The Life and Times of Mexico

by Earl Shorris

Book Overview

The Life and Times of Mexico is a grand narrative driven by 3,000 years of history: the Indian world, the Spanish invasion, Independence, the 1910 Revolution, the tragic lives of workers in assembly plants along the border, and the experiences of millions of Mexicans who live in the United States. Mexico is seen here as if it were a person, but in the Aztec way; the mind, the heart, the winds of life; and on every page there are portraits and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393327671
• ISBN13: 9780393327670
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 800 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.2" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

An amazing way to learn

I have never been able to read any kind of history book without falling asleep but this one is fantastic. This book throws you into the revolution that is Mexican history and gives you real stories and accounts that make you feel the culture. I loved it.

Excellent historic and contemporary review

Earl Shorris is an excellent historian on Mexico and the many different facets of the culture. I found this book to be so informative in the areas of political, literature, and social aspects written in a format that is easy to comprehend and absorb. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a little more than an overview but certainly well researched history of this wonderful country.

Simply Superb

Shorris' book offers a non-linear sociopolitical history of Mexico that ranges far and wide, winding from pre-history to the current presidency of the República. Shorris writes from the inside out, spilling open the secrets of a country that can be oblique and difficult to fathom. Imminently readable, the book is filled with insights and stories that take Mexico's history out of dry skeins of dates and names and into the realm of the personal and immediate. Whether relating a tale from the ancients or slipping us into the turbulent stream of today's Mexican politics, Shorris moves the past into the present in ways that let the reader see and understand what makes Mexico tick. Unparalleled.

A sweeping survey of the foundations which have made Mexico what it is today

For a weighty but surprisingly easily-accessed history of Mexico, don't miss THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MEXICO: a narrative of 3,000 years of Mexican history and culture which ranges from social and political insights to overviews of Mexico's ethnic and indigenous cultures. For over sixty years essayist and critic Earl Shorris had a physical and spiritual connection to Mexico, producing numerous acclaimed writings as a result of this inspiration and connection. His LIFE AND TIMES OF MEXICO represents something different, though: a sweeping survey of the foundations which have made Mexico what it is today. A 'must' for any who would understand the culture and sentiments which make up modern Mexico.

The Life and Times of Mexico

This book is a new kind of history-- the way it is written offers us the FORM of Mexico while giving a detailed, thorough, insightful history based on Mexico's constant tension of two worlds-- the indigineous and the pennisular(Spanish); the God of Corn and the God of Bread. This man has done his homework and loves telling us the full breath and breathless unfolding story of Mexico. One of my 10 favorite books.

Compelling history and much more

It's rare that I become so absorbed in a work of history that I gobble the book up. But I've become absorbed in The Life and Times of Mexico, by Early Shorris, an American who has a fascinating depth of understanding of Mexican history and has had friends at all levels of Mexican society, all over the country. There's an awful lot of tragedy and death in any country's history, and I've known enough about that aspect of Mexico's history that I almost didn't pick this book up. But I did, and I have been saying, "Aha!" in every chapter. For example, it's widely known that in the Mayan culture, time was a central concept. Shorris brings this forward to here and now. Here's a quote: "Wars between the Maya forces were based on issues related to time. Entire city-states engaged in war and destroyed one another over questions of time all through the history of pre-Hispanic Mexico. And battles over time have not ended but continue in other forms in Mexico, reminders of the long shadows of history, the genes of culture. The mayor of Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and President Vicente Fox differed over the use of daylight savings time. As a result, all Mexico except Mexico City operated on daylight savings time. The argument over the control of time in Mexico City led to neighbors, businesses, and governement bureaus choosing different versions of the correct hours. Leftists and rightists set their watches to different times. It was both ridiculous and chaotic... Eventually the Mexican Supreme Court brought the left-of-center party (PRD) into conformance with the rest of the country." This sort of tale is woven through the book. I highly recommend The Life and Times of Mexico, which just came out a few months ago, for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the historical contemporary forces in Mexico. I have had to skim over some of the military sections, but even in them, I've learned useful things.