Review of the Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerilla

Yesterday 31 August, Juche 99, I finished reading the “Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerilla” by Carlos Marighella. I was slightly disappointed when I read this book. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this book a 6. I first heard about the book after researching the Baader-Meinhof Gang. The “Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerilla” was one of the many books in which they read during their incarceration in German prisons.
The book was composed of four separate documents. The first part of the book, was an actual mini-manual for an urban guerilla. This section of the book discusses tactics that Brazilian urban guerilla groups used during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in an attempt to overthrow the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 until 1985. I was most disappointed with this section of the book. I was disappointed with this section because it did not discuss anything that I did not already know. I thought the writing moved very slow and at some points it was incredibly dry.
The other sections of the book I thought were more interesting. There was one essay written by Marighella discussing his thoughts on the urban revolution in Brazil, which was certainly interesting but obviously proved to be immemorable. There was an incredible interview with freed prisoners at the end of the book. The interview was conducted in Algeria after these revolutionary comrades were freed. The group of prisoners consisted of members from MR-8, ALN and VRM. In this interview they discussed the reasons why they joined the revolutionary struggle and their methods. This interview I thought was more informative and contained more useful information in regards to the urban guerilla struggle. I am most interested in the statements made by the comrade from MR-8. I am interested in MR-8 because I have studied their struggle. I am most interested in the kidnapping of former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Charles Elbridge. This was dramatically portrayed in the film, O Que Isso Companheiro, or known in the U.S. as Four Days in September.