Customer Reviews

The Life and Times of Mexico

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It's rare that I become so absorbed in a work of history that I gobble the book up. But I've become absorbed in The Life and Times of Mexico, by Early Shorris, an American who has a fascinating depth of understanding of Mexican history and has had friends at all levels of Mexican society, all over the country.

There's an awful lot of tragedy and death in any country's history, and I've known enough about that aspect of Mexico's history that I almost didn't pick this book up. But I did, and I have been saying, "Aha!" in every chapter. For example, it's widely known that in the Mayan culture, time was a central concept. Shorris brings this forward to here and now. Here's a quote:

"Wars between the Maya forces were based on issues related to time. Entire city-states engaged in war and destroyed one another over questions of time all through the history of pre-Hispanic Mexico. And battles over time have not ended but continue in other forms in Mexico, reminders of the long shadows of history, the genes of culture. The mayor of Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and President Vicente Fox differed over the use of daylight savings time. As a result, all Mexico except Mexico City operated on daylight savings time. The argument over the control of time in Mexico City led to neighbors, businesses, and governement bureaus choosing different versions of the correct hours. Leftists and rightists set their watches to different times. It was both ridiculous and chaotic... Eventually the Mexican Supreme Court brought the left-of-center party (PRD) into conformance with the rest of the country."

This sort of tale is woven through the book. I highly recommend The Life and Times of Mexico, which just came out a few months ago, for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the historical contemporary forces in Mexico. I have had to skim over some of the military sections, but even in them, I've learned useful things.

For a weighty but surprisingly easily-accessed history of Mexico, don't miss THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MEXICO: a narrative of 3,000 years of Mexican history and culture which ranges from social and political insights to overviews of Mexico's ethnic and indigenous cultures. For over sixty years essayist and critic Earl Shorris had a physical and spiritual connection to Mexico, producing numerous acclaimed writings as a result of this inspiration and connection. His LIFE AND TIMES OF MEXICO represents something different, though: a sweeping survey of the foundations which have made Mexico what it is today. A 'must' for any who would understand the culture and sentiments which make up modern Mexico.

This book is a new kind of history-- the way it is written offers us the FORM of Mexico while giving a detailed, thorough, insightful history based on Mexico's constant tension of two worlds-- the indigineous and the pennisular(Spanish); the God of Corn and the God of Bread.
This man has done his homework and loves telling us the full breath and breathless unfolding story of Mexico.
One of my 10 favorite books.

Shorris' book offers a non-linear sociopolitical history of Mexico that ranges far and wide, winding from pre-history to the current presidency of the República. Shorris writes from the inside out, spilling open the secrets of a country that can be oblique and difficult to fathom. Imminently readable, the book is filled with insights and stories that take Mexico's history out of dry skeins of dates and names and into the realm of the personal and immediate. Whether relating a tale from the ancients or slipping us into the turbulent stream of today's Mexican politics, Shorris moves the past into the present in ways that let the reader see and understand what makes Mexico tick. Unparalleled.

Norris has an incredible knowledge of the Country of Mexico and has painted a detailed portrait of this complex country in this ambitious work. More than a scholarly work, this book also manage to convey the personal feelings and enthusiasm of the author - as a result, it reads like a novel. Unfortunately, it suffers from some serious shortcomings which leave the reader wanting for a more organized and balanced presentation of the topic: the discourse is often disjointed, as the author jumps from topic to topic without much transition, and more importantly his political bias and his misunderstanding of the principals of economics transpire through some of the sections of the book and deter from its overall credibility.

Shorris's life of Mexico is a huge 700-plus-page collective biography. It seems to grow almost piecemeal from a lifetime of friendships and conversations; it's a kind of slow-motion journalism that expands into a vista of history. The informants are real people from almost every corner of Mexico, and almost every level of power, wealth, intellect, or sanity. These hundreds of people tell about themselves and those who came before them. Their efforts to shape the future always involve revising their past. The clashing dreams of native rights activists, religious traditionalists, ambitious nation builders, or agents for international corporations, all cast flashes of light on related high-stakes struggles in the rest of North America.

Shorris takes the time to get close to people, and paints a big picture from the ground up. He makes us feel the pressures or hammer blows people face. The book gets long winded, but the author's fascination never flags. His stories are sobering, sometimes horrifying, and challenging for any thinking person.

Earl Shorris is an excellent historian on Mexico and the many different facets of the culture. I found this book to be so informative in the areas of political, literature, and social aspects written in a format that is easy to comprehend and absorb. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a little more than an overview but certainly well researched history of this wonderful country.

Quite simply, and to the point. This is one of the best books on Mexico (past and present) that I have ever read. I am a Mexican American who is very skeptical on books on Mexico written by non mexicans. I was very apprehensive of the size of the book. but I not only finished it (LOL). but I was somewhat sad to be done. Very readable writing. Well done.

My idea about Mexico was formed by "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", a classic movie that presents a view of Mexicans as dirty and nasty. When I actually visited Mexico in 1972, I learned how false this picture is. This book gives the real story of Mexican history and the role the USA played, usually that of a bully and a land thief.