Epic Mexico: A History from Earliest Times

by Terry Rugeley

Spanning the full breadth of Mexico’s long and storied past in one compact volume, Epic Mexico provides an unparalleled view of Mexican history, at once comprehensive, succinct, and consistently engaging. The book’s story reaches from the days of the saber-tooth tiger to those of its perhaps more dangerous modern counterpart, the narco-trafficker; and from the time of the Olmec and the Aztec through the Spanish Conquest to the complex pluralistic society of contemporary Mexico.

Although the book does not shrink from today’s urgent issues—including public violence, environmental challenges, public health problems, and struggles with diversity—historian Terry Rugeley underscores the many important accomplishments of the Mexican people over time, balancing political crises with genuine triumphs. Along with matters political and military , Epic Mexico addresses the development of the arts, including literature, music, and cinema. The volume also keeps an eye on the nation’s long and often problematic relationship with its neighbor to the north.

Though concise, Epic Mexico presents an inclusive portrait of Mexican history and society, exploring the varied roles and contributions of native ethnicities, Africans, women, immigrants, and peoples of different regional and religious orientations. It is the most thorough and thoroughly readable one-volume history of Mexico from antiquity to our day.
 

Genres: History

270 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2020

Reviews

[Rudyard L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankly I’m surprised I read two books on Mexican history this good back to back after Fehrenbach. I can tell the latter is more on the right while the first on the left but I’d recommend people read both given they offer valuable perspectives which are complex and honest. This book is shorter and a better intro for those who don’t want to read 3x the pages

[Louis Giancola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given its length of only 249 pages, I thought the author provided an excellent overview of Mexico’s history. He mainly focused on the political history from the ancient empires to the players behind the war of independence to the reigns of various presidents, including the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. The recurring theme is the challenge of unifying such a large, diverse and poor country. It is not difficult to understand the rise and power of the drug cartels as a substitute for the regional caudillos that presidents had to deal with throughout Mexico’s history. What’s lacking in this book is an understanding of the regional cultures that impeded unification.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good and brief overall textbook of history of Mexico, with emphasis on arts and politics. It is written for the internet age, and many important and interesting references are not fleshed out, certainly with the intention of saving space and expectation that the reader will follow up on them with his search engine. The author prefers an elegant turn of phrase over precision or accuracy (Hannibal had only one elephant after crossing the Alps, and a sickly one at that, if we trust Polybius, so there is no comparison with Cortez's horses etc.), to alleviate boredom in academic retirement I suppose.

It is an enjoyable read and I recommend it.

[Stephen Dages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect, brief summary of Mexico’s vast, rich history. I thought the final chapter on Mexico in the new millennium was especially interesting. I also appreciated the author’s focus on Mexico-U.S. relations throughout the book.
Maybe a little heavy on the economics side (most of which went over my head), there’s not much else I can complain about with this one. It served its purpose well.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book on the history of Mexico. While this took me a lot longer to read than it should have, Dr. Rugeley is concise but also extremely engaging with the audience. This is not, by any means, a dry history.

[Matthew Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction. I was looking for something short that would give me an overview of Mexican history and this book did just that.

[Yubai]

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