Customer Reviews

Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you like micro-history, you'll enjoy this book. Rather than dealing with the big events of the day, Romo tells his stories with the details of the day.... details that, put together, make a much larger story. The book is a series of readable essays that are fascinating to those who have an interest in immigration, Pancho Villa, the border and the Mexican Revolution. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book! I recommend it to all students of American and Mexican history.

A first rate book, with an excellent collection of photographs. See/listen to John Burnett's NPR radio materials on the David Dorado Romo book, aired Sat., Jan. 28, 2006. NPR web page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5176177

This book is one of the few scholarly page-turners. It covers the topic in a local-history approach. The use of many, well-chosen photographs, keeps the readers interest. The author's "hook" of viewing the Mexican Revolution from a distance in El Paso is both novel, and effective.

This is a wonderful book mapping out the historical significance of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican revolution. As a long life citizen of El Paso, Texas I was ashamed to find out I knew relatively nothing about my city's contribution to the Mexican revolution. This is a must read for all historical buffs, Hispanics and El Pasoan's yearning to learn the real story behind the importance of two border cities. Great reading, full of rich details, stories and histories of amazing people kept out of American history books.

The book was brand new and it was worth every penny!! The book got her 5 days before!! I recommend

Political Corruption, oppression, manipulation, violence, and economic inbalance take center stage in this book. Most interesting is that the Nazi's used El Paso's gas chambers for broader crossers in their own dubious plans in WWII. Not the Leon Metz sanitized history you have all heard. Has anything changed?

Having grown up in the Juarez/El Paso border, I was amazed by the way this work delves into its rich history in such an entertaining way and brings awareness to the fact that a significant part of it has been purposefully hidden from our generation or simply forgotten. I applaud the work done by David Romo because it touches on many aspects of the culture of both cities (e.g. their press, music, beliefs, etc) in such a way that it will leave readers familiar with the area hungry to learn and understand more about it. "Ringside Seat to a Revolution" is a wonderful, easy-to-read book that I would highly recommend to anyone.

This is one of the very best books that I've ever read about the El Paso/Juarez border. It is a must-own reference book, packed full of photos, quotes, articles (from the El Paso Herald and El Paso Times), and other rare items from the archival collections of UTEP and the Times.

Romo (the author) goes beyond what a normal historian would comment upon - he takes you on an archeological "dig" of facts and historic events during the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

As a kid growing up in El Paso, I had always heard stories from family members about life on the border at the turn of the 20th century...but there really wasn't anything that could ever confirm or dispel any of those stories until now. Romo has done an incredible job of putting together the history - both good and bad - of life on the El Paso border over a century ago.

This book is extremely well documented with excellent citations, making it a must-own for any library or collection of border history.

I am from El Paso and have lived here for 20 years. This book was a different perspective to me.......something new! I think many would be surprised at things that have happened.

Let's start with the major fact that this is a weird book, only Bill Rackoszy has published such jumbles.Villa Raids Columbus, New Mexico March 9, 1916
This not to say either is not worth reading, they are. Just turn on your BS sensor.
This is a pastiche of photos, extracts from the newspapers, interviews, whatever.
The other reviewers have gotten into details of content. No need to reiterate all that. I just think some missed the point and others were overwhelmed
If you compare this with a dinner, it is not a homoginous, glutinous meatloaf, but a many course Chinese meal,with the ingredients, all served simultaneously, chopped up, and stirred around, all the ingredients still recognizable. Some ingredients are substantial, some are minimal but they are always recognizable.
From the trivial to the significant, the various parts make up an interesting read.
And the book certainly deserves a place in my collection of personal narratives and reportage.
Well done. :{)>