Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution [Hardcover]

Frank McLynn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786708956 | ISBN-13: 978-0786708956 | Publication Date: September 9, 2001

Recounting the decade of bloody events that followed the eruption of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, this chronicle of the first seismic social convulsion of the twentieth century explores the regional, international, cultural, racial, and economic strife that made the rebels Francisco (Pancho) Villa and Emiliano Zapata legends in their time. Fast-paced and fascinating, at once a dual biography and a history, Villa and Zapata vividly illuminates the turbulent mix of revolution as it follows the maneuvers of native rebels, corrupt Mexican officials, the U.S. government, American oil interests, Blackjack Pershing's troops, and German secret agents. It manifests the power of the slogan Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty), which spurred the revolutionaries to bring down a succession of autocrats in Mexico City as they waged a devastating war on two fronts: In the north the ruthless Villa led a mobile army of ex-cowboys and ranchers, while in the south Zapata galvanized an infantry recruited from the peons on the sugar plantations. Throughout this volume drama colludes with history, in a tale of two social outlaws who became legendary national heroes yet--despite their triumph, and only meeting, in 1914--in the Mexican capital, failed to make common cause and ultimately fell victim to intrigues more treacherous than their own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 and lasted for over a decade, a bloody and confusing saga of betrayal, corruption, misshapen politics and mislaid trusts that, in the end, accomplished little for lower- and lower-middle class Mexicans. Historian and biographer McLynn (Carl Gustav Jung; etc.) reconstructs the revolution through the biographies of its two most important figures, Francisco (Pancho) Villa, the bandit-turned-revolutionary, and Emiliano Zapata, whose declaration, "It's better to die on our feet than to live on our knees," later became La Pasionaria's Spanish Civil War slogan. Comprehensive almost to a fault, McLynn also devotes many pages to other key players: the revolution's first leader, Francisco Madero, who, having defeated President Porfirio D¡az, stopped short of killing the president and members of the fallen government; and the ambitious Pascual Orozco, a controversial revolutionary figure believed by some (his pal Villa later among them) to have been on D¡az's payroll. Having moved briskly and clearly through the disorganization and obfuscation of one of the bloodiest (and longest) revolutions in history, the author makes this informative, insightful study even more compelling with his witty and fluid prose. In his exhaustive research, McLynn plumbed "the ranks of the apocrypha," compared conservative histories to liberal ones and accounted for trends (economic, cultural, agricultural, industrial) concurrent with and pertinent to the revolution. McLynn grasps so completely and communicates so deftly the nuances of government corruption, the U.S. stance toward a long succession of Mexican autocrats, infighting between Zapatistas and Villistas, that this book feels less like a history than a great story, as exciting as a Saturday serial Western. Three maps, 16 pages b&w photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In a rare accomplishment, McLynn, a biographer of Sir Richard Burton, Carl Jung, and Napoleon, here presents his topic in a logical and understandable manner for almost every level of reader while also incorporating the latest research. While claiming to be writing a dual biography of Mexican rebel-outlaws Francisco (Pancho) Villa and Emiliano Zapata, McLynn has actually produced a judicious analytical account of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. He discusses the roles of the U.S. government, Gen. John J. Pershing's troops, German secret agents, and corrupt Mexican officials, drawing on a wide reading of English and Spanish studies and document collections. At the same time, his narrative is lively and gripping, leading the reader into this thoughtful study. Students and instructors of Mexican history at all levels will find the bibliographical essay invaluable. This belongs in all libraries whose patrons have even the most casual interest in Mexican history. Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (September 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708956
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708956
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,789,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Villa And Zapata come back to life, February 1, 2005

By 

David - See all my reviews

This review is from: Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution (Paperback)

Frank McLynn recaptures Zapata's And Villa's personality very accurately. The book begins with a background information on Mexico and the wars that eventually led to the rise of the dictator Porfirio Diaz and his iron fist rule over Mexico. During this time, the rich were getting richer; and the poor could not come out of debt. Eventually one man from the farm lands spoke his mind. Emiliano Zapata, a man who was for land reform from the south, spread his belief to the peasants and urged them to fight back. While this was going on, a stubborn, hot headed, ladies man was stirring up trouble in the north. These two opposite's, one peaceful acting on thought and the other short tempered acting on gut, were to set Mexico free. But after the revolution was over, neither of them would have suspected that it had only just began.

I personally enjoyed this book very much. I have read many Mexican revolutionary books but neither of them have had such a detailed history of the revolutionaries as this book. Frank McLynn describes them and their personality very accurately and it gives you a deeper understanding of them and their motifs for fighting against Diaz. As you read the book, Villa's and Zapata's personalities are unveiled and their troubles are told. McLynn also explains how Villa's and Zapata's personalities are reflected in their battle tactics and politics. I highly recommend this book to those who want to know a better understanding of the Mexican revolution, and its reasons for starting. This book is very detailed and everything is explained making it easy for everyone to read.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great biographical history, March 14, 2002

By 

christopher p dawnay (Cambridge) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution (Hardcover)

Starting a big book about a subject as complex as the Mexican Revolution can be a chore, but McLynn turns a complex, socio-economic crisis into the tale of two arrogant men. For that reason, his book is priceless. Although reading a biography about Villa and Zapata can realistically just skim the surface of the Revolution, the verve with which thje author tackles his subjects, and the respect he clearly felt for them make his book an enjoyable read. Romanticism does cloud his judgement - although he presents Villa's banditry alongside his derring do - but that makes the book better. He escapes the rigorous pedantry which hangs like a millstone over so much history, but remains accurate.
This book is a great start for anyone approaching the Mexican Revolution, and a fascinating comparative biography of two flawed and contradictory characters.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE THIN VENEER AND RAVENING MAW, August 19, 2003

By 

G. L. Rowsey (benicia, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution (Hardcover)

'Villa and Zapata' deserves reading twice, the book is so rich in detail and the Mexican Revolution was so fascinating and timeless. But it's likely only dedicated students and historians will give the book much attention.

Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa were the most prominent and remembered among the constellations of men at war and movements in Mexico from 1910 to 1920, but the book's attention to so many facets of that decade of Mexican history - and how these melded into Woodrow Wilson's America and the First World War in Europe -- was its most remarkable feature to me.

Permit me as a compliment to 'Villa and Zapata' to paraphrase at some length from two of its parts describing the deaths of those two prominent and remembered but very different warriors, and then briefly from the book's Conclusion.

First died Emiliano Zapata -

'On April 10, 1919, Zapata and his escorts rode down the hills towards a hacienda - in familiar territory, as he had taken it in early 1911. There were shops outside the hacienda, and Zapata stopped and conferred there with his escorts. Jesus Guajardo, who was to accept Zapata's surrender at the hacienda, came outside and joined Zapata and his escorts. Only one zapatista had entered the hacienda - Zapata's principal aid Miguel Palacios was discussing the handover of 12,000 rounds of ammunition. Outside Guajardo suggested to Zapata that they ride inside the hacienda walls for dinner. Zapata was wary but tired and hungry, and so he acceded, taking a bodyguard of just ten men. He mounted his horse and rode into the hacienda's plaza, as Guajardo's guard of honor stood at attention - paying their visitor a great compliment. A bugle sounded and the guard presented arms. The last note sounded and Zapata had reached the threshold of the building when the guards opened fire at point-blank range. Zapata died immediately, and Palacios and two of the escort also perished. The rest of the zapatistas fled for their lives.'

Pancho Villa lasted four long years more -

'On July 20, 1923, Villa drove to Canutillo in a large Dodge saloon with six men. In the town, at the intersection of Benito Juarez and Claro Hurtado streets, there was an old man selling candy and he cried out Viva Villa! It was a prearranged signal, and as Villa turned the corner he ran into a fusillade of bullets. He was killed instantly. The Dodge went out of control and hit a tree. One of Villa's companions managed to crawl under the car and play dead while a gunman ran up and pumped more bullets into Villa's head. Another companion managed to kill one of the assailants before making good his escape. Claro Hurtado was less fortunate. Trying to get away down a river bank, his way was blocked and he was gunned down when he turned back.'

The book's Conclusion begins -

'The Mexican Revolution was a ten-year Iliad, in which Villa, Zapata, Obregon and Carranza played the roles in fact which were played in myth by Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector, and Aeneas. Historians estimate that the death toll was between 350,000 and 1,000,000, excluding the victims of the 1918 flu epidemic, which added another 300,000 to the list of fatalities. Civilization's thin veneer was never thinner than in the Mexican Revolution, and the moral is surely that even in advanced societies we skate all the time on the thinnest of ice. And a seemingly trivial political crisis can open up the ravening maw of an underworld of chaos.'