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

While warlords are generally abhorred, revolutionaries are regarded as romantic. Rock 'n' roll even. Just look at Che Guevara, regarded as the James Dean of his day--only Guevara was a rebel with a cause. But, as Erik Durschmied's Whisper of the Blade reveals, there's nothing glam about a coup d'etat. It takes a lot of blood and guts to overthrow the status quo, and revolutions are a messy business, which inevitably end in tears--not least of all for their instigators. After all, you don't become a great revolutionary without first becoming a dead revolutionary. It goes with the territory. "A revolutionary's greatest legacy to all of us is not his military skill, nor his political achievements, but the fact that his spirit never dies. This is the ultimate monument of a legendary man. He is more alive dead." Spanning two centuries, Durschmied's book of historical uprisings focuses on the key players behind such insurrections as the French Revolution, the October Revolution, the Mexican Revolution and the Cuban Revolution. Using historical texts, and in some cases eyewitness evidence, the author graphically recounts the full horror and unrelenting drama of events that have left an indelible mark on mankind. Whisper of the Blade makes for uncomfortable reading in places (history's not for the squeamish), but behind the barbarism there are, says Durschmied, important lessons to be learned. "Our present world of social order and democratic rule does not have meaning if we do not understand what happened in the past." --Christopher KellyRead More