Product Description

Asking readers to imagine a history of Mexico narrated through the experiences of Africans and their descendants, this book offers a radical reconfiguration of Latin American history. Using ecclesiastical and inquisitorial records, Herman L. Bennett frames the history of Mexico around the private lives and liberty that Catholicism engendered among enslaved Africans and free blacks, who became majority populations soon after the Spanish conquest. The resulting history of 17th-century Mexico brings forth tantalizing personal and family dramas, body politics, and stories of lost virtue and sullen honor. By focusing on these phenomena among peoples of African descent, rather than the conventional history of Mexico with the narrative of slavery to freedom figured in, Colonial Blackness presents the colonial drama in all its untidy detail.

Product Description
Studying the interaction of political and economic institutions in Mexico during the period of 1870-1930, this book shows how institutional change can foment economic growth and how specific features of political institutions give rise to specific economic institutions which have both positive and negative effects on growth and distribution. ... Read more

Product Description
John L. Kessell’s "Spain in the Southwest" presents a fast-paced, abundantly illustrated history of the Spanish colonies that became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California. With an eye for human interest, Kessell tells the story of New Spain’s vast frontier--today’s American Southwest and Mexican North--which for two centuries served as a dynamic yet disjoined periphery of the Spanish empire.

Chronicling the period of Hispanic activity from the time of Columbus to Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821, Kessell traces the three great swells of Hispanic exploration, encounter, and influence that rolled north from Mexico across the coasts and high deserts of the western borderlands. Throughout this sprawling historical landscape, Kessell treats grand themes through the lives of individuals. He explains the frequent cultural clashes and accommodations in remarkably balanced terms. Stereotypes, the author writes, are of no help. Indians could be arrogant and brutal, Spaniards caring, and vice versa. If we select the facts to fit preconceived notions, we can make the story come out the way we want, but if the peoples of the colonial Southwest are seen as they really were--more alike than diverse, sharing similar inconstant natures--then we need have no favorites. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Engaging and a different perspective from the history I learned in school
I first came across this book when I was doing research at my local library for a novel I am currently writing that is set prior to 1848, before the U.S. took possession. I found this book to be truly insightful, easy to understand, and captivating. The huge nuggets of information gave me a different perspective about what really happened in the southwest. I could easily draw parallels with imperial Spain to that of the U.S. because of the author's way of presenting information in a very candid and non-biased point of view. I grow weary of the same "Imperial White America" condemnations found in many history books that many people don't realize that conquest is not partial to white dominance, but rather to man's insatiable quest for power and domination over other cultures most vulnerable to their highly advanced weapons. Overall, this is a book I'm adding to my collection. Worth reading if you want a refreshing perspective from the type of history you learned in school.
JAX, Author, Freelance Writer, Entrepreneur
Author of Heart of the Jaguar
Learning Krav: Going Above and Beyond the Comfort Zone with the Israeli Art of Krav Maga , Black Belt Magazine, Jan 2010 issue
Featured blog writer with [...], 2009
Sopa de Pollo para la alma latina , 2009
The Boy's Club , Writer's Digest Short Story Writing Competition, 2008
Alone, [...], 2007
A Shadow to Call Her Own , Amazon Shorts, 2006
Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul , HCI Publishing 2005

Colonial History is about Conquest . . . This is colonial history!
While I appreciate the comment about being frustrated, how can one possibly look at colonial history without talking about conquest and domination and killing Indian people (Sadly, this is almost a definition of colonial history)?

The purpose of a colony, especially a mercantilist colony (which Spain, England, France, and Russia were, incidentally) is that the colony survives for the benefit of the mother country.
But, unlike the English and French regions, Spaniards had to have contracts from the king to settle or explore, as Kessell makes very clear, and had to abide by over 8,000 rules and regulations about the Indies. No other European colony had accountability like the Spanish. This book is far from Black Legend (I have some suggestions for that).

Colonial history is about conquest, domination (how else do you turn something into a colony?), control, exploitation (some worse than others), but they all had to follow the regulations set up in the Recopilacion de las leyes de las Indias==and even Onate was found guilty of using excessive force against the Acoma Pueblos, living immorally, executing two of his own colonists (and more--, even though he eventually got exonerated by King Philip IV).

While this book delves into COLONIAL history from a Spanish perspective, it is about as balanced as one can get. My only complaint is also a compliment--Kessell is an amazing storyteller (the way history should be), but sometimes the storytelling gets the reader off track and it's hard to come back to the flow of the chapter.

Good on ya, Kessell.Great book!

You can find better books on the American Southwest than this!
The author seems more concerned with cramming as many Spanish names as he can into this book than with telling a coherent, engaging story about the Spanish conquest and settlement of the American Southwest.Tangents galore!One moment this group is settling Santa Fe and the next moment some bozo is inciting a rebellion!Sure, you'll glean some interesting knowledge if you read the whole book, but you're better off looking elsewhere if you're looking for an interesting read.I finished the book just to get my money's worth, nothing more.

Excellent Overview
John Kessell has again provided an insightful and clear overview of Spanish presence in the Southwest. The careful reader will readily notice Kessell's talent for fleshing out the important events and shifting developments during this long period of time. And as always, it is remarkably well written. Contrary to the previous reviewer's comments, Kessell's book does not espouse any semblance of 'Spanish Black Legend.' Not even implicitly. He instead presents conflicts between Spaniards and Native peoples with diplomacy and dignity. One can easily recognize Kessell's deep appreciation for the history of this region. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the Spanish Colonial Southwest.

Same Old Black Legend Rhetoric
I must say I'm very disappointed. It's the same old Black Legend rhetoric that I've come to expect when I read a book about Southwestern history. I must admit I'm hardly finished but, I have gotten through to the fourth chapter in which he talks specifically about Oñate. I quote:

"By performing them (formal rites) properly, don Juan meant to maintain what he perceived as a right relationship with his universe--his god, worldly lords, subordinates, and environment--and, at the same time, awe non-Christians into embracing the Spanish way. As Colonizers, few Spaniards would ever recognize that the Pueblo Indians, through their equally elaborate and symbolic rites, sought a similar harmony.But invaders always want more. Whatever they called it, conquest or pacification, they willed to dominate."

His chapter on Coronado said nothing of the lands that were mapped for the first time or Coronado and his men paving the way for Lewis and Clark only to get the short end of the stick when it comes to glory.He focused on the negitative parts of Coronados journey.

I'm going to continue reading until I finish this book. I don't know, maybe the theme will change. I doubt it.

Signed
One very disgusted Spanish girl. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1981, while working as New Mexico State Historian, Stanley M. Hordes began to hear stories of Hispanos who lit candles on Friday night and abstained from eating pork. Puzzling over the matter, Hordes realized that these practices might very well have been passed down through the centuries from early crypto-Jewish settlers in New Spain. After extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Hordes concluded that there was, in New Mexico and the Southwest, a Sephardic legacy derived from theconverso community of Spanish Jews.

InTo the End of the Earth, Hordes explores the remarkable story of crypto-Jews and the tenuous preservation of Jewish rituals and traditions in Mexico and New Mexico over the past five hundred years. He follows the crypto-Jews from their Jewish origins in medieval Spain and Portugal to their efforts to escape persecution by migrating to the New World and settling in the far reaches of the northern Mexican frontier.

Drawing on individual biographies (including those of colonial officials accused of secretly practicing Judaism), family histories, Inquisition records, letters, and other primary sources, Hordes provides a richly detailed account of the economic, social and religious lives of crypto-Jews during the colonial period and after the annexation of New Mexico by the United States in 1846. While the American government offered more religious freedom than had the Spanish colonial rulers, cultural assimilation into Anglo-American society weakened many elements of the crypto-Jewish tradition.

Hordes concludes with a discussion of the reemergence of crypto-Jewish culture and the reclamation of Jewish ancestry within the Hispano community in the late twentieth century. He examines the publicity surrounding the rediscovery of the crypto-Jewish community and explores the challenges inherent in a study that attempts to reconstruct the history of a people who tried to leave no documentary record.

Customer Reviews (13)

To the Ends of the Earth
This book was an excellent history of the time the Jews were expelled from Spain to the present time which finds many of ther descendents lving i New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest.Many of these descendents of the Crypto Jews cling to bits and pieces of their ancient heritage while others have actively sought out information. Still others have actually undergone a conversion to Judiasm and now actively practice it.This was a very well researched and documented work.

falls apart after a strong effort
I'm afraid I'm in the minority here, but I have to disagree about the final value of Dr. Hordes' treatise, "To The Ends of the Earth": a History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico".

Like the other reviewers, I congratulate Hordes on his scholarship, but in his effort to put the final dot on the 'i', he massively fell down.

I will reference one of the final statements which made me shudder - "Few people, save a handful of historians, are aware of the rich & dynamic interplay among Muslims, Catholics and Separdic Jews on the Iberian Peninsula from the eighth through the fifteenth century." pg 281, "Conclusions".Maria Rosa Menocal would take extreme exception to that comment.Menocal's "The Ornament of the World"; How Muslims, Jews & Christians created a culture of tolerance in medieval Spain,2002:is only one of many academics who have written extensively on this topic.

But prior to that above heart stopping statement, I was becoming disturbed by Hordes' increasing tendency to prove out his thesis with repetitive & non-scientific criteria.Endogamy aside, DNA data would be the conclusive information to prove out the continuum of the Crypto-Jewish thread in Hordes' thesis.Jewishness is passed thru the female line, and mitrocondial information would conclusively settle the question."Indications of Crypto-Judaism in Genealogy" would have been better served containing such data.Hordes does reference that such data began to be collected in 1997; certainly, results would have been available by publication of this book to better support this sub-text.

In all, I found the majority of the book valuable, however I must point out what I found to be serious flaws in Hordes' summation of his research.I will await a more thorough treatment of this very interesting subject.

Scholarly
This book is line upon line fact upon fact just well researched and documented history, it is not a bunch of opinion nor speculation. If you know Dr. Hordes like I do you know that this is the kind of man and quality of work to be expected from him, I say this as a descendant of the crypto-Jews. Sincerly Perry Pena

Did Jews Settle New Mexico and Do They Remain
Thesis:Many of the Spanish settlers of New Mexico were either secretely practising Jews or recent converts.Through the ensuing centuries, some kept up tradition and practice of their Hebrew faith, in all or part.

I heard this hypothesis when I first moved to the Land of Enchantment in 1979.Most locals took it as likely.However, "studies" on the subject were mainly collections of anecdotes of familes that did not eat pork or that played with draedels in December but didn't know why.

Stanley Hordes has done scholarship a real service with his meticulous, well-documented, and systematic research, as presented in To The End of the Earth.Rather than rushing into anecdotes, he first gives a broad backdrop of the history of Judaism in Iberia and the political and religious upheavals there in the 13th through 16th centuries.

Having set the stage, Hordes then follows families of "new Christians" to Mexico.Through an examination of correspondence, records of the Holy Office (Inquisition) and other documents, he traces the likely practice of crypto-Judaism in Old Mexico.

Only then does he set forth north of the Rio Bravo to see the fate of some likely Jewish or formerly Jewish families, trace their practices, and scour for physical evidence among a group that was reticent to leave records of what was long an illegal practice.

Hordes wraps up nicely with not only the family stories but with DNA and blood protein studies.He falls short in actually finding evidence such as hidden synagogues or secret Torahs, but he certainly paints a compelling picture that many of the Hispano settlers of New Mexico were, at the very least, reluctant conversos.

This is an engrossing and well-referenced work for any serious scholar.While not light reading, it is also not too challenging for a non-anthropologist.

By all means, if the thesis is of interest to you, you should order this book.

A good history of crypto Jews in New Mexico
A couple of years ago I went to a lecture that Dr. Stanley Hordes presented to the New Mexico Genealogy Society. He discussed his then upcoming book about crypto-Jews in New Mexico titled "To the End of the Earth." What intrigued me about Dr. Hordes lecture was that he found proof that the colony of Nuevo Leon, Nuevo Espana ( present day Mexico) probably was populated with crypto-Jews. This same colony en masse tried to illegally colonize New Mexico in 1591, and a few of these people were also part of the official New Mexico colony in 1598. Dr. Hordes' makes a very good argument that there were crypto-Jews in New Mexico during the first years of colonization and that their descendants continued practicing Judaism up until the present day.

A crypto-Jew is a person who converted or whose ancestors converted to Christianity yet still secretly practices Judaism. As with many other Christian countries, Jews were persecuted in Spain during the Middle Ages. In 1390 many Jews converted to Christianity after an especially devastating pogrom. In 1492, after King Fernando and Queen Isabel conquered the last vestige of Muslim Spain in Granada, the Christian monarchs officially expelled the Jews from Spain. All who stayed in Spain were required to convert to Catholicism. Many went to Portugal where they too were forced to convert.

The Spanish Inquisition persecuted many of these New Christians as apostates and heretics. Many were accused of going back to their old religion. In order to avoid prosecution many New Christians went to the New World. Dr. Hordes shows how one such colony from Portugal under the leadership of Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva were almost definitely New Christians, and most likely crypto-Jews.

Carvajal was given permission by the King Philip II of Spain to found a colony in Nuevo Leon. The king gave specific instructions to officials not to question the ethnicity of the people in this colony. Dr. Hordes contends that these people were probably New Christians since at the time New Christians prohibited from going to the New World. The king's instructions would have made it easier for them to cross over to Mexico. As further proof Hordes notes that Carvajal's son was later prosecuted by the Inquisition. During the younger Carvajal's arrest Gaspar Castano de Sosa lead the entire colony to New Mexico. Hordes contends that he probably did this in order to escape being prosecuted himself as a judaizer. However Castano de Sosa was arrested anyway for trying to illegally colonize New Mexico.

Hordes uses church and government records to demonstrate the possibility that New Christians practiced Judaism throughout New Mexico history. His argument is strongest with the early years of the colony when Inquisition records documented investigations into possible judaizers. He also uses genealogy to show how certain assumed crypto-Jewish families intermarried within culture. However, his arguments are weaker when it comes to the present day. Although there is some proof that certain present day Hispano New Mexican families continue the practice of crypto-Judaism, there are questions as to whether certain evidence truly demonstrates this practice. Hordes does not completely dispel these questions, although he comes closer than others who have tried to prove this theory.

Dr. Hordes' book is well researched and was a fascinating read. Any person interested in Hispanic New Mexican history and genealogy should read this book. One then can make up his or her mind whether Dr. Hordes proves that crypto-Judaism indeed was practiced throughout New Mexico's history.
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Product Description
This is the first book to demonstrate the crucial role that the urban masses played in shaping political change as Mexico struggled to become a stable, independent nation state in the nineteenth century. Vagrants and Citizens: Politics and the Masses in Mexico City from Colony to Republic is ideal for courses on Mexican history and Latin American studies. ... Read more

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From Liberal to Revolutionary Oaxaca aims at finally setting Mexican history free of stereotypes about the southern state of Oaxaca, long portrayed as a traditional and backward society resistant to the forces of modernization and marginal to the Revolution. Chassen-Lopez challenges this view of Oaxaca as a negative mirror image of modern Mexico, presenting in its place a much more complex reality. Her analysis of the confrontations between Mexican liberals' modernizing projects and Oaxacan society, especially indigenous communal villages, reveals not only conflicts but also growing linkages and dependencies. She portrays them as engaging with and transforming each other in an ongoing process of contestation, negotiation, and compromise. The book is organized into three parts. The first examines Oaxaca's infrastructure and economy, addressing whether its native sons, Presidents Benito Juarez and Porfirio Diaz, neglected their own state in the drive toward Mexico's modernization. The second part looks at the society, critically examining claims that the indigenous people of Oaxaca acted as an obstacle to progress. The final part connects the economic and social transformations in Oaxaca with the state's changing political culture and power relationships and reinserts Oaxaca into the larger dynamics of the Mexican Revolution. By linking developments at the local, state, and national levels throughout and making frequent comparisons with developments in other states, Chassen-Lopez compels a reassessment not only of Oaxacan history but also of Mexican history in general during this period. ... Read more

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Larger than Life offers eleven essays that touch on a variety of southwestern themes. One section highlights three people who have dramatically shaped the region's history: pilot Charles A. Lindbergh, who helped turn New Mexico into a regional center for aviation and rocketry during the interwar years; physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who believed that New Mexico had restored him to health in the 1920s, and, as a consequence, chose Los Alamos as the site for the nation's top secret weapons laboratory in 1942; and first-term congressman Bill Richardson (currently governor), who inaugurated his skills at compromise by resolving a bitter environmental dispute in 1984--skills that he would later utilize on the international stage.

Other essays explore the cultural appeal of the Land of Enchantment from 1945 to the present, as well as the horrific ammunition explosion that virtually wiped the hamlet of Tolar, New Mexico, off the map in 1944.

A final section deals with several southwestern "mysteries," including the tale of an itinerant German immigrant who, in 1895, allegedly healed more than 5,000 people simply by touching them; and the collapse of Chaco Canyon's Threatening Rock--a 30,000-ton wall of sandstone that had threatened to destroy the structures of Pueblo Bonito for over two millennia. ... Read more

Product Description
An introduction to Mexico's ancient civilizations. This companion volume to the author's book "The Maya" has been completely revised and expanded. Enlarged sections are included on early village life and the rise of Olmec civilization. Recent discoveries - such as the stela from La Mojarra inscribed in the mysterious Isthmian script or the mass sacrifice of 200 victims at Teotihuacan - receive full coverage. A new chapter on Aztec life and society has also been added. Despite the Spanish Conquest and ensuing epidemics, the natives of Mexico survived through the Colonial period. Describing their struggle in a new epilogue, the author shows how much the character of modern Mexico derives from its Pre-Colombian past. Other work by the author includes "Breaking the Maya Code". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Review on Coe's "Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs"
Michael Coe's "Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs" is a great edition to the growing body of work on Ancient Mexico. It is a well written and logical analysis on the civilizations of Mexico. I have used this book several times to help solidify arguments in various research papers. I would highly recommend this work for anyone interested in the ancient world of Mexico.

We did not call ourselves 'Mesoamericans". Nevertheless...
This book makes it clear that the vast majority of the history of "Mexico and Central America" has nothing to do with Europeans or anything "Latin American."

Many readers may be surprised (but really it's just common sense) to learn that we Indigenous people of "Mexican" descent do not call ourselves "Mesoamericans," a term coined by a white Westerner, Paul Kirchoff, as this book makes clear.

Nevertheless, this book is the best general history of "Mexico" (itself another Euro-Iberian/American creation, twice over: 1821 and 1848).

This truly is a "pioneering synthesis" in that it takes the reader along a journey of one of the world's richest and truly original civilizations. Even more impressive when compared to the achievements of Europe: despite a 3 1/2 millenium lag time in agriculture, the peoples of Anahuac nevertheless constructed a monumental and highly sophisticated civilization, rivalling (and often dwarfing) those of Christendom at the same time.

**Compare Western Europe in the Neolithic Age to Mexico in it's own "Neolithic Age": the disparity of achievement is truly embarrassing to anyone holding onto notions of "European cultural superiority." Yikes, what a difference!
Don't take my word on it, read the Spaniards' own first-hand accounts on it!

Considering the lack of metallurgy in the land until after 800 AD, it is truly astonishing to behold the prolific construction of massive temple-pyramids and sophisticated cities across Anahuac.

Our people called the land Anáhuac (accent placed on purpose), meaning "the land between the waters" in the still-pervasive Nahuatl language. Just as there is something historically known as "Christendom" or "Western Civilization"
(oddly enough, both are based upon non-Western achievements in Sumeria and Egypt!),
even more so is there the historical justification for the term "Anahuac Civilization" (built upon the home-grown achievements of Mexico, and not outsiders as in the case of Europe/Christendom).

** This last statement is probably the most important thing that the reader will come away with from Professor Coe's book.

As the reader of both of the recent editions of "Mexico" and "The Maya" will also learn, there was a unitary and common cultural matrix which connected and sustained all the cultures of "Mexico" and "Central America" down to Costa Rica. The divisions were far more political than cultural, just as in "Christendom" or the the modern European world.

(At the time of the Spanish Invasion, Nahuatl was spoken almost everywhere, just as many modern Europeans often speak English in addition to their own languages.)

The so-called "U.S. Southwest" must necessarily be includied in this epic unfolding of civilization, as is made abundantly clear in Coe's 5th edition.

Present-day political borders and archeolgical abstractions of our presnt time get in the way of understanding this dramatic story. Post-European Invasion divisions are not the way to understand this history, just as British imperial definitions do not do justice to the understanding of the Irish people.

(One should understand an apple on an apple's terms, not an orange's!)

I have noticed an interesting trend among "Westerners" to treat the Maya as some New Age plaything along the lines of Fung Sheui and Yoga, projecting their own fanciful wishes upon the people, mutating them into a pseudo-Greek/Hellenistic carbon copy that can easily be played with like a Dream Catcher and a Buddhist wind chime.

These "Fast Food Mayanists" will be disappointed to learn that the Maya historically been "Mexicanized" by the all-pervasive influence of that central Mexican juggernaut: Teotihuacan.
Yes, the Maya did not live in a vaccuum, and their achievements were built on the achievements of the Olmec of southeastern Mexico.
Of course, the Maya deserve their place as the people who made the greatest achievements in our Anahuac Civiization.

And the reader will find that this is truly a story of a common civilization unfolding across the land (branches off the same Olmec tree), unified in religios outlook (with regional modifications just as in Europe), religious systems, architecture, diet, dysnaties, and much more.

(Keep in mind that Copan--the Classic Maya's greatest city-- was revoltionized with a 400-year Classic-period dynasty by a central Mexican from Teotihuacan: Yax Kuk Mo.
Also, no Post-Classic Maya dysnasty worth its salt would fail to claim descent from the Toltec of central Mexico.)

Truly, our people of Anahuac are in the equivalent of Europe's Dark Ages (Middle Ages) where we have lost our way, but are now emerging out of the darkness, as anyone with a cursory interest in the current "Indigenous Renaissance" will discover both in Mexico, Central America, and yes, the US Southwest.

My only gripe with the book is Coe's insistence on the "gods" school of thought, when it was clear (he states it himself) that the Aztecs possessed a monotheistic state religion with ONE GOD (yes you read that correctly): Ometeotl....and for the Maya this was called "Hunab-Ku."

Same concept.

For some reason, Westerners are readily able to accept the concept of a multi-facted God (trinity), along with deified Saints, antagonistic demons, Mary the Mother of God, and Satan...and still declare to be "Monotheists!"

The Aztec and Maya "gods" are the innumerable names and faces of one God: physical forces of the Universe, comprised of a Divine Embrace of Material and Spirit. Just as the true student of Hinduism will learn that all the Hindu gods are really manifestations of a unitary God.
If only that point had been stressed a little more in the book...

The reader would also do well to keep in mind that all this rich and impressive civilization is only recently been gleaned from what are it's "leftovers": 95% of the astronomical almanacs and encyclopedias were burned by the Spaniards, by their own admission.

What other wonders went up in those flames?!

This is a fascinating history that reads like a real-life detective story. Buy the book!

Where are the Maya?
Coe has presented us with an excellent survey of the cultures and languages of Mexico.However, he has excluded the Maya from this study.I find this disturbing because, as Coe points out on p. 61, the oldest people in Mexico were those we have come to call the Olmecs. We don't know who they were, what language they spoke, or where they came from. But we have hints. Nahual (Aztec)poems speak of a lgendary land called Tamoanchan which existed before the Nahuatl speakers came to Mexica. Tamoanchan is not a Nahuatl word. It is Mayan and it means 'Land of Rain or Mist.' This indicates that the Maya were ancestral to both the Olmecs and to all pre-Columbian Mexican culture. They deserve more than a brief two paragraphs in this work.

In-depth and complete
As a student interested in Mesoamerica, I found this book very well written and very in-depth.The maps and pictures are excellent and help the reader to relate to the areas that are discussed in the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Who were the Aztecs, really? AZTECS OF CENTRAL MEXICO: AN IMPERIAL SOCIETY answers that question by covering the compelling story of a complex, imperial society in Central Mexico during the 15th and 16th centuries. It uses pre- and post-Spanish conquest documents and illustrations, as well as archaeological discoveries, to reconstruct the variety and "feel" of Aztec daily life at various status levels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Aztecs of Central Mexico
As a Mexican I can say that this book is an excellent review of the Mexicas of the Valley of Mexico, that's it from a foreign point of view. Berdan approaches the topic with respect and not expecting to be an academic imperialist, let's face it most of the books writen from the United States academic point of view tend to be a little patronizing.But not Berdan's excellent book, she approaches the topic reviewing the written accounts and the chronics, a great way to start understanding the Mesoamerican cultures.

Aztec attack lol
Wow, it is a very interesting book with lots of information on the Aztec and their culture. There's alot of details and time that was put into this by a professor, that I had the pleasure of taking the class with, that had first hand experience with the natives. She spent countless hours learning Nahualt and lived with these decedent of the ancient empires. Judge not by how thin the book is, but how much knowledge its packing. ... Read more

Product Description

The History of Mexico: From Pre-Conquest to Present traces the last 500 years of Mexican history, from the indigenous empires that were devastated by the Spanish conquest through the election of 2006 and its aftermath. The book offers a straightforward chronological survey of Mexican history from the pre-colonial times to the present, and includes a glossary as well as numerous tables and images for comprehensive study.

In lively and engaging prose, Philip Russell guides readers through major themes that still resonate today including:

• The role of women in society
• Environmental change
• The evolving status of Mexico’s indigenous people
• African slavery and the role of race
• Government economic policy
• Foreign relations with the United States and others

The companion website provides many useful student tools including multiple choice questions, extra book chapters, and links to online resources, as well as digital copies of the maps from the book.

For additional information and classroom resources please visit The History of Mexico companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/russell.

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“Compelling and complex . . . Strange and wonderful.”
—The New York Times Book Review, in praise of McIlvoy’s previous fiction

I am going to write about the state of New Mexico and put in some maps and stuff from the encyclopedia. My theme is the Don Juan Onate trail and the Jornada Del Muerto. But I might write some other important things which as it turns out my stepmother got angry about and said she wouldn’t type this until my Dad said “Dammit now it is history” and told her maybe there weren’t commas in those days.

“The Complete History of New Mexico” is no ordinary research paper, and this is no ordinary collection of short stories. Eleven-year-old Chum’s “history” unfolds over three distinctive and increasingly disturbing sections. He writes that “Coronado explored around and found Santa Fe in 1610”; that “William Becknell was tracking wagons over everyplace in 1821”; and that every day his best friend, Daniel, is afraid to go home.

Kevin McIlvoy intersperses the title novella with equally distinctive stories set in New Mexico. Laura, a plain, overweight nurse, encounters a terrified young man on his way to the Vietnam War and takes matters into her own hands. Zach spends time with his “white-trash” relatives and finds love’s terrible and true face.

The Complete History of New Mexico is a stunningly original collection that will further McIlvoy’s growing reputation.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Darkness Visible
I have been haunted by "The Complete History of New Mexico" for over two decades. The story is not for cowards, not that it's lurid, but it is terrifyingly funny. Shakespeare is clever and amusing; Milton and Swift are indignant; Melville and Faulkner are provocative. But these stories marry viciousness and tenderness in ways I have not read before. No one who has heard of "Chum" can forget his story. Not "weird" or "wonderful," this collection is a "complete," concise, cohesive, horrifying, representation of North American experience.

Not the "complete" history of NM
I purchased this book for myself and 6 of our neighbors as a Christmas gift.I read the book after I gave the book to the 6 neighbors.Had I read the book before giving it as a gift, I would never have given the book as a gift.I was most disappointed in the contents, the style selected for writing the "fiction", and the difficulty in following the author's purpose.In short, I gave a gift that has now embarrassed me as a gift giver.

A Flat Out Amazing Book
This collection features the wildest, weirdest stories you'll find anywhere. They're not strange for the sake of being strange; they're genuinely original. Kevin McIlvoy is one of a kind, and this has to be one of the best books of the year.

Magical Prose
The stories in this book are truly wonderful. A mix, like New Mexico itself, of beautiful striking wisdom and subtle mystery. I received this book as a gift and I am grateful to the person that gave it to me as well as to the author, Kevin McIlvoy, for sharing his gift. As I read each story, the words came off the page like music, a gentle cadence in the words that synchronized with the landscape or characters. The stories, like refrains from a song, come back into my head. If you love beautiful, lyrical and solid prose with characters that are genuine with real heart and souls experiencing joy, sadness and the beauty of life and land, then you should read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This examination of key issues in New Mexico public education emphasizes policies and trends that will remain dominant in shaping schools and curricula in the state. Educational reform is a constant in New Mexico, as is the influence of politics since nearly one-half of the state's budget goes to education. But several other significant themes emerge. The vignettes included throughout the text are included to offer human interest touches to our New Mexico story.

The state's multicultural heritage, for example, has left a lasting imprint on public education in the shape of bilingual education and the guarantee of funding regardless of socioeconomic and ethnic differences from district to district. The federal presence that shapes so much of New Mexico also affects funding for education, from Bureau of Indian Affairs schools to meals for disadvantaged children. As elsewhere in the nation, New Mexico's school operations in general and curricular policy in particular require an increasingly challenging balancing act in which educators must comply with federal and state mandates while responding to demands for accountability from media, business, and local special interest groups.

Designed for use in classes to prepare teachers, principals, and superintendents as well as specialists on the politics and financing of education, this long-needed book will also be useful as a reference and brief history for educational leaders, school board members, public education department personnel, education commission members, legislators, governors, parents, and special interest groups. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is one in a three volume general history of Mexico, comprising (I) the PreConquest period to 1521, (II) the Colonial period from 1521 to 1821, and (III) the National period from 1821-present. These books give a comprehensive narrative and analysis of Mexican history, focusing especially on political, economic, and social organization. Balancing both a 'bottom-up'(popular) and a 'top-down' (elite) perspective, they seek, where possible, to locate Mexico within broader, comparative patterns of historical change and conflict. ... Read more

Product Description
Many non-New Mexicans envision New Mexico as one large desert, yet New Mexico is very much a mountain state, with more than one hundred named mountain groups. New Mexico's highest point is 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak, and Sierra Blanca, 11,973 feet high, is snow capped for most of the year.

What's more, the mountains here display a diversity rarely seen elsewhere: glacier-carved alpine summits (Sangre de Cristos), shield volcanoes (Mount Taylor and Sierra Grande), cinder cones (Capulin Mountain), fossil limestone reefs (Guadalupes), laccolith intrusions (Capitan and Zuni Mountains), erosional formations (Tucumcari Mountain), and tilted fault-blocks (Sandias and Caballos.) New Mexico's mountain animals range from elk to desert bighorn sheep, from marmots to coatimundis. The arctic lynx and semitropical jaguars have also been spotted.

In this guide to New Mexico's mountains, Robert Julyan provides essential information such as location, physiographic province, elevation and relief, ecosystems, and ownership, as well as the historical and natural details that make each range unique: archaeology, Native American presence, mining history, ghost towns, recreation, and much more, as well as geology, ecology, and plants and animals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent reference, poor illustrations
I do a lot of geological work in New Mexico, and have traveled around the state for several years.Robert Julyan has done an excellent job of summarizing the physiography and history of New Mexico's mountains.Also, he's done an admirable job of summarizing the geology of these mountains in a way that is scientifically valid and I think is understandable to the general public.Each section (broken down by mountain ranges and/or individual peaks) includes good information on accessibility.An introductory section on geology and the human history of New Mexico's mountains is very good.Including a detailed reference list was a good idea, and will be helpful for anyone that wants to learn more about specific areas.For these reasons, I highly recommend this book as a reference for anyone that plays and works in these mountains- I wish that similar books would be written for other states!

Unfortunately, I can't give this book 5 stars because of the poor maps and other illustrations.Users of the book will need to pair it with a good atlas of the state for finding their way around.

That being said, this book is a great value.

"You can't have a mountain without geology"
Geology is the foundation for New Mexico's mountains and if you have any interest in the mountains of New Mexico, this is an excellent introduction to those awe inspiring objects.Julyan is not a geologist, but he has spent many hours with geologists making sure that this fine book has a solid foundation in science.

He starts out with a superb short geological history of the state:

"Because a book about mountains almost by definition is a book about geology, I invite you herein to become acquainted with New Mexico's geology. The state's geologic history is every bit as dramatic, colorful, varied, and often violent as its human history. You'll need a strong imagination to visualize conditions and landscapes far different from those of the present, but the excitement and understanding are worth it. Especially when the insight arrives, almost as a revelation, that this drama is still being played out around us. Soon you will begin to view contemporary events, such as flash floods and rock slides, in a new, deeper context. New Mexico's geology is among the most underrated dramas of the state."

Pretty strong statement for a state filled with so much drama, but Julyan makes a powerful case during the remainder of the book.

Julyan starts with an overview of the types of mountain building and examples of mountains formed by each mountain building process. He describes the Rio Grande rift and the state's volcanoes. The geologic section is followed by ecology and life zones, mountains and peoples, and mining.

He then discusses 125 New Mexico mountain ranges and mountains: general location relative to landmarks, physiographic province, elevation range or overall relief, the high point, other major peaks, mountain dimensions, ecosystems found, location by county, administration (land ownership and management), presence of formally declared wilderness, and "getting there."

He suggests overall accessibility, driven by land ownership, and describes routes of access to significant features and/or hikes with driving instructions. (You will undoubtedly want a more detailed map if you decide to visit.)

Julyan describes for each mountain's geology, natural history, and human history. He includes "almost anything that struck my fancy." Many of those fancies were clearly formed on the rocks of the mountain in question.

Useful appendices include an elevations list, highest county summits,
glossary of geologic terms (including Spanish landform terms), mountain headings of New Mexico rivers, an excellent bibliography, and an index.

I greatly enjoyed reading this excellent resource, and would give the book five stars except that the illustrations are very poor, and there are no real maps -- one must consult an atlas of New Mexico to gain anything other than a superficial idea of where the mountains lie in the state.

Nevertheless, Julyan has written an excellent survey of many of the high points in the fascinating state of New Mexico.

Robert C. Ross 2010 ... Read more

Product Description
In this first history of the Jews in New Mexico--from the colonial period to the present day--the author continuously ties the Jewish experience to the evolution of the societies in which they lived and worked. The book begins with one of the least known but most fascinating aspects of New Mexico Jewry--the crypto-Jews who came north to escape the Mexican Inquisition. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the story is more familiar: German merchants settling in Las Vegas and Santa Fe and then coming to Albuquerque after the railroad arrived. To these accounts the author adds considerable nuance and detail, particularly on the place of Jews in smaller communities such as Roswell and Las Cruces as well as their social life and religious practice in a frontier region.

The discussion of the twentieth century focus particularly on the dynamics of Jewish development, and the ways in which that process differed in New Mexico. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Incomplete
The author does a good job covering the general history of the Jews (Ashkenazi) in New Mexico who came after the opening of the Santa Fe trail and mostly after the arrival of the Americans and the Mexican-American War.The book is woefully outdated concerning the Spanish Jews of New Mexico (extremely out dated chapter 1).This book is in serious need of an update and expansion.(really deserves about 3 1/2 stars)

A History of the Jews in New Mexico
My relatives are listed in this book.It was interesting seeing what they accomlished after coming to America ... Read more