Che Guevara's life considered

Thursday saw the 30th anniversary of the execution of revolutionary hero Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. He was shot by the Bolivian military in a dilapidated schoolroom on October 9, 1967.

Two books consider his life: the huge, 750-page biography, Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life, by Jon Lee Anderson (Bantam, $425), and now Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara, by Jorge Castaneda and translated by Marina Castaneda (Bloomsbury, $340).

Castaneda is reportedly more critical than Anderson, who was greatly aided by Che's widow, Aleida March. But both have witnesses to his burial in a grave only discovered and reopened this year, ending a 30-year Latin American mystery.

These books should help to throw light on the little-known life of the Cuban revolutionary and close confidant of Fidel Castro who gained mythical status in death.

But is it heretical to suggest that his good looks may have played a part in making him a hero? It may also be heretical for a books page not to give a full review to the latest work by Dick Francis, 10-lb Penalty (Michael Joseph, $288, and Penguin Audio, $150). But really, what's the point? After 35 bestsellers, most of which based on horse-racing and crime, there isn't really much more we can say about them.

In this one, young jockey Benedict Juliard has an ambitious dad called George who's heading for prime ministership. But dad's enemies intend to discredit him through his son.