Customer Reviews

Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

In order to read this book you should be objective not subjective. Have an open mind and try to listen to the man. I believe too many people have read(or lied and claimed to have read the book to push their own agenda)this book letting their own prejudices cloud their judgement of the book. It is a memoir of sorts, an autobigraphy if you will. It is not literature. Many authors who are first and foremeost not authors write with the help of a professional, for example, Lance Armstrong has enlisted the help of columnist Sally Jenkins in his books It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life and Every Second Counts. I mention this because some reviewers here have dismissed this book saying he did not write it. So what is this book about? It is one man's account of his rise to the Presidency in 2000 breaking the one-party rule of the PRI that had a stranglehold on the Mexican people for the previous seventy-one years. This in itself was a monumental accomplishment. But this book is much more than than just his personal rise to power. It is about his struggles, his parents and grandparents struggle to achieve a better life, an ongoing theme that seems to irritate many people when it comes to the immigration issue. BTW, his paternal grandfather emigrated in 1898 to Mexico from the United States (Ohio), seeking a better life because his business failed and his father was an American citizen! So you see, immigration goes north and south, with results that can often be amazing. Vicente Fox chronicles his youth and what it was like to live on the family ranch in San Cristobal in Guanajuato. He discusses his parents decision to send him to school in the U.S. and the effect that had on his youth. Like many Americans or Mexicans of Mexican descent,this traversing of the border can create conflicts on both sides of the border. As children we go where our parents tell us to go because they know best. In the end this was good for Vicente Fox as it allowed him to compare and take the desireable qualities of American life and later apply them to his leadership, first as the youngest CEO of Coca-Cola, on to Governor of Guanajuato and ultimately as President of Mexico. I found President Fox to be a man of integrity, commitment, strength, leadership and vision. People can agree to disagree, as Fox does with Bush but a bond is there between people who are seperated by a border. There is a mutual respect that these two leaders have for each other as the book indicates. His life is fascinating but his desire to create a better world is even more admirable. Politics aside you cannot be other than impressed with his commitment to the betterment of mankind. I was very impressed with his denuciation of the dictator, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and his good reltionship with President Bush. These two leaders were making progress with regards to immigration until 9/11. The summit meetings in San Cristobal prior to 9/11 were historic in many reagrds, not the least of which was the fact that this was President Bush's first foreign destination. If you do not let your personal views on immigration cloud your judgement I think you can find this autobiography quite compelling. His narration his part history lesson, part vision of the future. He incorporates the lessons of today, compares them with the past and creates a unique observation to the future. He cites examples from Europe on how through a common market the economies of the poorer European nations have leveled the playing field with the richer European nations. The Euro is stronger than the U.S. dollar. He believes that much can be done within our own hemisphere to create prosperity for all nations in the Americas. Canada,the United States and Mexico can be the torchbearers of this vison of economic unity and vitality. Vicente Fox's vison is honest, whether or not it will occurr in our lifetime is another question but naysayers should not write him off so quickly. He achieved the unthinkable, he defeated the PRI'S reign, so don't sell the man short, besides he's very tall, 6'5". Seriously though, Fox doesn't sugar coat his countries problems and presents Mexcio with all it's warts. He discusses the role of narcotrafficers and the devasting effect they have had on both sides of the border. Mexico's attempt to clamp down on these gangs and the cooperation between nations to prosecute. The key word here is cooperate, that is what neighbors must do. Hostility between neighbors, whether it is with regards to immigration or any other "hot" button issue will not solve anything, cooperation will. President Fox continues to fight the good fight with the Centro Fox and the expansion of Vamos Mexico Foundation by getting the help of the Carters, the Clintons and others to combat AIDS in Africa, preventing election fraud, raising funds for disaster relief and working for global democracy, peace and social justice. This is a good book about a good man. Recommended for those who envision a better tommorrow and like current events and autobiographies.

A common feature of Mexican politics are the "acarreados", people who get paid to attend demonstrations. One has to wonder, whether some of these people are now into reviewing books, as some of them do not actually appear to have read this book.

Surely, the book was mostly drafted by American Rob Allyn (as anyone who heard Fox speak in english would acknowledge) and of course as in any other politicians memoir you'll find more positive than negative recollections on his achievements, but a key subject along the book, consistent with many public statements made by Fox during his presidency and hopefully thought provoking, is his insistence on the US opening up his borders to more trade with and inmigration from Mexico.

In my view, he strongly supports this argument with a number of well documented facts, among others, the aging US population which will benefit from younger Mexican workers as well as the experience of the European Union, where countries such as Spain which some 25 years ago had similar GDP per cap as Mexico, grew out of poverty with the support of their richer neighbours who also benefited from the process as it enlarged new markets for their products (as in fact NAFTA by increasing US - Mexico trade fifteenfold or more, already helped create in Mexico a huge market for US exports).

Unfortunately, this important topic has been lost in the barrage of (many politically inspired) accusations against Fox and his wife, which true to his "bravado" style he has not handled very well.

After reading this book, I understand more clearly why the left, the opposition, and all those who don't want Mexico to change and prosper hated Fox to his guts. This book explains that the whole country was corrupted with indifference and conformity, and how his revolution of hope sought, with mixed success, to change this. He tried to gave Mexico a purpose, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment. The opposition, on the other hand, only wanted Mexico to recieve what was given to them and not complain. This is his claim and political opinion.

It provides incredible insights into the Mexican situtation and his world view. It also provides proof of why integration and NAFTA is the only succesful way to compete agianst China, and recriminates the US for promoting free trade, and then going 180° and locking themselves in.

A thought-provoking book, Fox is insulting to those who disagree with him, but only because he is radical enough to propose that commitment, hope, initiative, innovation, and hard work are more important than patrotism, race, conformity and control, and the the key to a country's, a company's or a person's sucess is the former, while the latter can only produce failure.

You don't have to agree with former Mexican president Vicente Fox on everything to enjoy his book, which I'm barely fifty pages into and already impressed with its compelling candor and humor. It's easy to see why some Mexicans find him as hard to take as some gringos do. He irritates them by airing such dirty laundry as their culture of bribery and manana tardiness, while bugging us by championing the illegal immigrants who swarm our southern border. But it's hard not to listen to (and like) the fellow who grew up milking cows on the rancho of his Cincinnati-born grandfather, and tying strings to the tails of dragon flies because he couldn't afford a kite. I think he's short-sighted about Iraq, but in his best incarnation, he's a globalist, a capitalist and a free-marketeer whose ideal is the one his Jesuit professors taught him of living "for other men."

An engaging read about Fox's grandfather who was American who moved to Mexico for his health and from there we get Fox's family background. Was interesting that to be prez of Mexico your parents also have to be born in Mexico.

Story tells of Fox's upbrining on a farm, tale of Mexico's governmental propencity to periodic land over-taking. He spent a year in Wisconson for school learning English and gringo ways.

Worked for Coca Cola and eventually got into politics. Became govenor and ran for Prez. He advocates what he calls a 'New Marshall Plan' where the US gives Mexico $ so Mexico can build its economy so Mexicans won't have to go to the US to earn $. He advances the idea that Canada, US, and Mexico should be a North American Union, despite the fact that Mexico has only been free for 10 years now and a favored choice of political opposition is...beheading. Mexico had been called the Perfect Dictatorship. He trumpets the EU's success and points out how good Greece is doing, or at that time was, times change.

The things he says they hold dear are: family, faith, music, food, and history. Hmmm. The book includes many statistics: He says over 400 mexicans died crossing the border the previous year,reduced foreign debt from $75 billion to $40 billion, says 30,000 children a day die around the world from poverty. Is that possible? Says they transferred 63 drug deallers to 'safer' prisons in the US, you see, low paid Mexican prison guards can be bought off.

Says that Mexico has a constitutional law that their Army cannot fight in a foreign country. He was completely against the whole 9/11 moves.

It is an interesting read, interesting to find out what other people/countries/world leaders think of this little experiment we got going on here.

I gather from all the 1 star reviews that a number of people dislike him on principle. While the book is nothing earth shattering, I found it an easy and interesting read. Having been the first non-PRI President in Mexico's history is cause for celebration even if that was his only accomplishment. How good a job he did for the Mexicans I can't judge, but the nature of a person in this situation means he has a lot of juggling of issues and differing perspectives to consider. Throw in the poverty and nearby presence of Chavez and Castro, just surviving is an accomplishment.

The book is mostly a personal memoir. He talks about his grandfather who came from Cincinnati, about life as a boy in central Mexico, his early work life, life with Coca-Cola, fighting to get noticed and the numerous issues in a country that had only one political party until he became President. He talks about his relationship and admiration of both Bill Clinton and George Bush. And perhaps most revealing how he strove to become a "man for others" which is apparently a Mexican expression for a person who gets satisfaction from helping others.

Obviously this is one person's opinion of themselves, so some grains of salt are in order. While there is no valid way of confirming or disputing his opinion, the book gives a rare insight into the thinking of a person in a position that few Americans pay much attention to. Worth the read just for that.

This is the first memoir I have ever read of a Mexican leader, so maybe I am judging too harshly, but I was quite disappointed in this book. Its author, Vicente Fox, rose from a family farm to become the first democratically-elected president of Mexico. This book recounts his private and professional life, and how it is intertwined with that of Mexico. Snippets from his personal life include detailing his roots going back to the US and Europe, his first and second marriage, his adoption of children, and his several brothers. These also include explanations about Mexican culture, history of sexism, class-bound society, and ways of courtship. Most of the book is about Fox's rise to the presidency, and his term as president. Included in this are examples of corruption in Mexico at various levels, and what Fox and his party combated it both before and after he became president. The authors also explain a little about political campaigning in Mexico, the traditional handover of power as dictated by the PRI, and the role of immigrants and immigration.

A lot of the text is spent expounding on the opinions of Vicente Fox, such as his views on immigration, his pro-life stance both with respect to abortion and the death penalty, his disagreement with Bush and Blair over the Iraq War, and his emphasis on providing education and health care to all Mexicans. What I found missing was details and analysis. For example, on the subject of education, the book is essentially a glorification of the improvements Vicente Fox's administration has brought to the education system in Mexico. What it lacks is an explanation of the system; how is it funded, how many grade levels are there, how is university admission determined, how are teachers selected and paid, etc... The only facts given are some key moments of Fox's own educational experience, and anecdotes about the failings of the system, such as poor teacher training, low graduation rates, etc... The same is true of the drug wars. The book gives a brief overview of how Mexico is basically a transit point of drugs moving from South America to the US, and cites some of the complexities of extradition of drug lords to the US. What is missing is some analysis of the penetration of the drug cartels into mass society, the police, and the government. Or even better, the book could have included some history into the origins and evolution of Mexico's drug laws, and drug cartels. Topic after topic are covered in the same manner by this book. Some anecdotes, some commentary, maybe an allegory, a recount of a speech or personal encounter by Mr. Fox, but mostly a lot of text about what Vicente Fox has done to improve the situation. For a book written by a Mexican and geared towards an American audience, this work seemed more fluff than substance. Too bad, Vicente Fox could have done better, and his intended audience deserves better.

I agree that most of the writing is anecdotal and seen through his perception. Yet, that is what makes the book fascinating. I will never be able to share the experiences that he had with world leaders unless I read his book. His account of his visit to the Kremlin is fascinating. I have been drinking with Russians, toasting over and over in turns in Suzdal and they are really combat drinkers like Fox said. He traveled around the world for a 30 minute speech and to be upstaged by Putin's macho, and pretentious attitude. I have seen that Russian attitude. The Russian capital is indeed full of BMWs and Mercedes but also of prostitutes from Ukraine that drug their customers to steal their money. When Fox wrote that the Russian and Ukranians, especially, are poorer than Mexicans, he probably knows what he is saying. Also, I witnessed Moscow's cops on Crown Victoria patrol cars extorting money from motorists driving beat-up, really austere Ladas and Moskvitch cars from the Soviet era. I like it when Fox tells that Tony Blair came out to the street to welcome him, while Putin made him wait in several rooms before seeing him. When Fox was promoting the book, he was interviewed, or maybe more likely interrogated by O'Reilly in the "No-Spin Zone", he was quite stupidly asked, why is Mexico not doing more to stop the flow of illegal aliens to the US? Fox answered brilliantly: because Mexico is not Cuba and its citizens can go wherever they want. He should have added that if Americans do not like to be lectured on immigration reform by Mexico like Calderon did in 2008 while addressing the California legislature, they should stop hiring illegal aliens. Senator Tony McClintock interviewed after the icy, applause-less reception to Calderon's address in which he said: you need immigration reform", the senator said "it is not any of Mexico's business [..] it is improper for a head of state to come to our nation and lecture us". My point precisely, Americans should not need to be lectured on immigration, human rights of illegals, land-mines banning, Kyoto protocol, or the death penalty. Would illegals come if they could not find a job? However, as Anthony Bourdain, a restaurateur, once said on television. Without illegal aliens, mostly from Mexico, the restaurant industry in the US would collapse. Most Americans want to ignore the fact that according to Bourdain at most restaurants, from the dishwasher to the Sous Chef, the staff is mostly Mexican and mostly illegal. When asked, why can they only go up to Sous Chef and not chef, Bourdain answered: racism, besides you do not want to know that your delicious lasagna was actually cooked by a Mexican sous chef and not Mario Batali. Also, I want to praise Amazon and its customers for keeping the language clean in the reviews. I have seen postings on YouTube that are way too dirty to be flushed down the toilet and also way uncivilized. By the way, you can find Calderon's speech on YouTube somewhere among all the filthy comments. I agree with another review here: Fox and Calderon irritate people by being candid, decent, progressive and telling the truth. When Calderon was asked in an interview why he did negative campaigning, effectively swift-boating his opponent, he candidly said: it was my party. It is most likely true, because he was not in the paid TV ads that scared people from voting for AMLO by comparing him with Hugo Chavez.

There's a lot of political comments that have been written up here. I guess that's only to be expected - the man's a politician. Or was he? Fox is a lot more than that. He's a man who stood up to what was not right, not just in his country. Take that into consideration and read this book about a man, who will doing so, helped move Mexico in a new direction.

Rarely do I read non-fiction cover to cover but I had a hard time putting down Vicente Fox'x well written, candid memoir which enlightened me about
the history of Mexico with an important emphasis on the co-dependence of the U.S. Those who wish to understand the important political, economic and social changes that have been happening in Mexico in the past decade will be fascinated by Fox's view. He shares my values, opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq and championing human rights including the empowerment of poor people and women. I hope many citizens of El Norte will read this imporant book, especially all candidates for the U.S. presidency. I agree with Vicente when he writes that the U.S. building a wall to try to keep out poor, hard-working Mexicans will cause more hardship and suffering for Mexicans and Mexico's economy and, ultimately, our own. Who will pick our agricultural produce and do so many other back breaking, low-paying jobs to maintain American's higher standards of living? Continued exploitation of poor undocumented people above, and below the border, needs to end. As one who loves the Mexican people and hopes to retire in Mexico, I support Mexico's revoution of hope and pray it's current and future leaders will sustain the positive, democratic changes that Fox promoted.