Santa Anna: A Curse Upon Mexico

by Robert L. Scheina

Book Overview

Robert Scheina analyses the complex man, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and provides a solid overview of Mexico's political history against the fabric of social and cultural turmoil. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574885464
• ISBN13: 9781574885460
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.7" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

"Most Serene Highness"

When I got this book the Mexican-American woman who sold it to me had a disgusted look on her face,"Why do you want to read about him." Feeling that she had about as much affection for him as most have for Hitler I told her simply ,"because he was a bad guy", to which she nodded and approved. I took my book sheepishly but unappologeticly. As I began to read I became fascinated rather than disgusted with the man. Given the circumstances of early Mexico , fresh from a break with Spain, this poor country needed a unifying Caudillo and Santa Ana was the man to run the country, 11 times as a matter of fact! The author explains the poitical times quite apptly and summarily.This is a book that can be read in one sitting or over several short reading periods. Concise and informative it delivers a portrait of a man destined to rule, often by ruthless and self serving means who although not detailed apparently enjoyed cockfighting tremendously and loved to gamble. In spite of his eventual bad guy role in Mexican(and U.S.) history he was able to resurface over and over because of his cunning guile and military achievements. The author has done an outstanding job for the armchair historian, bringing the man to life vivdly with pages of details on his "achievements" without taking a stance. I could not be so kind. The portrait of the ruthless Caudillo is given in terms of his military achievements and their impact on history, specifically between Mexcio and the U.S. Most famous to Americans for the Alamo he is more well known and detested among Mexicans on both sides of the border as the sellout who conceded the vast territories that included California,Texas aand other pats of the southwest, including lands sold in the Gadsen Purchase. Eventually this man got what he deserved as he died poor after squanderng away the millions he stole from the Mexican people but the damage he did changed the destinies of two countries. Recommended for a quick read on an interesting but detestable character who is responsible for the growth of one nation and the schrinking of another. The footnotes abound like a college text, which is helpful if further reading is needed but the bibliography is the real gem and is quite exceptional and extensive. Recommended for history buffs.

Short, Yet Superb Biography of a Controversial Figure

This is a superb short military/political biography of a controversial figure. Santa Anna does not fall in my main area of historical work, but given the significant impact he had on US history I have always wanted to read more about him. This book fills the bill perfectly. I say this for three reasons.1.) Writing historical biographies is a difficult business, especially when trying to keep it concise. I would rather write a 500-page bio than a 100-page bio, it is very hard to get at the significance of a controversial figure, who did so much, in so short a space. But Scheina has done it and done it well. Although the book is subtitled, "A Curse Upon Mexico," and I agree with this general assessment, Scheina presents a very fair biography. Santa Anna could be horribly cruel and extremely generous, heroic and cowardly on the field of battle, shrewd and foolish, savvy and blinded by his ego. Scheina puts it all together -- the good, and the bad, and he puts Santa Anna into military, political, social, and economic context of his times. He has no ax to grind. What a nice change of pace from some recent bios I have read!2.) Scheina clearly explains the significance of Santa Anna for Mexican history, and thus for other fields, e.g., US history, military history, etc. He writes well, is quite articulate, and the book makes for a good quick read. But then again, it might actually be tough to write a dull book about such a fascinating character. (In 1834 Santa Anna had the distinction of having launched a coup against himself!)3.) Don't be fooled by the compact size. Everything that needs to be covered is, and the thirteen pages of endnotes provide just what one needs for pursuing aspects of Santa Anna's career in further detail. (The book also has a useful biography, an index, and helpful illustrations on glossy paper.)I have read pieces of Scheina's work before, but never one of his books. Now I see why he has such a solid reputation, and I look forward to reading the survey history of Latin American warfare he has been working on, which will be published in the latter half of 2002.This is the second of the books in the Brassey's Military Profiles series that I have read (the other was Farragut by Robert Schneller). Both were excellent, and I will be looking forward to reading more from this series in the future. Given their size, I can also recommend them as very good for course adoptions.