1 comments about Plutarco El'as Calles and the Mexican Revolution (Latin American Silhouettes).

1. This to my knowledge is the only complete biography that is devoted to a man that was one of the major participants in the Mexican Revolution that died without meeting an assassin's bullet. Plutarco Calles was a man of his time who grew up in a broken home and sought to better himself through hard work and intrigue. After a stint as a school techer in Sonora, he fought alongside Alvardo Obregon against the central government as well as Obregon's rival Pancho Villa during the revolution. The author makes a good presentation of the man and describes how Plutarco used his alliances with major politcal figures in Mexico to obtain the presdidency in 1924.
   
   The author makes the claim that unlike other strongmen in Latin America, Plutarco's health and brash decisionmaking were major stumbling blocks that prevented him from exercising total control over his successors and eventually led to his exile by President Cardenas in 1936. Worn out, he returned in 1940 to Mexico City and lived in relative quiet until his death five years later.
   
   It is said that Plutarco was mainly responsible for the rebellion by the Catholic Cristeros that lasted from 1926 to 1929. The author contends that Plutarco hatred of the church dated back to childhood and that his policies as president led to the banning public worship and the teaching of school children by the church which led to the uprising. He was by far Mexico's most anticlerical president.
   
   The book contains 207 pages of text along with a substantial bibliography, endnotes and a short index. On its face, it was a great read of Plutarco Calles and the Mexican Revolution as well. As there are no other substantial biographies in English of this man, I recommend this book to those who wish to learn about El Jefe Maximo.

3 comments about The Mexican Revolution, Volume 1: Porfirians, Liberals, and Peasants.

1. This book totally defies history's number one precept which is to entertain. Knight follows a random course through the Mexican Revolution digressing into such inane topics as the difference between a revolution and rebellion, or the difference between social and criminal banditry. Furthermore, he bogs down in trying to classify the different parts of the revolution as revolutionary or counterrevolutionary basically coming to the conclusion that the revolution was caudillismo on a grand scale where ideologies are overwhelmed by personal vendettas and disagreements between pueblos that go back to antiquity.
   Knight finally finishes up with two main assertions that are neither enlightening nor cogent. The first is his characterization of the war as a struggle between mountaineers and lowlanders. The second is that the conventionist forces were regionalists versus the constitutionalists who advocated a strong central government. Merely characterizing the opponents is supposed to suffice for analyis. There is nothing here to suggest a paradigm for future or contemporary revolutions, nor to provide real insight in the Mexican Revolution itself. It's wholly academic and sterile.
   This book contains many vignettes and examples to support Knight's "theories", but it is altogether not a good overview of the war.
   I would recommend this book to a student of the revolution, already well versed who wants to gain some new information.



2. This two-volume history of the Mexican Revolution is absolutely packed with case studies and individual narratives. Knight's vision is one of many and various Mexicos, all of which experienced a different revolution. Far from being simply to entertain, the role of a history text is to explain what happened. Knight puts forward a strong, if not universally accepted, case for the dismissal of grand theories of a single process, instead arguing that the revolution meant one thing to the generals of the north, quite another to the peasants of the centre, and very little to (for example) the Indians of the south. The reader may feel confused by the book; there is nothing wrong with such an outcome - it was a confusing period of history during which few people knew what was happening and with what likely effect.



3. This two volume book on the Mexican Revolution is massive, and for twenty years now it has stood as one of the most important works on the Mexican Revolution. Knight's research is exhaustive, and his writing style is unique with an impressive command of the English language. The work weaves between narrative and analysis, and the reader is always kept aware of the historiography of the Mexican Revolution, which is still a contentious theme in Mexican history almost one hundred years now after the Revolution. Knight's work is definitive and should be read by any serious student of the greats events of the twentieth century.

No comments about The Secret War in El Paso: Mexican Revolutionary Intrigue, 1906-1920.

5 comments about The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa: A True Story of Revolution and Revenge.

1. A former guerrilla ally of the United States turns his vengence on the U.S. A President who wanted to tend to the domestic ills of the United States is drawn into a foreign conflict. An intervention is attempted which results in native aggravation at the United States. History repeats itself. The time is 1916 and the terrorist act is at Columbus, New Mexico-a sleepy border town. Pancho Villa kills a lot of innocent men. Americans are now his enemy. The Americans intervene in Mexico and try to track him down. They nearly suceed. Time give Villa the punishment he deserves.
   
   This is an interesting book about earlier terrorism. Not much is written about the Columbus raid. Welsome does a good job of describing the killings of Pancho Villa and his Division of the North in the 1916-17 period. This should be read in light of the current war on terror.



2. The author has done her homework with this fine piece of history. I have read much on this subject and was hoping to find out more details about the Punitive Expedition mounted by America to track down Pancho Villa and his bandit army. She paints Villa and the other leaders of the 'Revolution' as most of them were: brutal killers seeking wealth and power and a few betterment of the people of Mexico. Lots of details about the Villiast raid on Columbus, NM, the numerous skirmishes between US troops and various factions of Mexican forces of all sorts.
   Plenty of drama and some good information about Villa's background, experiences during the revolution as well as those of Obregon, Madero, Zapata and many others.
   Worth reading as her style is easy to follow and sometimes humerous and insightful.
   I give it thumbs up. Enjoy as it might lead the reader to seek more information about this fascinating period of US/Mexican history.



3. As one who fell in love with Mexico in 1964, I continue to read most of what comes out in print with relation to that country. This book has information about Pershing that I knew nothing about, and reveals much of a personal nature about him and about Francisco Villa.
   
   The struggles of the U. S. soldiers as they search for the elusive Villa
   make an interesting story-- one that got lost because the incursion into Mexico was followed so quickly by World War I. I wonder, for example, how many of the soldiers who were in Mexico went on to the European war.
   
   I had the great good fortune to hear a lecture by one of Villa's secretaries.
   
   I am still in love with Mexico after all these years!
   
   Norma Williamson



4. This is a satisfying, richly detailed read sure to please the history buff or the general reader. I bought this book for my husband for Christmas and my only regret is that I couldn't find the author to have signed!



5. An easy to read book that will keep your interest throughout. A great mixture of political, tactical and personal information allows the reader to get both a high level picture of the action along with a feel for how the individual soldiers and civilians viewed the events.

5 comments about Slaughter at Goliad: The Mexican Massacre of 400 Texas Volunteers.

1. While every American and Mexican schoolchild knows the story of the Alamo, few "Norteamericanos" know the story of the massacre that followed it, that of killing 250 unarmed Texan prisoners at Goliad.
   
   Author Jay Stout's latest book "Slaughter at Goliad" brings this blot on the Mexican military into the harsh light of day. Exceptionally well-written, he brings his experience as a Marine combat aviator into the battle as he explains the fight in terms that every reader can understand.
   Superficially, this is a simple story; after a one-sided battle won by the Mexican Army over a bunch of rag-tag Texan-American volunteers, some 250 prisoners were marched to Goliad. After 200 more prisoners were brought to the compound, where they were all massacred on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. It was one of the single largest losses of life in the history of the young United States, and the repercussions affected Texas, America, and Mexico virtually immediately.
   
   Of special importantance to the battle and to the book is Stout's examination of the personalities and politics involved. Stout portrays James Walker Fannin, the commander of the doomed unit, as an ineffective leader who misjudged his adversary, Mexico's infamous General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. As author Stout explains, rather than courage, it was Fannin's incompetence as a battlefield commander that put his men into a position where they had to either surrender or be killed - and it was equally Santa Anna's ego and short-sightedness that led him to execute Fannin and his troops.
   
   Fully understanding Clausewitz's dictum that `war is merely politics by another means', Stout goes on to explain how this massacre was integral into galvanizing American public opinion in favor of a war against Mexico.
   Not to be forgotten is Stout's description of the boots-on-the-ground stories of Fannin's men. They came to Texas for various reasons, and with equally various and vague backgrounds, yet were integral to the Texan drive for independence. "Manifest destiny" started here, with men like those under Fannin's command, and Stout does an excellent job documenting it.
   
   Neither pro-nor-con Mexico or America, Jay Stout has written an interesting and sophisticated battle history of a long-forgotten incident that helped Texas win their war of independence. This is well worth reading for both the casual and educational reader of both military and North American history. ! Ole !



2. The author has done American Historians a notable service in writing the definitive work on this usually overlooked episode in American history. The research is thorough, and his writing is excellent.
   
   The center of his story is the massacre of approximately 400 American volunteers from mostly Southern states who went to Texas to assist the Anglo settlers there in winning independence from Mexico. To put this inexcusable event into context, author Stout briefly covers Mexico's history concentrating on the period from Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821 until the Santa Anna dictatorship. Unfortunately, the insurmountable problems faced by people raised in an authoritarian social structure when attempting to form a democracy without any concept of its workings is ignored. On the American side Stout describes the Americans using De Tocqueville's depiction as "freewheeling, free traveling, and hardly constrained by circumstances, class, or borders."
   
   The Spanish and later Mexicans were simply unable to colonize Texas and what later became the American Southwest due to the harshness of the land and the indigenous Indians. Catholicism, being based on authority emanating from an emperor/priest, failed miserably in obtaining converts from non-hierarchial Indian societies, and Spanish and Mexican colonists were unable to conquer the Apaches and Comanches sufficiently to achieve a modicum of security. In this vacuum, Americans settlers began to arrive in large numbers, often in agreement with the Mexican government (like Austin's colony), and by 1836 the population of Texas stood at less than 4,000 Mexicans, and 40,000 Americans including their 4-5,000 slaves. Like it or not, the Americans were probably the world's most deadly predators at the time, and they took over the "Indian problem" and solved it. And as always, population was power, and the immigrant Americans had seized it from a hopelessly corrupt Mexican government.
   
   Author Stout rather accurately describes the main player in the Goliad drama, James Fannin, as incompetent and self-important along with many of the other empresarios who came to Texas to win their fortunes. The same cannot be said for the young volunteers from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and other states who would pay for their youthful wanderlust with their lives.
   
   Cutting to the quick, Fannin commanded about 250 men at Goliad and was faced by the Mexican General Urrea with a force of approximately 1,000 men including 300 heavy cavalry outfitted like French cuirassiers. Fannin's total army of almost 500 men was spread out in multiple detachments, and the southerly ones under Grant and Johnson were rapidly destroyed by Urrea. He sent a third of his army to Refugio under King and Ward, and this detachment was overrun and eventually captured. Fannin dithered, decided not to go to the Alamo, and after a senseless skirmish, decided to leave Goliad to join Houston. Unfortunately he took with him nine cannon and his rate of march was slowed to two miles per hour. It did not take Urrea long to catch Fannin in the open and surround him. After an afternoon of fighting in which the Americans acquitted themselves honorably and a miserable night, Fannin surrendered his command believing he and his men would be spared. Certainly the foreign officers in Urrea's army thought they would be spared and Urrea made statements to that effect, but the surrender document left the terms up to the Mexican Government -- in essence to Santa Anna.
   
   The Mexican Government, at Santa Anna's bidding, had enacted the Decree of Tornel, stating essentially that all foreign invaders on Mexican soil were to be treated as pirates (e.g. subject to execution.) When Urrea contacted Santa Anna as to the disposition of the prisoners, Santa Anna's reply was to execute Fannin and his men.
   
   The following day, Fannin's survivors of the Battle of Coleto and the prisoners from the other detachments comprising about 400 men were shot down or otherwise dispatched in four groups including the officers who were killed separately. The only men spared were those useful to the Mexican Army, namely doctors, nurses and some carpenters. Notably, there was no hesitation on the part of the Mexican soldiers to murder the prisoners. Only a very few prisoners escaped by feigning death or running away when the slaughter began.
   
   The author presents both sides in a fair and impartial manner, carefully documenting Fannin's fecklessness and Santa Anna's mendacity. The cries of "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad" propelled Houston's force to victory at San Jacinto, but revisionists have carefully deleted the Goliad cry as not wanting to draw attention to Fannin's incompetence and Mexican brutality. This book brings the story home in an scholarly fashion to the benefit of all.



3. Stout has penned a well written book about an important but often overlooked part of the Texas Revolution. The Slaughter at Goliad is as important, or more so, as what happened at Alamo in explaining the type of characters who were leading revolution in Texas.
   
   The title is quite fair; it was a slaughter by the Mexican forces ordered by the shame of Mexico, Santa Anna. Even today, Mexican school textbooks teach the history of Santa Anna as largely an embarrassment and betrayal of the national history.



4. Coming from a surprising source, the Naval Institute Press, a non-profit arm of the U. S. Naval Institute primarily dedicated to publishing books about modern naval and aircraft history, Jay Stout's study of the Goliad massacre of 1836 is a balanced and well-written work, one that advances our understanding of the historical roots of Texas. While the massacre of Texan revolutionaries and American volunteers at Goliad occurred just a short time after the Mexican defeat of the Texans at the Alamo, it is the latter that is well-remembered, and is an icon and the former that is little-known and far less remembered, even in Texas. Who hears "Remember Goliad," although some Texans shouted it at the Battle of San Jacinto, and while Bowie, Crockett and Travis are revered names, Fannin is forgotten.
   
   The words in the book's title are carefully selected, from "slaughter" to "massacre" to the number of victims at 400, to "volunteers." At Goliad on March 26, 1836, nearly three weeks after the fall of the Alamo, 400 unarmed captives were slaughtered under the orders of the notorious Mexican commander and dictator Santa Anna. The rebels had been fighting for Texas independence from Mexico, and regarded by the Mexican leader as pirates, and as such deserved no quarter. Stout tells the story in a narrative manner, sparing no criticism for the mismanagement and terrible leadership on the Texas side. Much historical background, analysis and evaluation is interspersed along the way, something Stout must have learned to do during his time as a defense industry analyst and Marine Corps fighter pilot, experiences clearly in play in the narrative.
   
   The steps leading to the Goliad massacre are a typical military tale of overwhelming force, better led, defeating a ragtag army much more poorly commanded. The professional Mexican Army under Gen. Jose de Urrea, after some initial losses, rather easily defeated the mixed bag of volunteers at Coleto Creek near the presidio at La Bahia. The volunteers who had come to Texas from the United States were fighting under the uninspired and sometimes inept leadership of West Point dropout Col. James Fannin, a man who bragged his way into Texas leadership, possibly after fleeing bad debts in the Georgia. On the part of Fannin and his captives, there was reason to believe from the terms of surrender that they would be paroled out of Texas. About 200 more captive soldiers eventually joined Fannin's forces. On direct orders from Antonio López de Santa Anna, they were virtually all massacred on March 27, 1836. Only a handful of protected doctors treating Mexican wounded, and a few lucky escapees, managed to survive.
   
   Despite leadership on the Texas side found wanting, from the provisional government to Col. Fannin, it is clear from this study that the true stain of inhumanity belongs on the side of Mexico. The effect on Sam Houston and his forces, leading to the eventual defeat of the Mexican troops and the capture of Santa Anna is also examined. Stout addresses the rationales given for justifying such barbarism against fellow human beings, and finds them wanting. The author also minutely examines the doomed American leader, Fannin, whose errors in tactics and strategy, and lack of leadership, in short, his incompetence, caused him to be placed in the surrender or die position. Despite such incompetence, Fannin died bravely, and it is the author's conclusion that his memory deserves better.
   
   There are terrific vignettes about the survivors of the massacre, their harrowing escapes, and their later lives. In fact, one gets a good picture of the soldiers and what brought them to then godforsaken Texas to fight in the first place. The cruelty of Santa Anna, who had nine lives if anyone ever did, is clearly drawn in his monumental corruption, egotistical behavior, and ultimate miscalculation, even though he is not present for the direct action that dominates the book. The author shows how his later attempts to deny responsibility for the massacre fails in the cold light of history. As well, the legendary "angel" of Goliad, the camp follower who contributed to the saving of several soldiers' lives is an important lesson in how condemnation should never apply to all members of a nation for the villainous actions of some. This reviewer found the Epilogue section challenging his assumptions in its examination of the notion that revenge for the Goliad massacre was the catalyst for the ultimate defeat of Santa Anna's forces, of what might have happened had Fannin's forces survived, and why, through shame, Texas chose to virtually ignore the sacrifice of the men at Goliad for virtually a century (it wasn't until 1938 that a monument was built on the site).
   
   This book contains useful maps, photos of re-enactors at Goliad, extensive endnotes, a complete bibliography and a useful index. Those interested in an in-depth study and those interested in a good introduction to this book will find it valuable, and it should be the standard reference work on the subject for some time. Remember Goliad!



5. As every Texas school child who takes the obligatory Texas history course in junior high school knows, "Remember the Alamo; remember Goliad!" was the battle cry of the victorious Texas army at the decisive battle of San Jacinto in which Texas won its independence from Mexico. The massacres committed by the Mexican troops at the Alamo and Goliad became rallying points for the Texas rebels in their improbable victory over Santa Anna's army. Of course, everyone knows about the battle of the Alamo, at least the romanticized version. Goliad has always been more of an afterthought -- present, but less well known. For those who are not satisfied with regarding Goliad as a historical footnote and want to know more, Jay Stout has written what will almost certainly be regarded as the last word on the subject. The book is so dense with descriptions of events, biographical sketches, and historical details that there simply can't be much left to say. Not only does Lt. Col. Stout cover the battle itself, along with the run-up to it and its aftermath, but also he sets the stage with an indepth analysis of the historical forces at work in Texas, the rest of Mexico, and the United States to place the events at Goliad in context. Finally, with his keen miltary historian's analytical insight, Lt. Col. Stout focuses on the stunning incompetence of the military leadership on both sides. That is something that certainly gets short shrift in the conventional wisdom of the Texas revolution and is the book's major revelation.
   
   This book is probably not for the casual reader, however. It is clearly the product of prodigious research, which is reflected in the unusually high density of factual content. Absorbing all of this information requires a commitment on the part of the reader that may exceed the level of interest of some potential audiences. Fortunately, Stout's lively writing style, which comes through in at least parts of the text, prevents the manuscript from becoming dreary. (Interestingly, there seem to be different voices in various parts of the text. One suspects that the author's natural style was at times stifled by the intrusion of an overly zealous editor. Such can be the lot of wordsmiths.)
   
   In summary, the book is a remarkable achievement, and readers who invest the necessary energy will be amply rewarded.

5 comments about Mexican Muralists: Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros.

1. This is a very good overview on the subject and I dare you to find better color reproductions of these murals.



2. this is packed with full color images of the work of three of the greatest artists that ever lived. I am a huge fan and this book is a favorite to pick up and look at all the time. Hoping to imbue myself with the Siqueiros spirit of painting by absorbing myself in his work. This is an excellent place to start doing that.



3. This book came in handy for a report I had to do on Diego Rivera. It was all I needed!



4. This book provides the reader with an understanding of the social context in which Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros' murals were painted. There are excellent color photos throughout the book (and a few historical b/w photos as well). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in why and how the murals came to be painted. This book is more than art history, it is also a history of Mexico.



5. This book got here fairly quickly, and is an amazing resource with beautiful pictures. It is a must in the foundation of mural painting in Mexico, and a fabulous place to jump start research.

5 comments about Zapata and the Mexican Revolution.

1. Without doubt the finest english language account available about the agrarian reform hero Emiliano Zapata;
   Womack brillantly describes the social and economic conditions that caused the Mexican revolution. His depiction of the central character Zapata is eloquent and a worthy homage to the champion of Mexico's poor and indigenous.
   I was particularly impressed by the level of the author's research into the political and economic background of the period. A magnificent book that places you right in the middle of the turmoil that gripped central and southern Mexico.
   Recommended to all scholars of the Mexican revolution.



2. This is an excellent tool for any researcher or student of the Mexican Revolution and Emiliano Zapata. Mr. Womack's volume is by far the best English language book on Zapata that I have ever read. It is absorbing and accurate. A perfect blend of historical data and fine storytelling.



3. John Womack's historical account of the Mexican Revolution truly focuses on General Emiliano Zapata and his home state of Morelos. If you're looking for a broad account of the Mexican Revolution that really includes Pancho Villa's struggle and the interventions of the U.S. government, this is not the book you are looking for. But Womack does provide one of the most notable accounts of the Revolution, and nowhere else will you get this level of insight into Zapata's character and struggle.
   
   Zapata quickly rose from his position as chief of the peasants in a village seeking agrarian reform to the leader of a state-wide movement. His single-minded dedication to the cause of justice in land-rights made him a hero to the people. However, what Womack misses in his account of the decade-long revolution in Morelos is the hellishness of war. The oppressive governments of the time, from Diaz to Huerta, were not the only one's whose armies attacked civilians and burned their homes, displacing whole villages. There was an element of banditry even among the Zapatistas. And by glossing over the moral struggles and compromises of the war, Womack does his hero a disservice; the reader does not see the difficulty Zapata faces in making moral sacrifices for the greater cause of the Revolution.
   
   Womack's depiction of the Revolution is idealized, but despite the gloss put on certain parts, it is accurate. If you are looking for a book rich in historical fact, this is the book for you; just keep in mind that even the best historians may have a blind spot.



4. Womack's timeless dissertation on Zapata is still the authority on one of the most interesting men of the Mexican Revolution. Zapata never wanted power for himself and fought for the peasants of Morelos. His desire for land reform is exposed here as well as his strategy and life. It is an excellent biography and presents a small facet of the revolution. If you have not read anything on the revolution this is not the book to start with. It assumes that you have a working knowledge of the revolution and does an excellent job of conveying the information of Zapata's ideals.



5. It is easier to describe what this book is not than what it is. The book is not a biography of Emiliano Zapata. It is also not a general history of the Mexican Revolution. What the book is, is an exhaustive and detailed treatment of the Mexican Revolution in the State of Morelos, the events leading up to the Revolution, and the events following the assassination of Zapata and the end of the fighting. This is excellent history which is rich in detail. This reviewer's only criticism is that the book is so detailed that it is easy to get lost in the details.
   
   The story of Zapata and the small farmers of Southern Mexico is another chapter in the endless struggle of the weak against the strong, the poor and disenfranchised against the rich. If you are reading history simply for pleasure, there are probably books about the Mexican Revolution with more of a narrative structure than this. Also, all you will learn about from this is the struggle in Morelos and Southern Mexico. There is little or nothing about Poncho Villa and his Division of the North. Still, this book is the definitive treatment of the struggle in the South.

2 comments about The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution (Penguin Classics).

1. I really had a hard time with this book. Weather it was the translation, the style of the author, I am just not sure. The topic alone appeals to me, though. At times throughout the book I was enlightened and some parts were exceptional. The book reads almost like an old western in parts but I just could not pin down the story being conveyed. The "tempo" of the novel swayed so much and was hard to follow. I'm sure more knowledge of the Mexican revolution would have helped. But the story should be able stand on its' own.



2. The Underdogs (translated by Waisman) is a neat snapshot of the Mexican Revolution from 1913 to 1915. Azuela does a fine job - and Waisman by extension - of capturing several different characters and their motivations over these two years. In the beginning, their intentions pure, a small band of revolutionaries fights against their oppressors - Huerta and his supporters. The revolutionaries are welcomed across small towns, rancheros, and haciendas as saviors against the Federales. The small band fights, grows larger, is favorably recognized, and battles some more. But as time changes, so do intentions. It is precisely these human intentions that Azuela poignantly brings into question. It is a short novel well worth your while.

5 comments about Gods, Gachupines and Gringos: A People's History of Mexico.

1. Richard Grabman's new Gods, Gachupines and Gringos is one of the first "people's history" volumes that I have enjoyed. Most such efforts are too superficial, polemic, or simply tourist trash. Dr. Grabman has used fact, metaphor and culture to illuminate a great deal of the culture of Mexico, not just the history.
   
   Understanding the circumstances which brought Mexico to its present position helps me understand my experiences as an occasional visitor to our neighbor to the South. The interaction of politics with Mexico's northern neighbor is now much clearer, but so are the prejudices I knew growing up in south Texas. I was raised to think of Pancho Villa as a bandit. Grabman's book brought back my memory of, at 10 years of age, visiting an old gentleman, a Texas border town merchant, recount tales of Villa bringing his officers across the border to purchase clothing, have a haircut and bath.
   
   Professional historians and serious advanced students will not find this to be their book. But for the rest of us, Dr. Grabman has provided a well-researched, cited, documented elucidation of Mexican history. It is not just informative, but fun and entertaining.
   
   Of course, as a loyal Son of Texas, I do take objection to his deconstructing some of the myths with which I was raised--even though, historically and factually, he may be right. I sometimes prefer the myth.
   
   In all seriousness, the United States is now in controversy about its relationship with Mexico and with the immigration of poor Mexicans. It is well to understand our historical contribution to the poverty which drives that relationship. Dr. Grabman's book helps forward that understanding.
   
   This has been a marvelous and informative read. It would be required reading for anyone trying to make sense of the Mexico-US conundrum.



2. As a North American who has has enjoyed his visits to Mexico, I approached "Gods, Gachupines and Gringos" with a sense of anticipation. I love the color, vitality and sheer "differentness" of the nation to the south of the United States. But my Spanish is limited at best. And sometimes the sheer busyness of Mexico has caused me to experience a kind of sensory overload. This book has helped dispel some of that sense of disorientation. Grabman's book begins at the beginning of what is known about the place that became Mexico. But he's never dry and academic. His conversational style, wit and brief chapters make the book easily digestible. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the forces and individuals that have shaped modern-day Mexico.



3. This book is fantastic, the book "fly" over the Mexican history but keep always simple and entertaining , the prose is well written with simple words ( but not simplistic) it is a real pleasure to read it.



4. I was able to fully dedicate myself to GGG during my recent cross-country flight, it was great travel reading; I have enjoyed it very much. It weaved the legends and stories that I was taught in elementary school in Mexico, the books in my parent's library, and the more academic reviews I learned in my college history courses. It was not dry academic work, but something very lively that read like a novel at times. The gods theme also helped organize the flow of the story, and that was helpful keeping in mind how convoluted history gets in the wars of independence and revolution.
   
   I especially liked the highlighting of foreigners and their roles in history, as this is something that is greatly lacking in many "people's history" that can be found in Mexico; often, nationalism and patriotic legend obscures the view of a country's place in the world.



5. Flip, glib and unbalanced. Little or nothing about the maquiladoras, the drug cartels, and the border issues. Not as up-to-date as the publication date would suggest.

5 comments about Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution.

1. Zapata
   By Roger Parkinson
   Emiliono Zapata was born in 1879 in Morelos, Mexico. He lived his live as a revolutionary leader but started as a lowly peasant. He decided to lead a revolution because of the overwhelming hold of the haciendas on peasant life. Zapata disliked this at an early age and this would later grow into a long and bloody revolution. The haciendas were rich plantation owners and peasants were required to work there. If any one disagreed with the system then they would be shut up by murder or beatings. It was as close to slavery as anything could be besides slavery in its true form. This is an interesting and informing book about the leaders and history of the Mexican Revolution.
   Zapata's early child life started out being born into a respected, poor family, with a history of being belligerent and quick to fighting. As like normal peasants he worked on a hacienda. Zapata trained horses when he was not on the hacienda.
   This book tells about all of the major battles leading to Zapata's death. One of these is the storm on Mexico City which came from all sides so the city had almost no chance of winning. But surprisingly it still took a while for the city to fall.
   Zapata and his Zapistas, or his troops, used guerrilla fighting strategies to attack the massive federal army of Mexico. One of his trusted allies was Villa and his Villistas who helped win many important battles. Without this help the revolution would have been worse.
   This book says that you don't have to be rich or famous to change the world. You could be extremely poor and still be someone.



2. I did not know much about these two characters and the Mexican Revolution itself. However, this book really impressed me, I really like how the author wrote the book, his witty prose is impressive and the story is almost like a novel. I felt like I was reading a novel and yet these events happened in real life. The only thing I did not like was that some details seemed like an assumption, besides that, It is a wonderful book and I suggest you read it, you will learn a lot.



3. This is a well-written, superb look at the Mexican Revolution and its two most famous revolutionaries. The author does a great job of outlining the backgrounds, motivations and actions of not only Villa and Zapata but also the other major players of the revolution such as Diaz, Madero, Huerta, Orozco, Carranza and Obregon. The author's writing style is such that this book reads more as a story than a dry textbook. Not being well-versed on the Mexican Revolution I truthfully had a hard time putting this book down as I wanted to find out how things turned out. My only recommendation would be a better set of maps to make it easier to follow the action but overall I highly recommend this excellant piece of work to all.



4. This is a very well written book that covers the subject from a modern view point. This is not a book for a person that has not had a good grounding in 20th centry history. The terms used for discription tend to be based on the English use of the English language at times and not the American version of the english language. It was not a distraction for me but for some it might be. Some discriptions of the principal figures are compaired to persons of like actions in 20th century europiean history, it works well but might be noted in the reference section for those that do not pick up on the reference to the figure described. When spanish is used as a term it fits the passage and is well translated. The photos fit the language and the discription of the action in the book. It is a history book but it is also just a plain good read.



5. Great book! I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the history of Villa and Zapata.