Whisper of the Blade: Revolutions, Mayhem, Betrayal, Glory and Death

Potential buyers should be aware that this is the same book that was published under the title "Blood of Revolution: From the Reign of Terror to the Rise of Khomeini".

Everyone knows them. The guys that walk around in Che Guevara shirts to protest the government, yet know nothing about the actual man. While I'm sure many people wearing his image do know about him (he's become a brand of himself, something I'm sure he'd despise), there can be nothing more frustrating than these people (besides telemarketers). After reading this book, you will be able to expose them and know more about major revolutions that have taken place. And yes, you will learn about Che, his relationship to Castro, his victory in Cuba and then defeat in Bolivia.Durschmied has chronicled several revolutions in history, dating back to the French Revolution and going forward to the Cuban Revolution, with the Mexican Revolution with Pancho Villa and the Russian Revolution in the middle. The main idea Durschmied conveys through his effective prose is that revolutionaries continue to live on past the grave and still affect political thought to this day. While Guevara is by far the most popular, figures such as Lenin (as there is still Marxist Leninist political parties) and Zapata (the Zapatista movement in the Chiapas region of Mexico) show that there are others that still live on. This is an important book to read to show that revolutions can work and bring about social change.I enjoyed Durschmied's style of writing and it is hard to put the book down. The only thing I tend to wonder is how many revolutions are actually successful compared to how many are oppressed (the 1991 Kurd revolt, where the U.S. turned a blind eye to the Kurds as Saddam slaughtered them, comes to mind.) However, this is an excellent book overall. Highly recommended.