Roll Over Che Guevera

More about the book

At 20, after being expelled for anti-war activism, Marc Cooper moved to Santiago to work as a translator for Chilean President Salvador Allende. The intensity of Allende’s socialist revolution shaped Cooper’s political and reporting skills with a radical lens. In 1973, he began reporting on the destruction of Allende’s government and Chilean democracy amid the US-financed coup, risking his safety. Two decades later, as a radical journalist, he chronicles significant global events with humor and detail. He explores the New World Order, including Pinochet’s Chile, Nicaragua during the Sandinista’s last days, besieged Soweto, post-invasion Panama, Baghdad on the brink, and the new Moscow mafia. The title piece features Che Guevara’s grandson and a new generation of Cuban youth still seeking Che’s elusive promise of freedom. The second half shifts focus to the US, offering a ground-level view of a society in decline. Readers accompany Bill Clinton on his campaign plane as he adapts his image for votes and navigate America’s cultural landscape, from Dan Quayle’s Hollywood clashes to the 1992 Republican Convention. As Los Angeles burns with rage, Cooper brings readers to the edge of history, culminating in a personal visit to Las Vegas, a symbol of today’s marketplace ethos.