The History of Mexico:

by Burton Kirkwood

This narrative history of Mexico through 1998 will help students and interested readers to understand the long, distinguished, and sometimes turbulent history of our neighbor to the south. Every American should be familiar with the history of Mexico, which in many ways parallels that of the United States. Surveying Mexico from the arrival of the first humans in the Western Hemisphere to current issues at the turn of the new century, this work dispels many of the stereotypes about Mexico, its history, and its people. The sweep of the narrative transports the reader from Mexico's great cultural past to current issues such as the war on drugs, participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the search for political stability as it enters the 21st century. The first half of the book examines the arrival of the first peoples into the Western Hemisphere in what is now Mexico and their successful creation of political, social, and economic institutions. The destruction of these institutions by the conquering Spanish, the rise of the Spanish colonial system, and Mexico's attempts at self-rule in the 19th century complete the first half of the work. The second half recounts the emergence of the dictator Porfirio Diaz in 1876, the 1910 revolution, and the political, social, and economic development of modern Mexico through the end of 1998. Ready reference materials include a timeline of key events in Mexican history, biographical sketches of 24 noted Mexicans, and a bibliographical essay of recommended books for students.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

245 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2000

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5

This is a good book for beginners of Mexican History. I’ve been intrigued by the Greenwood History series since reading the Argentina and Italy entries, and for the most part this is analogous, quality-wise.

Kirkwood does a good job dividing the different periods of Mexican history, from Precolumbian (albeit very brief precolumbian) to the 2000s. This genuinely feels like a Mexican history book that attempts to get all the important aspects of Mexican history (properly regretting episodes they could not mention) while still throwing in cool historical anecdotes to keep the reader’s interest (Santa Anna’s buried/unearthed leg anyone?). Since the target audience is American students, there is a noticeable emphasis on US relations and US interventions (I say this because there is no coverage of Mexico’s tumultuous relations with Central America and their wars of independence).

In addition to periodizations, the summaries Kirkwood provides are also quite swell. He does a good job breaking down the basics of most of the major historical figures; however, I do question the selection. For all his minor critiques of caudillos/Caudillo-centric history, Kirkwood doesn’t branch far from these figures. This was particularly annoying in the twentieth century chapters when he did a section on *every* PRI President and would-be President. I Agree the PRI are important, and I was surprised how well he explained that hegemonic party’s rule, but I really felt these sections were lacking on details of the opposition. To the extent that they were included it would usually be a sentence or two, as opposed to the PRI leader’s page or two. Also, for a book that regrets the lack of women in traditional historical narratives about Mexico, this book mentions very few (like, less than 5 total, none of while get much mention). It is symptomatic of the greater issues in writing National histories legitimizing the dominant power’s version of history, but there is definitely still an attempt at being balanced.

The only other thing I’d flag about the book is the constantly shifting definitions of political labels (e.g., conservative, liberal, constitutionalist, reformist, authoritarian, democratic). I got the vibe from this book that many major Mexican figures went through various political phases to retain power, but there were multiple sections of the book where an organization and/or person would have one ideology in one sentence and the opposite in the next. This was particularly confusing in the Mexican Revolution chapter, when you had to factor in shifting alliances.


Overall, great for beginners (particularly a US audience), but don’t rely on it as a sole source for serious endeavors.

[NCHS Library]

From Follett:
Traces the history of Mexico from antiquity through the end of the twentieth century, describing Mexico's early inhabitants, the colonial era, wars for Mexican independence, the Mexican Revolution, and other related topics. Includes a time line, biographical sketches of notable Mexicans, and a bibliographical essay.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survey history of Mexico that is fairly concise and very informative. Good explanations of each area of discontent and reform and rebellion . My head is still reeling from all of the revolutions, laws put in place and then repealed . Interesting read.

[Jeff Newbery · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of Mexico from the first peoples to the end of the 20th century. The politics and who goes in exile or gets overthrown gets a little confusing in the most recent 100 years which I guess is part of the point of it.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent primer, definitely readable, but lacks depth. The notes at the end of each chapter offer opportunities for further reading.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading and comprehensive. A good start for those who want to learn more about the country on our southern border.

[Mike Horne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My table leader at the AP US History reading wrote this. The writing was OK; the audience is high school students. But I think everyone should have this much Mexican history under their belt.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly non-tendentious account of Spanish (and British and French and U.S.) invasions and centuries of governmental corruption.

[Brittany Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

All you ever wanted to know about Mexico is here in this book.

[Michal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative, but dull and boring.

[Jordyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me encanta a Mexico! The book is a little dry and couldn't finish...perhaps I will return to it.