al, Patrick's connection with local people sheds light on the man behind the myth. This is where the story becomes engrossing. There's a memorable encounter with Che's original riding companion Alberto Granado and a rather large quantity of a certain beverage.
Did you know Alberto also kept a diary of the trip? He was already a committed marxist and his raw day-to-day account contrasts starkly with Che's more poetic and polished 'Notas de Viaje' (Notes of a trip). That the two men differ over several incidents makes for an intriguing read.
Patrick invokes the spirit of the original journey well, you feel you're right there with Che, searching for....what? Inspiration, adventure, a solution to the world's problems? You also feel close to the poverty, the social and government dysfunction, and the warm friendly welcome of the people along the road.
Rating:
Summary: South American Odyssey
Review: A fine book, very interesting recreation of the Che Guevara trip taken 40 years beforehand. The book intends to uncover whether experiences of this journey which may have shaped Guevara into a revolutionary/guerilla leader. The author is almost like a detective on the trial of the charismatic Gueveara. It's not really about the motorcycle trip per se but manages to say something valuable for those looking for both the politics and the dirt road. It has many genuinely amusing and touching moments.
Rating:
Summary: "He that travels in theory has no inconveniences" Samuel Joh
Review: A journey, unlike a trip, often awakens something within a person that has been dormant. To journey is to see other worlds, to experience other cultures and to acknowledge your own connectedness in this transitory world.
In 1995 Patrick Symmes left on a motorcycle journey across South America to chase the ghost of Ernesto Guevara -- 'Che'. In this absorbing travel journal Symmes retraces 'Che's' 1952 South America motorcycle adventure. He knocks on the doors of strangers, turns over rocks and does detective diligence. Yet, as Symmes found out, chasing ghosts can be extremely arduous, especially if the haunted house has been torn down and replaced by condos. In the last fifty years South America has morphized, and all that is left of 'Che' is his legion and what has been printed on T-shirts.
Symmes' writing is provocative, informative and enjoyable: "Chasing curves over a swelling landscape, a motorcycle enters the pure expression of physics and is bound to the road in a way no car will ever know. The raw force of the engine is not hidden beneath a hood, but alternately purrs and grows a few inches from the knees, demanding the consciousness of power. A rider on two wheels can taste moments of oneness with the road." I have spent the past 9 years traveling in South America and Symmes' writing captures the distinct spirit of the people of Argentina, Chile, Peru, and to a lesser degree Bolivia. The search for 'Che' is the golden thread (or for you bikers, the tire tread) that keeps this travel journal on track. Especially enjoyable is Symmes' history of each of the countries that he travels through. Highly recommended for those that are going to visit South American and students of Ernesto Guevara.
Rating: 
Summary: One good journey deserves another...
Review: Almost 50 years after Che's Motorcycle Diaries, Symmes recreates the journey on a BMW-R80. Covering over 10,000 miles of open road and experiencing several mechanical breakdowns as well as roadside disasters, Symmes masterfully inspires the traveler within us to break away and move on. Near the conclusion of his trip he makes an assertion, "This moment of life, alone at dusk in the rain at twelve thousand feet with nothing, is still enough...I could live through the rain and the darkness and the bad roads and everything I owned disappearing into the bottom of a cloud. But I could not live without this trip, without some movement. In a life of restless longing, the only hope lies somewhere ahead."
Rating:
Summary: One good journey deserves another...
Review: Almost 50 years after Che's Motorcycle Diaries, Symmes recreates the journey on a BMW-R80. Covering over 10,000 miles of open road and experiencing several mechanical breakdowns as well as roadside disasters, Symmes masterfully inspires the traveler within us to break away and move on. Near the conclusion of his trip he makes an assertion, "This moment of life, alone at dusk in the rain at twelve thousand feet with nothing, is still enough...I could live through the rain and the darkness and the bad roads and everything I owned disappearing into the bottom of a cloud. But I could not live without this trip, without some movement. In a life of restless longing, the only hope lies somewhere ahead."
Rating:
Summary: Recommended Reading
Review: Few books can weave history, travel, politics, storytelling, biography, adventure and humor between the covers but this one does it and does it well. This book accompanied me on my first trip to Argentina and Chile and I can vouch for its accuracy. Symmes knows his subjects and his writing style is a joy to read. I can't wait for his next book.
Rating:
Summary: An accurate portrait of "Modern" LatinAmerica
Review: I am Chilean and I am truly impressed by the accuracy of the author when he describes the political environment in Chile and all South America. As he says in the book, Chileans are not good to look at their past and talk about it. We prefer to forget as soon as possible. The book just names the things by their real names, opening a new and clear way of looking to our country. I wish this book could be translated to Spanish, we need this kind of literature ...
Rating:
Summary: I came for the motorcycle, I stayed for the writing
Review: I bought "Chasing Che" because of the motorcycling and adventure travel aspect and instead I discovered the insightful and graceful writing of Patrick Symmes. He's like a Paul Theroux kicked off one of his beloved trains and plunked down on an old BMW motorcycle, only not so acerbic and he doesn't get as cranky. If you want to gain some insight about a little known region and people (at least to most Americans) please read "Chasing Che". You'll probably end up writing a review here just like me, because you want OTHER people to have the same enjoyment you had reading "Chasing Che".
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I do not know what I expected when I bought this book, but reading g it proved well worth my time and money. It is a travel book more in the spirit of Stienbeck's Travels With Charlie than it is with In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin. It is a ramble, through southern South America, along the journey made by Che before he was "Che" and through the mind of Patrick Symmes. All three are interesting places to go. I guess my one surprise was the amount of trouble that he had with his BMW motorcycle. A friend of mine had one several years ago, the same model if not the same year, and it was almost indestructible. It had to be with my friend as the owner. So that was a disappointment. The insights into the historical person Che became later are there, sort of sprinkled through the book as is a good look at the youth. He is not an adulator and he neither hides nor dwells on the dark side of being a committed revolutionary. Of course, Che was not yet committed at least when he started this journey. A warrior doctor along with the idea of a warrior priest has always seemed to be an oxymoron to me. The creation of exactly that which you have trained, at great cost, to fight must require conviction of a special kind. That Che was committed there can be no doubt - but why to this life course remains elusive for me. He was sensitive man, and a killer. A doctor and a soldier. A revolutionary and a mystic. Like Thomas Jefferson's utterly inexplicable slave holdings, these realities are also the reasons he still fascinates me. I like the book. I think I would like the author and I recommend it as an interesting look at a difficult man and a romantic journey that I and perhaps you would have liked to have joined, and may still enjoy in spirit.
Rating:
Summary: With Symmes chasing Che and finding?
Review: I do not know what I expected when I bought this book, but reading g it proved well worth my time and money. It is a travel book more in the spirit of Stienbeck's Travels With Charlie than it is with In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin. It is a ramble, through southern South America, along the journey made by Che before he was "Che" and through the mind of Patrick Symmes. All three are interesting places to go. I guess my one surprise was the amount of trouble that he had with his BMW motorcycle. A friend of mine had one several years ago, the same model if not the same year, and it was almost indestructible. It had to be with my friend as the owner. So that was a disappointment. The insights into the historical person Che became later are there, sort of sprinkled through the book as is a good look at the youth. He is not an adulator and he neither hides nor dwells on the dark side of being a committed revolutionary. Of course, Che was not yet committed at least when he started this journey. A warrior doctor along with the idea of a warrior priest has always seemed to be an oxymoron to me. The creation of exactly that which you have trained, at great cost, to fight must require conviction of a special kind. That Che was committed there can be no doubt - but why to this life course remains elusive for me. He was sensitive man, and a killer. A doctor and a soldier. A revolutionary and a mystic. Like Thomas Jefferson's utterly inexplicable slave holdings, these realities are also the reasons he still fascinates me. I like the book. I think I would like the author and I recommend it as an interesting look at a difficult man and a romantic journey that I and perhaps you would have liked to have joined, and may still enjoy in spirit.
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