The Oxford History of Mexico
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Description
With a population of nearly 100 million people, Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Although contemporary American images of the country range from illegal border crossings to peasant uprisings, this important work uncovers a vital and volatile civilization with its roots in the indigenous Mayan, Olmec, and Aztec cultures, which collided with the conquering Spaniards who brought African slaves with them in the 16th century. "The course of Mexican history, as with that of any other nation, demonstrates amply that sincerity and guile can occupy the same page," the editors write. "There is much in the Mexican experience to command admiration and ennoble the human spirit, even if on a few occasions it might also cause an eyebrow to be raised." In The Oxford History of Mexico, 21 scholars unravel Mexico's long history of Indian extermination, slavery, colonialism, and U.S. expansion with new information outlining environmental, gender, and pop culture studies, particularly comic books and telenova soap operas. They also detail the cultural growth and development of this nation. Of course, the great historical figures are also given close attention: Montezuma, the great Aztec leader; Hernán Cortés, the conquistador who brought down the Aztec empire; Malinche, Cortés' Indian mistress and interpreter; and Pancho Villa, who led the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Artistically, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and José Orozco are cited, as are writers such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes. This is a comprehensive guide to a rich and varied country. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
Mexico is a country of fascinating contrasts--glorious history and tumultuous politics, extraordinary culture and desperate poverty, ancient traditions and rapid modernization. Yet despite the growing curiosity about Mexico due to increased trade and commerce, mostly resulting from NAFTA, as well as increased tourism and immigration, there is presently no up-to-date, accessible history of Mexico for general readers. The Oxford History of Mexico, edited by Michael Meyer and William Beezley is a comprehensive, lucidly written, and fully current narrative history by twenty of the most esteemed historians of Mexico writing today. Drawing on radical changes in scholarship on Mexico over the past 15 years, The Oxford History of Mexico covers all aspects of the rich history of Mexico from precolonial times to the present. Exploring politics, religion, technology, modernization, ethnicity, colonialism, ecology, the arts, mass media, and popular culture, The Oxford History of Mexico provides a wealth of information for all readers interested in this remarkable country. Fully illustrated, with black-and-white photos throughout and a sixteen page color insert, suggestions for future reading, an index, and a glossary, this is the fullest and most engaging history of Mexico available today.
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