Product Description
The Oxford History of Mexico is a narrative history of the events, institutions and characters that have shaped Mexican history from the reign of the Aztecs through the twenty-first century. When the hardcover edition released in 2000, it was praised for both its breadth and depth--all aspects of Mexican history, from religion to technology, ethnicity, ecology and mass media, are analyzed with insight and clarity. Available for the first time in paperback, the History covers every era in the nation's history in chronological format, offering a quick, affordable reference source for students, scholars and anyone who has ever been interested in Mexico's rich cultural heritage.

Scholars have contributed fascinating essays ranging from thematic ("Faith and Morals in Colonial Mexico," "Mass Media and Popular Culture in the Postrevolutionary Era") to centered around one pivotal moment or epoch in Mexican history ("Betterment for Whom? The Reform Period: 1855-1875"). Two such major events are the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) and the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), the subjects of several essays in the book. Publication of the reissued edition will coincide with anniversaries of these critical turning points.

Essays are updated to reflect new discoveries, advances in scholarship, and occurences of the past decade. A revised glossary and index ensure that readers will have immediate access to any information they seek.

William Beezley, co-editor of the original edition, has written a new preface that focuses on the past decade and covers such issues as immigration from Mexico to the United States and the democratization implied by the defeat of the official party in the 2000 and 2006 presidential elections. Beezley also explores the significance of the bicentennial of independence and centennial of the Revolution. With these updates and a completely modern, bold new design, the reissued edition refreshes the beloved Oxford History of Mexico for a new generation.Amazon.com Review
With a population of nearly 100 million people, Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Although contemporary American images of the country range from illegal border crossings to peasant uprisings, this important work uncovers a vital and volatile civilization with its roots in the indigenous Mayan, Olmec, and Aztec cultures, which collided with the conquering Spaniards who brought African slaves with them in the 16th century. "The course of Mexican history, as with that of any other nation, demonstrates amply that sincerity and guile can occupy the same page," the editors write. "There is much in the Mexican experience to command admiration and ennoble the human spirit, even if on a few occasions it might also cause an eyebrow to be raised."

In The Oxford History of Mexico, 21 scholars unravel Mexico's long history of Indian extermination, slavery, colonialism, and U.S. expansion with new information outlining environmental, gender, and pop culture studies, particularly comic books and telenova soap operas. They also detail the cultural growth and development of this nation. Of course, the great historical figures are also given close attention: Montezuma, the great Aztec leader; Hernán Cortés, the conquistador who brought down the Aztec empire; Malinche, Cortés' Indian mistress and interpreter; and Pancho Villa, who led the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Artistically, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and José Orozco are cited, as are writers such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes. This is a comprehensive guide to a rich and varied country. --Eugene Holley Jr. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not good
20 authors, 20 styles, too little editing, and not a single map. Not one. This volume is too long and arbitrarily detailed for a casual reader, and not scholarly enough for a nonspecialist academic in need of a fix for a class.

Mexican history
I have been living in Mexico for some time now.I have always been very interested in the pre-colonial history of Mexico.I bought this book to learn more in general about Mexican history, and I wanted a book that was in English and reliable.This book satisfies.It is not particularly gripping though, and I still haven't finished reading it.I keep it around more as a reference, though I occasionally pull it out and read a bit more.

Buy this ONLY if you DON'T need it.
This book was somewhat of a disappointment.I am an adult student of Spanish and have developed a keen interest in -- but am still a relative novice on -- the history of Mexico.I bought this book after havingread several short accounts of Mexican history -- for example, various travel guide history sections (including the relatively thoughtful Insight/Discovery Channel Guide). Additionally, I have studied Mexican history on severalacademic websites.I bought this book hoping to "pull it all together" and get a solid foundation.Instead, I got book that was admittedly interesting ... BUT was a disjointed collection of articles written by different authors in different styles that (1) assumed a much greater base knowledge that I had and (2) concentrated on just a fewsocial and political issues and eras and left huge chronological gaps.So ... I'd recommend that you buy this book ONLY if you don't need it ... that is, that you already are conversant in Mexican history.A better selection as a primer might be The Course of Mexican History by Meyer, Sherman and Deeds -- designed as a textbook, but pretty readable.

Exhaustive Treatment
The "Oxford History of Mexico" is a well researched multidisciplinary book of history.It is an edited book, meaning that many authors devote their energies to the analysis of a single aspect of the glorious and heartbreaking history of Mexico.Thus, while each topic is well covered, there is some lack of narrative flow.Editor Michael Meyer is the author of another excellent history "The Course of Mexican History" that has a great narrative pace combined with a high level of detail.However, his book has been criticized for slighting the colonial experience.So, I guess with a story as complicated, long and eventful as the history of Mexico, you must sacrifice some narrative flow to provide detail or sacrifice detail to narrative flow.

That quibble aside, this is truly an excellent book.The colonial experience is vividly detailed with sections on the resistance of the Indian to exploitation, the social stratification of the Indian class during the colonial period, and the role of women in society including marriage and childbirth.Further, Santa Anna, an enormously polarizing character comes in for justifiable criticism (Texas, his ideological flip flops and lack of constancy to any of his allies over the years) but also is praised for his bravery and consistent patriotism and opposition to all forms of foreign domination of Mexico.

Finally, the role of ideology in the revolution is explored.While there were socialist overtones to much of the rhetoric that came out of the revolution, pragmatism and Mexicanidad prevail.That is, a truly independent course, truly Mexican, emerges without the ideological straight-jackets worn by other revolutionaries.

A remarkable effort and a recommended read to anyone with a interest in Mexican culture, history and politics.

A remainder of México's historical path
A must-read book to understand México's post-modern conscious.Meyer and Beezley are right when they wrote that a mix of Catholic dogma, medical advances and poverty had been the pillars of México's current population (about 100 million). The analysis on the indigenous matter is brilliant. It's a reminder on how México hasn't solved the indigenous problem even after almost 200 years as an independent country. The authors dissect the socioeconomic web that gave birth to the concept of the modern Mexicano. ... Read more

Product Description

The first complete history of Mexico for general readers in many years, and maybe the very first intentionally non-academic history of Mexico, Gods, Gachupines and Gringos is a solidly researched introduction to a surprisingly multi-cultural, multi-faceted nation.

Gods, Gachupines and Gringos puts flesh and bones on the dusty figures of the past while shedding light on the common humanity of the uncommon humans who created this unique country and its unique culture.

Always conscious of the outsiders, the gods, gachupines and gringos of the title, Grabman accepts Mexico as it is, not as we might like it to be nor how it possibly should be, often with surprising wit and humor.

Destined to be a classic in its field, Gods, Gachupines and Gringos has already been praised by scholars and general readers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

spanish history
It is definitely not your normal history book.My goal was to learn about the spanish culture and that I did.It made me want to learn more especially about the Mexicans because that is primarily the people I see and interact with on a daily basis.The history seems to come from the people and not what the government would have you to believe.It even made me look at my own nation differently.My husband is now in the process of reading it because of the bits and pieces he picked up from me.It is the only book that I have ever read every footnote in it.Worth the read.

A Great Book
This is a great book for anyone who wants to know a little more about the history of Mexico.

Good overview of Mexican history but misleading title
I have to begin by saying that I was raised in Mexico and was taught official Mexican history from elementary school through high school.As such, I have always had an interest in an "outsider's" (although the author is a Mexicanphile) point of view.

Having said that, I have to say that the title is a bit misleading.When I read "A people's history of Mexico," I was expecting a Howard Zinn-like history book.In other words, I didn't want to read about the official history, once more.That's what you get when you read this book.It's really not the "peoples'" history that you are reading, it's more like the history of the Mexican people, sanctioned by the official historians.

Now, I understand that it might be hard to find alternative sources of Mexican history.Believe me, I have been trying, and the only thing I've found is a book by a Mexican columnist (Armando "Caton" Fuentes Aguirre) - which I do not care for - but had no option.I started reading the book ("Juarez y Maximiliano"), even after the author confessed that his only source was audio-cassette tapes of lectures that he head in the '60s that he obtained some way.In other words, nothing is verifiable and nothing is really a serious study of Mexican history.

As such, I can understand that Mr. Grabman's only sources are official sources.Having said that, this book is a GREAT overview of Mexican history.I was really impressed with some of his knowledge (like the meaning of the number 41 in Mexican culture).However, I was disappointed with some of the things he left out (like the theory - could well be a conspiratorial theory - that sinking of Mexican ships were perpetrated by a certain country - other than the one that was waiving the flag - in order to draw Mexico into WWII).I think they merited at least a footnote.

In any event, fantastic overview of Mexican history.If you are looking for a narco-war book or other current issues, look elsewhere.The author is a historian, not an investigative journalist.For what it is, this book is great.I took one star off because of the misleading title.

Gods, Gachupines and Gringos
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.

Great Introduction to Mexican History
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. ... Read more

Product Description
There have been many Mexicos. Fehrenbach brilliantly delineates the contrasts and conflicts between them, unraveling the history while weaving a fascinating tapestry of beauty and brutality. Throughout the narrative the author resurrects the great personalities of Mexican history. This edition has been updated to include recent events. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Excellent history
Product arrived quickly in excellent condition. This is one of the best histories of Mexico I have ever read, well researched, well thought out analysis. If you have any interest in Mexico and its very complex history this is the book for you.

disturbing and not academic
So I have not bought the book but was browsing the pages available on Amazon, in the very first paragraph he comments that "...we do not know when or where the human race originated".....ummm, we have a pretty good idea, and with genetic research of populations, human migrations are being documented even more accurately.This makes me distrust the writer and not want to keep reading...

ALSO in the first paragraph, he refers to the ice age that we are "still coming out of"?? Is this referring to global warming?How ridiculous that some dusty old historian is treating this book as his means of venting about so-called liberal ideas such as climate change...

I was convinced that this book had to be extremely dated, but the last edition was printed in 1995! There is no excuse!

Thank you,President James K. Polk!
As a Californian, after reading this book I have a heartfelt appreciation of and gratitude to that most obnoxious of American presidents, James Polk.He was the guy who provoked the Mexican War that brought California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas (sorta) into the United States of America.

Without that war, history could have trapped the southwestern part of the country within the Mexican polity and we would have shared the truly woeful history of Mexico.

One can gripe about American shortcomings but the cultural, moral, and political workings of Mexico clearly show the superiority of American values.This book tells the tale through historical events and processes.Call me "ethnocentric" but the results speak for themselves.

I will confess that I had a hard time following some of the political machinations during the revolts, rebellions, and general disorders of the 19th and early 20th centuries.Doesn't matter - I get the picture of one screwed up country.Still, a good read and very engrossing most of the time.

I came to this book after reading the author's book on the history of Texas "Lone Star".I preferred "Lone Star" and not just because of the happier ending.

Excellent Insight into the Mexican Culture
Having traveled and lived in Mexico most of my life, I was constantly exposed to certain aspects of every day life that just didn't seem to fit with my Anglo raising. Even though I spent forty five years immersed in the Mexican Culture there were certain things I just didn't understand.T.R. Fehrenbach's Fire and Blood answered most of my life long questions.

The book is a meticulously researched, chronological history of the country known as Mexico.The book gives a detailed account of why citizens of Mexico today think and act the way they do; their philosophy of life, their relationship with the Catholic Church and their attitude toward a centralized government. If you could choose one or two sentences from the book that explain one of the basic differences between the Hispanic Culture and that of the remainder of North America it is Fehrenbach's assertion that while the rest of North America was colonized by settlers and explorers, the men arriving in Mexico from Spain were "Conquistadors", conquerors. That difference is what makes Mexico the wonderful country it is today.

This book should be mandatory reading for anyone considering a business venture, or currently involved in business or trade with in Mexico.The insight you will receive can not be learned in a life time of living and working in the country. The same can be said for anyone interested in living or traveling in the country. It will help relieve some of the Anglo's misunderstanding and frustrations as to why the citizens of Mexico don't "do it" like we do.

where are the footnotes?
I am taking a Mexican History class (in Spanish and in Mexico) and have been using Fehrenbach's book to check on details of events and names of major political actors--many he does not even mention. That may be justified given that FIRE AND BLOOD is an overview rather than an in-depth analysis. Still, I noticed some glaring errors in addition to what seem like unfounded ethnocentric opinions. For example, the author claims that the Maya were living in the jungle as "savages" in the seventeenth century. He notes that "their written history carved on stone, is not readable" but does not mention the burning of the codices by Diego de Landa until 200 pages farther on in the book. Moreover, the author contends that the "Maya civilization destroyed itself without outside help," referring to squabbling between the cities that were left after the civilization had "degenerated." Mexico in the years following Independence is depicted as a society in which virtually no one had any idea of what it meant to be Mexican or how to build a nation or what the purpose of an election was. Finally, the comparisons between the United States (egalitarian, with democratic values even during colonial times) and Mexico (essentially the opposite) is a misleading oversimplification. And George Washington was not selected by Congress but by the Electoral College in the first presidential election. A book without a single footnote and only the briefest list of references, many of which are from the early twentieth century, cannot, in my view, be characterized as scholarly. ... Read more

Product Description
The Mexico Reader is a vivid introduction to muchos Méxicos—the many Mexicos, or the many varied histories and cultures that comprise contemporary Mexico. Unparalleled in scope and written for the traveler, student, and expert alike, the collection offers a comprehensive guide to the history and culture of Mexico—including its difficult, uneven modernization; the ways the country has been profoundly shaped not only by Mexicans but also by those outside its borders; and the extraordinary economic, political, and ideological power of the Roman Catholic Church. The book looks at what underlies the chronic instability, violence, and economic turmoil that have characterized periods of Mexico’s history while it also celebrates the country’s rich cultural heritage.

A diverse collection of more than eighty selections, The Mexico Reader brings together poetry, folklore, fiction, polemics, photoessays, songs, political cartoons, memoirs, satire, and scholarly writing. Many pieces are by Mexicans, and a substantial number appear for the first time in English. Works by Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes are included along with pieces about such well-known figures as the larger-than-life revolutionary leaders Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata; there is also a comminiqué from a more recent rebel, Subcomandante Marcos. At the same time, the book highlights the perspectives of many others—indigenous peoples, women, politicians, patriots, artists, soldiers, rebels, priests, workers, peasants, foreign diplomats, and travelers.

The Mexico Reader explores what it means to be Mexican, tracing the history of Mexico from pre-Columbian times through the country’s epic revolution (1910–17) to the present day. The materials relating to the latter half of the twentieth century focus on the contradictions and costs of postrevolutionary modernization, the rise of civil society, and the dynamic cross-cultural zone marked by the two thousand-mile Mexico-U.S. border. The editors have divided the book into several sections organized roughly in chronological order and have provided brief historical contexts for each section. They have also furnished a lengthy list of resources about Mexico, including websites and suggestions for further reading.

Lively and insightful, The Mexico Reader will appeal to all interested in learning about Mexico—aficionados, travelers and scholars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fajitas for the mind
Mexico's history in bite size chunks, and with plent of meat. Cannot recommend this book too higly. Nearly 800 pages containing close to 100 essays and excerpts, all carefully chosen and very readable, cover Mexico's history from the bad old heart-ripping-out days through the machinations of modern politics. While this kind of book can so often be dry and mind-numbing, this collection is fresh and fascinating, partly because of the varying viewpoints and writing style of the many authors.

I have to give it a 5 star rating too
The Mexico Reader is a compilation of essays, where you hear/read the authors voices, not the 21st century's historians point of view.What I enjoyed most about this book was the historian's selection of essays dealing with the same time period.Quite often they would chose very compelling essays showing opposite ends of the political discussion.That I found refreshing!

The Mexico Reader
If I had known this book before I could have helped my students a lot better than I did. Why do I like this book so much? Because it is a very
wise selection of a very wide variety of texts about Mexican history and culture. It is a great anthology that will give its readers a very good picture of Mexican Culture. The authors chosen are excellent. If you are a student or a teacher of Mexican Culture, this is a book you should read. Moreover, for those of you that only want to reach the Medieval ideal: Mixing learning and enjoyment, this is also a book for you.
Dr. Rafael Furlong De la G. (PhD Litt.)

Outstanding collection
Different and refreshing approach to Mexican history. Insightful and informative selections from both well known and more obscure original sources. Sections are brief and on point. Excellent bedside book. Outstanding as a stand alone work and valuable as a reference to more complete treatment of subjects you find particularly interesting. Balanced and objective. Best work on Mexico I've read in quite some time.

Excellent documentary collection....
Anyone looking for documents for use in a history class, would be well advised to use this text. ... Read more

Product Description
From the rise of the first civilizations of North America, continuing through the cataclysm of the Spanish conquest and the explosive revolution of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa to the intensely contested presidential election of 2006, Mexico has had a vibrant and dynamic history. "A Brief History of Mexico, Fourth Edition" brings readers up to date on developments in Mexico, helping them understand the deeper significance of recent events. Since Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 amidst violent protests, his reforms have been aimed at drug cartels, poverty, restructuring the role of government in private businesses, and attempts to foster trade agreements with other nations. Despite the many obstacles it faces today, Mexico has become a democratic nation with checks and balances, free elections, and the ability to build a better future.Coverage of this title includes: Mexico's pre-Columbian civilizations as well as contemporary indigenous cultures; the challenge of revitalizing Mexico's people and resources in this new period of multiparty democracy; the environment; North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); the testing of the new democratic institutions by the close results of the 2006 presidential election and months of protest claiming electoral fraud; accusations of human rights abuses by Amnesty International and the United Nations at the end of Vicente Fox's presidency; and, the war on the drug cartels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great overview
I was looking for a quick overview of Mexican history in my university's library and found this book.It was exactly what I was looking for.The book is concise, well-written, and interesting.It especially cleared up my misunderstanding about the progression from Independence to Reform to Revolution.I just wish it had more information on contemporary Mexico.The book was copywrited in 1997 so it's almost 10 years old.I would have liked more information on the scandals with Salinas and on the Zapatista rebellion.

Decades of research yield polished,easy to read overview
Long-time Mex-o-phile Lynn Foster lives in Oaxaca for a good portion of the year, and has written several books about Mexico, ranging from the "Fielding Guide to Mexico" to a "Handbook on Life in the Ancient Maya World". An academic by trade, and an explorer by interest, Foster brings a lifetime of meticulous research as well as a sense of "life on the ground" to this revised edition.

The result is a well-researched popularized view of what could easily be tens of volumes of dry material, distilled into one volume of highly accessible text.This book is fun to read.

(I should mention that I am a friend of hers: but being a Mex-o-phile living in - and writing about - Oaxaca, I would have read this book - and learned from it - even if I didn't know her.)

Interesting and objective look at Mexican culture & politics
Traces Mexico through centuries of splendor and oppression.Great facts and figures, most of my Mexican friends didn't comprehend the full extent of de-population after the Spaniards arrived. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

History of Mexico
Returned to seller- the book was dirty, high-lighted lines, notes in margins.This is a book in such poor condition that it should be tossed.I was given a refund.

A Useful History of Mexico for the General Reading Public
Robert Ryal Miller's "Mexico: A History" is a reliable, readable survey history of Mexico from its pre-historic origins to the late 20th century.I have used the book as a text for a course on Mexican history for senior citizens.Almost unanimously the course particpants have rated the book very highly.

Miller has done the general reading public a favor by offering a reliable survey history of Mexico of about 375 pages.Its convenient length enables the general reader to gain a better understanding of our southern neighbor about whom many of us know little though with whom we share a 2,000-mile border.There are excellent, much longer books or multi-volume books on Mexican history, but their length makes them too daunting and sometimes too scholarly for the first-time reader of Mexican history to pick up.If after reading a sound history book of Miller's size, the general reader is moved to delve further into Mexican history, he or she can turn to longer books, with a basis established to assimilate more readily the greater detail of a longer history.In my research, I have found only one other recently published survey history of Mexico of the same convenient length which is also historically reliable; while that book is readable as well, I felt it was a little more technical than Miller's and perhaps assumed the uninformed reader would be able to grasp some of the historical concepts more quickly than the experience in my course has indicated.

Miller's book could have been made even more readable and useful if each chapter had begun with a brief introduction of the content to follow in the particular chapter and concluded with a brief summary at the chapter's end.Within each chapter the book would have benefited from the insertion of topical headings when the text moved from one major event or theme to another.These simple editing techniques would have made it easier for the reader to absorb and organize in his or her mind the extensive factual information in each chapter.

In short, for the general reader who wants to gain a readable and reliable overview of the panorama of Mexican history, Miller has done the reader a great favor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Honor By Deeds:A Confederate View
General Jo Shelby's Final Review is re-enacted yearly in Chatfield, a small town near Corsicana, about 45 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, in April.Shelby was the commander of the Missouri Cavalry Division in what was known as the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. His men distinguished themselves, often outnumbered, in battle after battle with the invading Yankees.

What is not well-known is that General Shelby did not surrender his forces to swear allegiance to the United States.Rather, he asked, "who will go with me to Mexico?" and led his men south of the Rio Grande, to uncertain futures in a post-Confederate world. These non-political soldiers were weary of the years of deprivation in the Lost Cause.This book chronicles some of their adventures, first told to the author as part of oral familial history of the Iron Brigade.The author met several people in Mexico City in the 1940s who claimed to have witnessed the Last Review.

Those who fought under "Old Jo" intended to maintain their sacred honor and "hatred of oppression" brought about by the invasion of the Southern states by what they felt was a mercenary army--and strangulation through blockade by an distained navy that deprived their countrymen, women, and children of basic necessities of life.

This is very interesting reading to any student of the American Civil War.General Shelby and his men finally found themselves caught in a political situation--the desire of Mexico to maintain peace with the United States after a victory over the French--commemorated yearly in the festivals of Cinco de Mayo (recalling May 5, 1862) across the southwestern U.S.

Their services refused, Shelby's last review was held in Mexico City, the Rebel Yell last heard amongst the ghosts of the Conquistadores, the Cavalry Guidon lowered, the battle flag having been buried somewhere on the border.

These last Confederates dispersed, many going to colonies of expatriates in foreign lands, from Brazil to China.Many could not reconcile to live under the domination of what they considered a foreign occupation, politely called Reconstruction.

A classic belonging in the library of any Civil War enthusiast. ... Read more

Product Description
For all who love New Mexico, and for those who aspire to know the state, this book is a graceful and compelling summary of what has made the Land of Enchantment its distinctive self. Originally published in 1977 to commemorate the bicentennial of American Independence, New Mexico is now available for the first time in a quality paperback edition with a new introduction by the author.

In writing this book, Marc Simmons sets out to arrive at an understanding of the state’s character. His is an interpretive, sensitive, individual—even personal—account. He shows that across the centuries the collision and mingling of cultures dominates New Mexico’s history. Out of this complex interplay of human and natural forces he selects his examples of Pueblo life ways, Spanish domination, and Anglo control to make immediate and memorable the state’s rich history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A very readable overview of New Mexico's fascinating history
Marc Simmons wrote his book as a bicentennial project, one of 51 books for each state and the District of Columbia, and each designed to produce "a thoughtful, interpretive and personal account that would appeal to general readers. ... each volume, soundly written, should serve students and scholars who were in need of a good overview."

There is no doubt in my mind that Simmons succeeded in this goal; the book has been in print for over 40 years from two different publishers, and I've found it immensely interesting and filled with excellent suggestions for further study. Simmons recognizes that fact, and in his Preface to the new edition, adds a number of suggestions for additional reading.

He also criticizes his book: "[I] would give more weight to the significance of violence in public life that stretches like a strong thread through all of New Mexican history.... More than one historian has observed that New Mexico was the only place in America where assassination became an integral part of the political system during its territorial days."

Two weeks ago I asked the owner of Collected Works, a great bookstore in Santa Fe for the "essential" books needed to understand Santa Fe. Her list: New Mexico: An Interpretive History by Marc Simmons; Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya; The Wind Leaves No Shadow by Ruth Laughlin; The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church; and Santa Fe, History of an Ancient City: Revised and Expanded Edition edited by David Grant Noble.

Simmons's own conclusion to his Preface captures the essence of his success for this reader; "The effort to summarize [New Mexico's long] story in this slim book and impart something of the spirit of the people who made history here in the Southwest has been for me an adventure filled with pleasure and discovery."

Robert C. Ross2008

Good Overview....
I agree with the reviewer who said it was a good overview book...If you want more detail then there are other Simmons books that are out there..The "Albuquerque" book has a lot more info for example..If you want a quick read about the history of NM..Then this book will work well

Fernando??
If this author can write that it was not Hernan' or Hernando but Fernando Cortez who was the conqueror of the Aztecs (and not a utility infielder with the Kansas City Royals), if he and the publisher have let this error ride unmolested through multiple editions for 30 years of this book being in print, then I would say that, until now, there has never been another anal compulsive reviewer who has taken Mr. Simmons to task for this ridiculous and amateurish mistake or that it has been thought to be an insignificant flaw and, as such, undeserving of new typesetting. Even though it's only switching an "F" for an "H" in the text and the index, this is like writing that Herbert Custer fought and died at the Little Bighorn; it's like Ronald Reagan talking about Nicolai Lenin. In all cases the point gets made but is that enough?
I am necessarily left to conclude that if this kind of error in discussing one of the most famous or infamous characters in the history of this hemisphere is in evidence, against what other factual errors must we be on guard? As readers, we shouldn't have to deal with that kind of baggage and legitimately may and ought to demand that authors proof read their manuscripts and have them read by historian colleagues for comment and accuracy.
Now that that is out of my system, I am enjoying the book nonetheless and can recommend it. It has been succinct and readable - just what I was looking for in a brief history of New Mexico. Mr. Simmons loses a star for the error but still gets three - so far. And may I recommend that this mistake be rectified in future editions? Someone? Marc Simmons? Are you still out there?

good but abridged version
This book is good reading, well written but is abridged to fit a 300 page format soon much is skimmed over. A good book to start with to gain some knowledge of New Mexico history, but i would rather have bought a more in depth book bythis author, Marc Simmons

Perhaps the best short overview available
This is a great little book, and possibly the best overview available of the long and fascinating history of this region.There are Pueblo villages encountered by Coronado in the 16th century that are still inhabited today,and Simmons skillfully portrays the interactions over the centuries ofthese and the other cultures that have mingled in this harsh region.Thosereaders who are inspired to study this subject in more detail (and thatwill probably include most who read Simmons' book!) may then want to delveinto a longer classic such as Paul Horgan's "Great River." ... Read more

Product Description
Many conditions, cultures, and events have played a part in the history of New Mexico. The author, a recognized authority, guides the reader from the earliest land formations into the present time and has illustrated the narrative with photographs, maps, and artwork depicting various changes that took place during the many stages of New Mexico's development. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A disappointment
I was surprised to find that this book is a reimaged copy of the original 1980s text with a new cover.
Added to the disappointment was when I opened it for the first time and the binding split immediately.

There is still a big need for a quality, useable textbook on New Mexico history. ... Read more

Product Description
This extensive volume presents New Mexico history from its prehistoric beginnings to the present in essays and articles by fifty prominent historians and scholars representing various disciplines including history, anthropology, Native American and Chicano studies. Contributors include Rick Hendricks, John L Kessell, Peter Iverson, Rina Swentzell, Sylvia Rodriguez, William deBuys, Robert J Torrez, Malcolm Ebright, Herman Agoyo, and Paula Gunn Allen, among many others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Book Good Service
A very enjoyable collection of brief "history" items.As always shipped promptly and actually arrived a day ahead of schedule.THX, Larry Potter

A fine read for anyone who wants to understand how New Mexico became what it is today
The history of New Mexico is long indeed. "Telling New Mexico: A New History" attempts to reveal New Mexico's long and complex story from its earliest days, when Native Americans first set foot on the soil of the future state, to a more modern look at its history in today's world. The braintrust of forty-five scholars and historians, "Telling New Mexico" brims with exquisite detail concerning the state's major events, legendary figures, and more. "Telling New Mexico" is a fine read for anyone who wants to understand how New Mexico became what it is today.
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Product Description
The Place Names of New Mexico is an invaluable guide to the state's geography and history. It explains more than 7,000 names of features large and small throughout the state, towns, mountains, rivers, canyons, counties, post offices, and even abandoned settlements, as well as providing relevant information about location, history, and current status. The revised edition contains more than fifty expanded and updated entries.

The accounts are also journeys into New Mexico's past, offering glimpses of the lives and values of the people who named the place. Humor, tragedy, mystery, and daily life they can all be found in this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Fun book!
For a New Mexico lover trapped in Illinois this book is a wonderful little treasure. To be truthful, anything that can take me to New Mexico in my mind is a blessing and this book does that. My one wish is that there would have been more examples on how to pronounce many of the named places. Every trip out there my daughter who resides in Albuquerque has some good laughs as she corrects my pronunciation of Cabezon, Bernalillo, Manzano..........

We have a WINNER!
This is an excellant "place names" by state book.I have many such books from various states.One I bought the same day is one from California which showed me how bad some of these books can be (the CA book, not the NM book).This NM book, tells the background and how each place name came into being with passion and interest and a good amount of research on each location...I will use it often and refer to it often!Highly recommended.

A must for travel in New Mexico
This book is 'only' a dictionary of place names in New Mexico. They are listed alphabetically, and I haven't found a place yet that isn't in the book. There is often a blurb about the local history in addition to the origin of the name. Short as the entries are, I find them fascinating. They even point out that Thoreau can be pronounced "Through."

Some people keep certain books in their bathrooms, this book rides around in the back seat of my car. I first saw it in the back seat of a friend's car, and knew immediately I needed a copy for my car. If you drive much in New Mexico, I suggest you get a copy for your back seat, too.

Absolutely, Yes, the "Best Book on New Mexico"
For about for years now, since I first bought this book, this book has traveled with me everywhere I go in New Mexico.It's explained to me the names of towns I've lived in, towns I've passed through, and towns I've heard of for my entire life without ever knowing their meanings.It's introduced me to ghost towns and little towns I would never have known about otherwise.It's made me look at my own town with new eyes.Now I see an old water pump in front of a house, and I think, "That could have been placed here by Carl Webb's neighbors, back when he first built his sanitarium here."Before, I would have seen nothing.
The book does not, and could not really without being an encyclopedia, have everything you could ever want to know in it, but it has enough to make you sound just a little smarter when you're driving past exits and offramps on the interstate.
"The town once had six newspapers; it's just a gas station now...that town's residents hate how the town's name is spelled...that place once took the name of the town next to it...an Indian skirmish happened there...."And so on and so forth.
If you live in New Mexico, you should own this book.It will make you appreciate where you are much, much more--I can almost promise it.

Seriously flawed in its treatment of Native names
In reading through this rather well researched volume, I noted that the author will often note, at the end of an entry, that the place whose English or Spanish name has just been discussed, also has a name in Navajo (occasionally another language), a name whose meaning is given -- but we are not told the actual word!For example, the author tells us that the name for Albuquerque, in Navajo, means "two bells in place"; but he does not tell us that actual name, Bee'aldííl Dah Sinil.

In the preface, the author offers an explanation for this oddity:

"Regarding Indian place names, with but few exceptions I've presented their meanings but not their sounds; even the best transliterations do no more than approximate the actual sounds of the Indian words, and transliterations encourage the gross corruptions from which Indian names have suffered over the years.Persons who want to hear the sound of the Indian names should consult a native speaker."

This is really just stupid.One could similarly argue for the exclusion of all French words from etymologies in English dictionaries -- after all, French "transliterations" do no more than approximate the actual sounds of the French words.And anyway, if you write it down, someone will just mispronounce it.So, better to just ask a French person?

And this is particlarly silly considering this is from University of New Mexico Press, the same press that publishes the Young & Morgan lexicons of Navajo -- which, incidentally, have thorough coverages of placenames, which is of interest to anyone who, unlike this author, considers Native names the subject of scholarship.

Hopefully reason will prevail, and in some future edition, the Native names will actually be listed instead of merely hinted at. ... Read more

Product Description
These essays celebrate Mexico City as a centre of cultural creativity, diversity and dynamism, trace its history from the founding of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan to the present day, and explore how the varied experiences of its inhabitants have been represented in poetry, film, and photography.

Looking at the pre-Columbian city, colonial city and modern city, contributors show how Mexico City has grown organically, largely developed by waves of immigrants with new ideas and aspirations. While they have often envisioned the city in new ways, they have been unable to escape totally its historical past, and indeed at times have positively embraced it to serve contemporary political ends. As the city has grown, what it symbolizes to its inhabitants and how they experience the city has become fragmented by social class and ethnicity. There is not one Mexico City, but many.

Drawing from the fields of archaeology, history, political sociology, literature, cinema and photography, this volume provides a unique insight into the history and culture of Mexico City. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

True history of the exploitation of the borderlands
I really enjoyed this book for the amazing detail provided on events I had read about before but no one else had ever explained in such detail as this book explains.Just an excellent read on the often torturous relationships between nations when it comes to dealing with the borderlands.
The author never takes sides but gives explainations for motives of someof the naked grabs for land and minerals from wealthy persons from diverse nations.All of them came to exploit and turn a buck in and on one of the poorest areas of Mexico.He weaves a really good tale told using history that is readable and most of all enjoyable. It's a very relevant book as the area covered is still in turmoil due to drug and human smuggling into the U.S.

A portrait of the failed dominion of empire.
Samuel Truett's Fugitive Landscapes traces the history of the borderland between Arizona, United States and Sonora, Mexico. Truett divides his analysis into four parts. Part one paints a broad picture spanning from colonial attempts at domestication until the coming of the railroad in the nineteenth century. Part two narrows the focus, switching from a broad, regional scope to a narrower view focusing on the interactions between the state and local inhabitants during the turn of the century. Part three focuses even more narrowly on the narrative of a few men and their attempts and failures at empire building during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Truett states that Fugitive Landscapes "is a forgotten story of failed dreams, of the messy and often unintended consequences of crossing national borders to control nature and people...it is the story of people and places that endured, and why."
Part one offers the narrative of Spanish conquest and a push to secure a continental empire. Truett offers a dualist approach to the narrative. Truett tracks the movements of empire. Spanish missionaries and military governors carved out official spaces on the map of the Sonora/Arizona borderland. Simultaneously, however, unofficial spaces existed: spaces where locals existed despite imperial efforts to bring `civilization' to the `empty' spaces on the map.
Truett begins by looking at the journal of John Russell Bartlett, an ethnographer from New York City who in 1853 set out to survey the new U.S.--Mexican border. What Bartlett found was an empty space--regardless of the fact that many peoples (Yaqui, Opata, Mexican) existed within that space. Bartlett's `empty space' was punctuated by the crumbling remains of prior imperial intrusion. Desecrated catholic missions and crumbling corrals dotted the landscape.
The imperial narrative opens a cyclical history of the region. The Spanish Jesuits and military governors claimed the land in the sixteenth century effectively stealing it from native inhabitants (Apache, Yaqui, and Opata). Imperial and clerical control failed to retain its grasp and--as evidenced by Bartlett's surveyed ruins hundreds of years later--were eventually displaced and reclaimed by locals and nature.
Part two shifts from considering the failure of colonial ventures to the rise of capital interests. Truett traces the shift from expansionism to mercantilism as "Americans were beginning to `value dollars more, and dominion less.'" A new empire desired to tame the wild borderlands for its own ends. Rather than seeking political control, capitalists wanted to enrich themselves from the rich ore veins which riddle the Sonora/Arizona borderlands.
The silver and gold mining moguls worked closely with state officials in Sonora to secure rights to establish transnational links. Telegraph lines, roads, and shipping links to ports were key to ensuring a profit from the mining ventures. Establishing mining empires proved to be as troublesome for companies such as Phelps Dodge as establishing political empire had proven for the Spanish. The borderlands were a `fugitive landscape' which "was distinguished not only by isolation and mobility, but also by lawlessness...not all border crossers sought respectable fortunes. In the early 1880s, a shifting group of outlaws and cattle thieves known as the cow-boys haunted the countryside around Tombstone."
The composition of a `fugitive landscape' is the primary focus of Truett's argument throughout his work. Landscapes are `fugitive' when they are isolated, mobile, lawless, `uncivilized,' and difficult to fix spatially. Both colonial ventures and mining barons faced the same problems of attempting to impose `civilization' and spatial fixity in an area dominated by patterns of mobility and resistance to fixity. New technological innovations--including the railroad, telephone lines, and improved mining/smelting processes--should have increased the capacity for the mining companies to solidify their regional control. However, resistance by labor and indigenous resentment served to undermine these attempts. As part two closes, so do the mines.
Part three further narrows its focus to concentrate on individuals rather than corporations. Emilio Kosterlitzky and William Cornell Greene both sought to bring a renewed order to the region. Greene re-established the dream of successful mining ventures while Kosterlitzky served as a liaison between Mexico (his adopted homeland) and the mining elites. Personal relationships underpinned the imperial venture, yet ultimately Greene's new mining empire fell just as both the Spanish colonial empire and the Phelps Dodge silver empire had fallen.
Truett's overarching claim is that `fugitive landscapes' are resistant to empire. The inherent mobility, independence, and local-centric culture is identified as linked with nature. Empires come and go while the local people, their backwoods trails and migration patterns remain. While relating an interesting--albeit oftentimes fairly lackluster--narrative Truett argues that the cyclical failure of imperial ventures should serve as a caution to the current transnational/global corporations seeking to impose stronger commercial foundations which cross the borderlands. Historically, such ventures have failed again and again.
Truett's analysis contains several troubling elements. Primarily, the overarching narrative, while offering both Mexican and U.S. perspectives, largely recreates Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier mythos in terms of Othering indigenous people. The Yaqui are divided into `peaceful' (those who work for the mines) and `wild' (those who resist both Mexican and U.S. incursion into their historic homeland). Apaches are bandits who threaten both Mexican and U.S. settlers. In fact, Truett points out that one of the binding relations between Mexicans and U.S. mine managers is their shared heritage as `Indian killers.' Both sides of `civilization'--Mexico and the United States--construct their identity through the oppression and displacement of indigenous people.
Overall, Truett's analysis is interesting and thoroughly researched. Truett's ultimate argument would perhaps have a stronger impact had less effort been devoted to meticulously telling a story and more effort been devoted to deeper analysis. Ultimately, however, Fugitive Landscapes offers an interesting insight into the impact of subaltern voices on imperial failures in the borderlands.
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Customer Reviews (2)

tedious
This book contains newspaper articles of those times.Even tho' we get a glimpse of Gallup, this is not a sit down and read book.I find myself looking at it once in awhile.There is no narrative here boys and girls.If you are from the areaof Gallup (I am) and its environs it can be a curiosity piece for the coffee table.

The History and People of Gallup, NM
I was born in Gallup NM, and am related to many of the people in this book, including the Carolyn Volpe. I found many interesting facts about my family and friends of my family that I have heard about for years.Most of those people are gone now, so I found this book very good in providing information for events that I have no one to ask about.I truley enjoyed this book and think Carolyn did a excellent job. ... Read more

Product Description
Beginning with the pre-Hispanic period and ending with the latest democratic developments of the twenty-first century, this definitive one-volume history of Mexico analyzes the ways that economic, social, and political dynamics have interacted to shape the nation's past. Alicia Hernández Chávez takes into account new historiography--which is fully integrated with anthropology, political science, economics, and international relations--to present an original and fresh interpretation of the structures and processes that determined the country's evolution. Based on the latest sources in both Spanish and other languages, this book illustrates that Mexico's history--far from being one of violent change, uprisings, and revolution--tended more toward stability and political collaboration. Hernández Chávez argues that Mexicans relied on tradition and institutions to effect change, resorting to disorder and destruction as little as possible. Numerous maps, tables, and charts support the text, providing extensive information on geography, social structures, the economy, politics, education, health, and transportation. ... Read more

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The concentration of power in the caudillo (leader) is as much a formative element of Mexican culture and politics as the historical legacy of the Aztec emperors, Cortez, the Spanish Crown, the Mother Church and the mixing of the Spanish and Indian population into a mestizo culture. Krauze shows how history becomes biography during the century of caudillos from the insurgent priests in 1810 to Porfirio and the Revolution in 1910. The Revolutionary era, ending in 1940, was dominated by the lives of seven presidents -- Madero, Zapata, Villa, Carranza, Obregon, Calles and Cardenas. Since 1940, the dominant power of the presidency has continued through years of boom and bust and crisis. A major question for the modern state, with today's president Zedillo, is whether that power can be decentralized, to end the cycles of history as biographies of power. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

An informative, pleasant read
I'm a math teacher in a school that is 45% Hispanic. My kids good naturedly taunt me with "you took our land". We "pushed on" that one day and it turns out none of us knew much about Mexico. I stopped at a book store on the way home and found this to be the only offering on Mexico's history. I lucked out. It turns out I now know more about Mexico's history that my students. I'm near pg 180 but left the book in my classroom and we're on winter break. Several of my students have asked to read the book when I'm done. So, I'm here killing two birds with one stone: I'll get a copy to read over break (I marked my copy up) and I'll have one to loan out after break.

It's a fascinating book, very well written, covering the history of Mexico from Cortez until 1996 and making frequent references to pre-Columbian Mexico along the way. Having read as far as I have I'm thinking I'll need book(s) on Central and S.America when I'm done with this. It's terrific. I highly recommend this book.

A good background but...
First, I have not yet finished this book, so my review is based only on the first 100 pages or so. I purchased this book to use in conjunction with a course I am taking on the history of modern Mexico. Overall, Krauze provides a good background of Mexican history, but don't expect much in-depth analysis (there simply isn't enough space). I feel that the text is fairly reliable in many of its assertions, but reccommend reading with a critical eye. For instance, Krauze claims that the Aztecs practiced cannibalism, saying that they ate tamales filled with human flesh. While misconceptions about cannibalism in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are common, there is little if any substantive evidence for this claim (evidence not based on hearsay) and I would expect a scholar of Mexican history to at least acknowledge the lack of definitive proof. Similarly, Krauze claims that after the abolition of the casta system, racial differences became unimportant, stating that race issues were solved by mestizaje. Maybe something was lost in the translation, but this statement as it stands contradicts all other sources I have encountered. Race in 19th Mexico was a fundamental issue (Diaz powdered his face to lighten his appearance and Juarez kept his shirts tightly buttoned to conceal his brown chest) and while less important than wealth, still crucial to understanding social class.

Despite these concerns, I plan to finish this book. It is enjoyable to read and has given me a valuable framework within which to examine narrower themes in Mexican history and culture. Its narrative style and the absence of many of the pretensions that sometimes plague more academic texts make it a quick read in spite of its length.

A superb book on Mexican history
Krauze's book is quite simply the best book I have ever read on Mexican history. He manages to describe nearly 500 years of Mexican history in this giant volume in a highly interesting and entertaining way, with some important insights into how certain events went down in Mexican history, and why (in particular, read the chapter on "Collapse of the Criollos").

My only worry is that it might eventually start getting dated unless Krauze updates it (the book was published in 1997), but I believe its overall history will generally remain good; Krauze tries to avoid succumbing to any type of historical mythology or over-emphasis on "heroic figures."

Mexico Clearly
This is required reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Mexico and the (gradually improving) mess that it is in.

The book, a hefty 800 pages, is a combined English volume of three separate books by Enrique Krauze published in Spanish.

The translation by Hank Heifetz is superlative.

After touching on pre-1810 Mexican history, the book gets down to business after the Spanish have been tossed out on their collectivekeisters in that year.

We see the independent nation's early confusion as it lurched about for a few decades under inept leaders like its first "emperor," a joke named Iturbide, and then silly Santa Anna who bounced in and out of the presidential chair countless times, losing much of the nation's acreage to the better-organized and focused Americans. National Darwinism at work.

Benito Juarez was the first serious leader. And then the French tried to take over in the form of Emperor Max and his nutty wife, Carlota. That did not last long, thanks in great part to Juarez.

Finally, rising from the smoke and ashes, Porfirio Diaz brought some order and advancement to the nation for 30 years until his despotism too was shown the door, bringing on the Revolution in 1910. Diaz made it to Europe with his skin intact, but he died five years later.

The dates of the Mexican Revolution are not set in cement, depends on whomyou ask. Nobody ever raised their fist, shot a Mauser shell into the clouds, and declared it done with.

Krauze sees it lasting longer than most observers, putting the end date around 1940. You could make an argument that it really did not end until 2000 when Democracy finally bloomed with the open election of President Fox of the longtime opposition party known as the PAN.

The book looks at Mexican history through the life stories of its leaders, and Krauze portrays them excellently and interestingly.

Many were thugs. Many, especially in the 20th century, were well-educated and cultured. Many were well-educated, cultured thugs. Some were sincere. Some where not. All were fascinating.

Great history. Reads like an adventure novel, but it's real.

Mexican history through mini-biographis of its leaders
I am moving to Mexico City next year to live and work for two years, with NO previous background on Latin America or Mexico.This book delivers a solid overview of modern Mexican history without being as dry as your average textbook.I greatly enjoyed Krauze's approach of presenting Mexican history through mini biographies of it leaders for the last two hundred years.You feel like you are reading a series of related essays, which helps in making your way through a book of this size (700+).This book helped me realize how fascinating and rich Mexico and its history are.It takes you up to about 1995, so you'll need something else to bring you up to present day (such as "Opening Mexico"). ... Read more

Product Description
Available in one volume, these two works represent both a triumph over personal adversity and an unsparing saga of religious imperialism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent reading
The writer has done an excellent job on presenting the true nature and level of the ability of the native people of Mexico and Peru.If the reader is not already familiar with the history of Mexico and Peru, then this book must be read.It was a flowing and capitvating time to read and the writer, Mr. Prescot has researched original documents to present this excellent book.I felt it was true to the facts and fair to all concerned.

Excellent, classic history
William Prescott's histories of the conquests of Mexico and Peru in the 16th Century are classic, extremely well-written accounts.Prescott was one of the great American historians of the 19th Century and he describes historical events whose effects still resonate today in the Americas. His histories read like novels and are are backed up by footnotes giving references to sources and additional facts.Prescott has a 19th Century view of events, but that's when he was writing.I highly recommend this book, which combines both histories in a single volume.

A solidly researched history of the Spanish conquest
William Prescott's "History of the Conquest of Mexico" and "History of the Conquest of Peru" are brought together in one volume that provides a solidly researched and detailed account of the Spanish conquest of the Americas.The first volume, describing the Mexican conquest, is the better of the two.In the first chapters, Prescott describes the life and culture of the native Mexican tribes, concentrating on the dominant Aztecs, their religion, customs, achievements in literature, astronomy, agriculture and mechanical arts, and discusses the infighting among the various native princes that set them up for a fall when the Spanish conquistadores landed in the New World.Prescott writes about the efforts of Bartolomé de las Casas to protect the natives from slavery and how this was rejected on the specious grounds that the Indians had to be brought into contact with the Spaniards in order to be converted to Christianity and slavery was the only way to achieve this end.Prescott describes the conquest of the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Santo Domingo and San Juan de Puerto Rico (as it was then known) as a precursor of the conquest of the Mexican mainland, and how some Indians like Montezuma thought the Spaniards were there for their benefit, whereas others, like Xicotencatl, the Tlascalan chief, were suspicious of the Spaniards' motives from the beginning and tried to unite the native tribes against them.The Noche Triste, brought on by the arrogance and cruelty of the Spanish captain Pedro de Alvarado, is described in such detail that the reader is totally caught up in the narrative.One finishes this volume filled with admiration at Prescott as an historian and a writer, and regretting what a great civilization was destroyed out of pure greed and lust for gold.

"The History of the Conquest of Peru" is as well-written and detailed as the first volume, but it seemed a little drier to this reader, possibly because I was already familiar with the history and culture of the Incas from reading the "Comentarios Reales" of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of a Spanish father and an Incan princess.Prescott gives several pages to Garcilaso's talents as a historian, which he doesn't think much of; he notes that Garcilaso, writing as a spokesman for his defeated countrymen, painted a picture of Incan civilization that bordered on the panegyric.But Prescott quotes from Garcilaso here and there throughout his own book.Prescott presents the history of the Pizarro brothers' march through Peru, the defeat of the Incas and the death of Atahualpa, all in scrupulously researched detail.The Pizarros comes across as much less sympathetic figures than Cortes; while Cortes was able to appreciate the humanity of the native Mexicans, and tried to rein in some of his more rapacious captains, Alvarado among them, the Pizarro brothers and their captains, notably Carbajal and Almagro, seemed to be trying to outdo each other in cruelty.We end up feeling nothing but disgust for the avarice and ambition of these people, and the devastating effect it had on the native civilizations that were unfortunate enough to be in their way.

Prescott wrote his history over two hundred years ago and it's still the gold standard of early Latin American historiography.Taken as a whole, the volumes present a panoramic view of the clash of cultures that continues to reverberate to this day throughout Central and South America.Prescott is a vivid narrator and an excellent storyteller; his account grabs the reader early and sweeps you along from the first page to the last.It's a terrific read and a grand tour through two lost civilizations.

Remarkable events told by a remarkable author
I'm not a historian. I just like to read history and historical fiction. I first discovered William Prescott's Conquest of Peru in the back of a used bookstore. My kids are from Peru so I decided I should check it out. The first section was about the Inca civilization; their society, customs, politics, and more. It was certainly interesting and readable, but a bit dry. Once the narrative turned to Pizzaro and his band of adventurers, however, I was hooked. They don't call Prescott a romantic historian for nothing. He blends detailed accounts of absolutely outrageous courage, hardship, audacity, greed, ignorance, politics, faith, slaughter, naiveté, and more with vivid insights into the lives, characters and motives of the people involved. The story reads like excellent historical fiction, and yet it's meticulously researched fact.

Prescott's Conquest of Mexico is every bit as good as Conquest of Peru. The book starts with a section on the Aztec civilization, then turns to Cortez and his men. These adventurers behaved as though they were invincible, they believed their faith in God made them so, and one almost comes to believe that they were as they beat unimaginable odds over and over and over again. I was on the edge of my seat through all three volumes.

No offense to Lewis & Clark (or Stephen Ambrose), but Prescott's Conquest of Mexico and Conquest of Peru make Undaunted Courage sound like a family picnic. Remarkable events told by a remarkable author. It's no wonder these books are still popular more than one and a half centuries after they were written.

The Conquest of Mexico
My review concerns only the first part of the book, "The Conquest of Mexico." What a treat, to read this after reading Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, I think that only this book, could've made my transition from the ethereal realm of great books to the earthly realm of good books. Prescott's Conquest of Mexico is a long read, but a rewarding one. It is an excellent narrative history, where depth and pathos are brought to Cortez, his men, Montezuma and the many more that are an intrigal part of this history. A recount of a band of a few hundred Spainards, commanded by a man, Cortez, who is alternatively driven by proselytizing the indians of the central mexico and his lust for gold. Slowly and in a beautiful, novel-esque way, Prescott, reveals the heart of Cortez and the 16th century conquistadors, the clash of cultures and the terrible outcomes the result. Neither are the Indians ignored, and much time (especially for a 19th century author) is spent on the rituals, customs, habits and political and religious life of the Natives. A truly dramatic tale with a tragic ending, all told with the poetic elegance of Prescott, it's a great read. ... Read more

Product Description
A Traveller's History of Mexico offers a complete and expert history of the country from the earliest times right through to the present. It will be welcomed by all those who visit Mexico to see its stunning Aztec and other pre-conquest remains as well as by students studying the Spanish conquest and its effects.

This is a rich and colorful story of a nation full of life and vigor with a many-layered cultural heritage.Illustrated with maps and line drawings, this handy paperback is fully indexed with a chronology of major events and a gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Concise and interesting history
This book has proven to be very interesting to our guests as they visit our new vacation home in Baja California, Mexico.They love browsing or reading it for insights into the country they are visiting.

An informative, engaging history
In A Traveller's History Of Mexico, historian Kenneth Pearce provides the reader with an informative, engaging history that begins the prehistoric life of the region, and continues with the coming of the Olmecs and the Mayans (1150-1000 BC), whose cultures were subsumed into the Aztec empire. The reader is treated to a vivid account of Aztec life and its ultimate demise with the arrival off the Spanish conquistadors. The consequent greed, corruption, and oppression of Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic Church are covered in detail. Pearce then moves on to the 19th Century War of Independence which led to the founding of the Mexican Republic, the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian and the Empress Carlotta, the dashing Santa Anna (who led the siege on the Alamo); revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, and other influential characters that were caught up in Mexico's' often violent power struggles. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community history collections, A Traveller's History Of Mexico concludes with the last 70 years of one-party political domination, recently ending with an election of the opposition, and the contemporary social issues of an expanding population, drugs, pollution, corruption, and an oppressed indigenous population. ... Read more