The Motorcycle Diaries is a story which revolves around 2 men who embark on a road journey on a 1939 Norton 500cc cylinder motorcycle from Buenos Aires. They are out to discover and explore South America. This book had been written 8 years prior to the Cuban Revolution. The person who wrote the memoirs of this journey was one of those 2 bikers, Ernesto Guevara. He focused on the injustices that were prevalent at that time in South America.

These 2 men explored the lengths of Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and Peru being the observers of the discrimination and exploitation. A man who was so carefree, his only concerns in life being; finding a drink, bed and love, is totally transformed after this journey into a person who is ready to give up on his life for the discriminated in Latin America. This is a book that is totally based on observations of the 2 bikers that they undergo during the journey and how it transforms them. The readers may find it a bit tough to relate to the middle-class guy Guevara and the spiritual transformation and evolution that he goes through. These are basically diary entries of Guevara, which are raw in nature.

Che Guevara is just a 23 year old medical student but ends up being a transformed man who has become very serious and concerned for the exploited people in South America. The story is a mix of personal experiences and political background. At times, Che becomes a fireman, at others he is a football coach. Sometimes, he falls in love and at others falls off even his bike. So, it’s kind of a roller-coaster ride for him.

The book is an interesting travelogue concerning South America of the 1950s along with displaying Che’s journey and the transformation that followed. It has been a New York Times bestseller on several occasions. This book is basically a biopic, named The Motorcycle Diaries, which was released in 2004 and starred Gael Garcia Bernal. He played the role of Che in the miniseries named Fidel in 2002.