The biography itself, which uses unpublished diaries and untapped Cuban government archives, is praised for having done a masterly job in evoking Che's complex character, in separating the man from the myth (Peter Canby, the New York Times Book Review ). The Weekly Standard 's Stephen Schwartz calls it tainted for having received official support from the Castro regime and for abetting a Che revival.
The biography uses only published diaries and well known Cuban government information.