Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture [Paperback]

Harvey Bennett Stafford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2000

How a culture faces death says a lot about how it faces life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Editor's Choice: A magnificent investigation into murder, mayhem and massacre within Mexican pop culture and its cultic worship of death. -- Dr. Anil Aggrawal, Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

With Muerte! Feral House once again takes you into the mayhemonic world where Walt Disney fears to tread. -- Robert Williams

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: Feral House (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0922915598
• ISBN-13: 978-0922915590
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you are a fan of crime photography, this is your book, April 15, 2001

By 

Robert A. Crook (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture (Paperback)

"Muerte!" is not for the faint of heart. As the more comical reviews of this book might indicate, it packs a wallop with its graphic depictions of murder and gore in modern-day Mexico. No, this book is not about creating a business plan (unless one is aspiring to be an undertaker). But it does touch upon a not-too-well-explored area of Mexican culture: crime tabloids. There are no similar publications in the United States. Part Enquirer, part "True Detective," these tabloids graphically show the end results of brutal slayings throughout Mexico. "Muerte!" could use a second or third edit. It does tend to ramble into other areas that are inappropriate for the topic. Given that the book is relatively small, the lack of cohesiveness does stick out. However, the book is important simply because it explores a significant aspect of Mexican culture that has been ignored. If you liked the book "Death Scenes," you probably will appreciate "Muerte!" There are a lot of pictures in this book, most of good quality. Obviously, parents must use good judgment in keeping control of this book while children are about. Further, persons who are unstable or easily affected by this sort of material should think twice about opening this book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muerte! Death in Mexican Popular Culture, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture (Paperback)

.This book is a harsh glimpse into reality in the form of graphic death scene photos and commentary on Mexican death tabloids such as Alarma! Someone said the title was misleading - I do not think so - it says exactly what it is, and has several bloody photos right on the cover. It is not a sugar-coated day-of-the-dead book, although the subject is covered - nor is it meant to be a complete commentary on Latin culture. It is a study of magazines that have been around for years and sell millions of copies each week. The publisher reports on this subject but seems to be blamed for the existence of these tabloids in some reviews I have read. No one seems to mind if Alarma! publishes death scene photos or if people put stickers of peeing kids on the back windows of their cars and say it's about Latino culture. As far as intellectual content is concerned, that is a matter of opinion. I f you are familiar with any of this publisher's other books, then you must know they do not publish shallow material. This is a serious study about a serious subject and it's exploitation and is not for the faint of heart. This book is about death in Mexican popular culture and it's exploitaion and is a subject few have chosen to discuss in detail. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the workings of Mexican death tabloids and death scenes in general.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ai dios mio!, November 13, 2006

By 

Gina Cochina (Giant Jesus) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture (Paperback)

The typos in this book drove me nuts, but if you can get past them (if I can, anyone can) it's an entertaining--and stomach-churning--read. Not too deep, not too thorough, but rather a light overview of the subject. Great to have on hand if you don't have access to actual issues of Alarma! magazine. Which most people in North America probably do not. Gorehounds will not be disappointed. People looking for "cultural enrichment" probably will be.