Customer Reviews

A Brief History of Mexico, Revised Edition (Brief History Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.)

This review is for the fourth edition.

Before I read this book, I knew little about Mexican history. I had heard of Santa Anna and some things during that era, but little else. After reading this, I had learned a lot.

This book covers the entirety of Mexican history without really going into a lot of detail. It starts out in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica with cultures such as the Mayas and Aztecs, through the Spanish conquest, the era of New Spain, Independence, the chaotic years that followed, to the Mexican Revolution, and through to the modern day (2009).

Overall, I found this very informative given the fact I knew little beforehand. There is not a lot of detail so I am guessing someone well versed in Mexican history will learn not a lot from this.

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.

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.