Customer Reviews

Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The author has done a good job in presenting the facts and history leading up to the American intervention into Mexican affairs during the early part of this (20th) century. This book details the American air of superiority as well as Pancho Villa's reason's for raiding Columbus, NM. This is a great book for anyone interested in that period of Mexican-American history

This book is an excellent sythesis of the latest research and writings of the specialists in the field of US Mexican relations. It is just enough for the non specialist to enjoy and frankly, for a specialist such as myself in this period, I found it well worth reading too. It reads well and can be read in a couple of days at most.
While I have had for even longer a copy of Alan Knight's massive synthesis I admit that I have yet to read that one all the way through. Just the footnotes alone could take a day.
If you want a good sort out of the major players on both sides of the border this is for you. Ronald Atkins' Revolution once was the "one book if you're having only one", but that one is long out of print. This is an even better one.

Tough as nails history that tells of Mexico during the years of revolution and civil war. Pancho Villa and John "Blackjack" Pershing's punitive expedition is the focal point of the book. The author explains that bungling interventions in Mexico by American politicians didn't alter the fact that Mexicans ultimately determined their own governement. The book is a good introduction to a subject that may be obscure to many American readers, especially 85 years later. Eisenhower does well fleshing out details in the text, in several appendices, and thorough notations. Only a fellow named "Eisenhower" can give one this powerful insider perspective of military and political history. Recommended for multiple reading and further study. ;-)

I found this book to be extremely well written. It is a topic that engenders many passions, and, opinions on this topic often are based on these passions. The author plainly puts the historical events in perspective in a way that all the events and the characters make sense. The author does not take sides even though he may glamorize Pershing somewhat. The organization of the book is superb and the descriptions of specific events and of specific characters such as Madero, Zapata, Carranza, Huerta, Funston, Obregon and others are excellent. I would recommend this book to anybody, Mexican, American or otherwise, interested in the events of this inevitable and tragic period in the history of Mexico. A very "readable" book. Juan Cardenas

This is the story of the United States interventions into Mexico in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Eisenhower tells the story as a narrative without evaluation or moralizing and delivers a pleasantly readable history that moves along well without bogging down in details, yet does tell the story that at times goes down to the personal level of the participants. Most histories of this period confine themselves to the Pershing expedition, but this book also thoroughly examines the American seizure of Veracruz in 1914, probably one of the provocative and ill-considered military operations ever undertaken by the US against our neighbor to the south. Strongly recommended for those with interests in military and international history.

Great book for an introduction to the subject! It does a good job of covering the topic with plenty of good historical context and in the framework of the political machinations of the time. John Eisenhower writes in a smooth and easy-to-read style, and he throws in personal experiences of some of those who lived (and died) through some of these events, to keep it personal and interesting. I highly recommend this book for the history-lover who wants to learn about this particular time of Mexican-American relations.

I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO READ THE BOOK BECAUSE I PURCHASED A LOT OF BOOKS AND I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR SURGERY. I GLANCED THROUGH THE BOOK AND IT IS WHAT I WANTED.

Well written, very accurate account of a little known series of historical events.Good use of maps and photos.Excellent read...R.D.Morgan...author of "The Tri-State Terror" and "Taming the Sooner State".

Eye opening view of our conveniently forgotten military actions with our neighbor to the south. Also provides insight into our current intervention mentality. Must read!!

A well-written narrative history of Mexico's revolutionary period (1910-1920) that focuses on the intervention of the United States between 1913 and 1917. The United States,to Mexico the `Colossus of the North', has taken a proprietary interest in Mexico since that nation obtained its independence from Spain. For most of the period since 1821, the United States lusted after Mexico's lands north of Baja California, which it finally took in the shameful war of 1846-1848. Thereafter, the US administrations were concerned about ensuring that the interests of US citizens owning and doing business in Mexico were being respected.
The Mexican Revolution was complex in that it was a large tent that included players with competing political, economic, and social goals, as well as widely differing personalities. Although not understanding, or even aware of these complexities, the United States could not resist the temptation to meddle. Eisenhower asserts that the impetus behind American involvement in this Mexican revolution came not from the business community that habitually feared political unrest would threaten its investments, but from the moralistic scruples of the new American president, Woodrow Wilson who was shocked at the violence of the regime-change that brought Victoriano Huerta to the Mexican presidency in 1913. Wilson refused to recognize Huerta as Mexico's president and sought to bring moral pressure on him to resign. As this approach was patently ineffective, Wilson in 1914 sent the US Atlantic Fleet to occupy Veracruz, Mexico's principal seaport. Huerta did lose his power in 1914, but the occupation of Veracruz was not a major factor. The real cause was the military successes of competing revolutionaries--Carranza, Villa, and Zapata. With Huerta gone, this triumvirate broke up. Carranza and Villa engaged in a civil war that Carranza won, in part because Wilson's distaste for the ex-bandit Villa.
Early in 1916, Villa raided the New Mexico town of Columbus. His motivations are still being debated. It's possible he was just after booty. Some historians have attributed a more Machiavellian scheme--by attacking the US directly, Villa had hoped to bring the US to declare war on Mexico and oust his victorious rival. In any case, the violation of America soil enraged US public opinion to the extent that Wilson found it necessary to again physically intervene--this time, by a punitive expedition to capture Villa. About half of the book is devoted to Villa's raid and to the punitive expedition, an undertaking that the author believes was ill-conceived, and despite good generalship on the part of Pershing, had virtually no chance of capturing or killing Villa. However, the punitive expedition was an invaluable experience for military leaders who shortly would be facing the German armies in France.
Eisenhower is an excellent writer of narrative. He is not particularly adept at political and diplomatic analysis beyond a fairly elementary level. But this is to the good, as the Byzantine twists and turns of Mexican politics can be mind-numbing. The reader can only scratch the surface of the complex social and ideological struggles among the Mexican revolutionaries, or the motivations and goals of US policies toward Mexico. Although considered by some to be overly simplistic the thesis that Wilson was motivated by a moral itch he felt he had to scratch makes sense.
Throughout the book Eisenhower presents vivid portraits of leading figures of the Mexican revolution and relates the interactions between the military and political leaders. He concentrates on the personalities of the great revolutionary leaders rather than on an analysis of the goals which differentiate their policies.
Eisenhower's descriptions of military operations and engagements demonstrate, a passion for the subject and a gift for battlefield narrative. Pancho Villa's campaigns in the North and Pershing's Punitive mission are carefully examined within military and geographical contexts. Specific battles, scrimmages, and raids receive detailed attention. Not only does Eisenhower vividly recount military actions already well known to North American readers, but also gives emphasis to Mexican military history such as the Battle of Celaya where General Alvaro Obregon's forces defeated Villa's army of the North. Eisenhower observes that in the largest land battle in North America since the Civil War, Obregon's knowledge and use of tactics developed in Europe in the early stages of World War I contributed to his decisive victory.
One might cavil that all of Eisenhower's arguments derive entirely from English sources and primarily from North American authors. None of the primary or secondary sources cited in the bibliography are in Spanish. This would have been a major deficiency in the book if the author were intent on writing a close analysis of the politics of the revolution. But his purpose was a clear, readable narrative history, and he succeeded. Book has chronology, notes, and bibliography.