"The Motorcycle Diaries" is Che Guevara's diary of his journey to discover the continent of Latin America while still a medical student, setting out in 1952 on a vintage Norton motorcycle together with his friend Alberto Granado, a biochemist. It captures, arugably as much as any book ever written, the joy of one person's youthful belief in the possibilities of humankind tending toward justice, peace, and happiness. After the release in 2004 of the exhilarating film of the same title, directed by Walter Salles, the book became a New York Times and international bestseller. -- page [4] of cover.