The Mexicans: A Personal Portrait of a People

By Patrick Oster

Book Overview

The Mexicans is a multifaceted portrait of the complex, increasingly turbulent neighbor to our south. It is the story of a country in crisis -- poverty, class tensions, political corruption -- as told through stories of individuals. From August n, an honest cop, we learn that many in the Mexican police force use torture as their number-one-crime-solving technique; from Julio Scherer Garcia, a leading newspaper editor, we learn how kidnapping and intimidating phone calls stifle people despite his meager income; we hear from a homosexual teacher wary of bigotry in a land of machismo; and many others. Moving from Mexico City discos to remote Indian towns, Patrick Oster tells of Mexicans whose lives reveal something vital about Mexico, and in doing so, helps to understand why many decide to risk their lives in order to have the opportunity to live in the United States.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060011300
• ISBN13: 9780060011307
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Incredible Book

Oster's book, based on personal experiences, gives a tremendous insight into the lives and mentality of the Mexican people. The reader gets a feel for why Mexicans and Mexico are the way that they are. This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in understanding Mexican culture.

A Very Good Read Of a Very Mysterious People

Oster did a good job here having the people tell their own stories and then piecing it together into a national tapestry. He has managed to weave personal story with Mexican history with social mechanics. If you live close to the border you may think you know a little about Mexicans. The book points out that you know only a little.It is more than cervezas and great fishing.Mexicans don't seem to tell their story to outsiders often. However, this is a book about dirty laundry,sort of the dark side of Mexican life and character. Admittedly, as a nation they are not doing real well and there is a reason for that. You're sure to find several reasons for that explained here. But I'm positive that lots of Mexicans love being Mexican. As an American, I could not find that reason in this book. That aside, it is a very easy and entertaining book and you will learn all varied aspects of the afor mentioned angle of Mexican life.

great angle

This was a great way to approach modern Mexico. The personal portraits of the Chavo (punk rocker), the Tragafuegos (street performers who do firebreathing!) and the Guera (beauty queen so to speak) were beyond brilliant. Oster manages to weave in the bigger picture of politics and culture within the framework of talking about individuals. Very Fellini-esque in a Mexican sort of way.

Excellent overview

Before my first trip to Mexico City in 1993, my mother bought me a copy of this excellent book. The author, who made his first trip to Mexico in 1979 as part of a White House press corps that accompanied Jimmy Carter, and was assigned Mexico City bureau chief for Knight-Ridder in 1984, exhibits a fascination for Mexico and her people that transcends the bounds of his duties there as a journalist. Oster hints at some of his political and sociological opinions, and, of course, his interpretations of people and events cannot help but color the prose somewhat, but for the most part, he presents an objective look at an impressive variety of people, and the cumulative effect of the book is that it presents what is arguably the single most comprehensive and balanced portrait of some of the people of modern Mexico currently available. While he has been criticized for not including any analysis or suggestions for change, I do not think that was the reason for the book. Oster does not impose his opinions on the reader; it is up to us to formulate our own opinions, interpretations, and, if we choose, prescriptions for change.