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A New York Times best seller!"Lively and absorbing...." (The New York Times Book Review)"Engrossing." (Wall Street Journal)"Entertaining and well-researched...." (Houston Chronicle)Three noted Texan writers combine forces to tell the real story of the Alamo, dispelling the myths, exploring why they had their day for so long, and explaining why the ugly fight about its meaning is now coming to a head.Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it's no surprise that its myths bite deep. There's no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos - Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels - scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico's push to abolish slavery papered over. Forget the Alamo provocatively explains the true story of the battle against the backdrop of Texas's struggle for independence, then shows how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness.In the past 40-some years, waves of revisionists have come at this topic, and at times have made real progress toward a more nuanced and inclusive story that doesn't alienate anyone. But we are not living in one of those times; the fight over the Alamo's meaning has become more pitched than ever in the past few years, even violent, as Texas's future begins to look more and more different from its past. It's the perfect time for a wise and generous-spirited book that shines the bright light of the truth into a place that's gotten awfully dark. Read more

Considered by many scholars the finest extant Mexican codex and one of the most important original sources for the study of pre-Columbian religion, the Codex Borgia is a work of profound beauty, filled with strange and evocative images related to calendrical, cosmological, ritual, and divinatory matters. Generally similar to such Mixtec manuscripts as the Codex Nuttall, the Codex Borgia is thought to have its origin (ca. A.D. 1400) in the southern central highlands of Mexico, perhaps in Puebla or Oaxaca. It is most probably a religious document that once belonged to a temple or sacred shrine.One use of the Codex many have been to divine the future, for it includes ritual 260 day calendars, material on aspects of the planet Venus, and a sort of numerological prognostic of the lives of wedded couples. Another section concerns various regions of the world and the supernatural characters and attributes of those regions. Also described are the characteristics of a number of deities, while still other passages relate to installation ceremonies of rulers in pre-Columbian kingdoms.Until the publication of this Dover edition, the Codex Borgia has been largely inaccessible to the general public. The priceless original is in the Vatican Library and previous photographic facsimiles are very rare or very expensive or both. Moreover, the original Codex has been damaged over the centuries, resulting in the obscuration and loss of many images. In order to recapture the beauty and grandeur of the original, Gisele Diaz and Alan Rodgers have painstakingly restored the Codex by hand— a seven-year project — employing the most scrupulous research and restoration techniques. The result is 76 large full-color plates of vibrant, striking depictions of gods, kings, warriors, mythical creatures, and mysterious abstract designs — a vivid panorama that offers profound insights into pre-Columbian Mexican myth and ritual. Now students, anthropologists, lovers of fine art and rare books — anyone interested in the art and culture of ancient Mexico — can study the Codex Borgia in this inexpensive, accurate, well-made edition. An informative introduction by noted anthropologist Bruce E. Byland places the Codex in its historical context and helps elucidate its meaning and significance. Read more

El oyente recorrerá el laberinto del los acontecimientos en la noche del 26 de septiembre, sus trampas, su oscuridad y la luz. Entrará en la Normal Rural "Raúl Isidro Burgos", escuchará las intensas voces de sus estudiantes....Ante acontecimientos como el del 26 de septiembre de 2014, ningún país puede seguir adelante sin conocer la verdad a la que tienen derecho las víctimas y la sociedad.Los hechos de Iguala nos obligan a reflexionar sobre el momento que vive México: retratan con crudeza la degradación de las instituciones cuya obligación es procurar justicia y protegernos; al mismo tiempo nos retratan como sociedad, muestran cuáles son nuestros temores más profundos, pero también nuestras esperanzas. En medio de la polarización y la soledad que se vive en un país como México, la gente ha comenzado a olvidar que el dolor que la injusticia provoca a los otros debiera ser nuestro propio dolor.En esta investigación el oyente recorrerá el laberinto del caso, sus trampas, su oscuridad y la luz. Llegará a la calle Juan N. Álvarez, verá los casquillos y las sandalias tiradas en el suelo. Entrará en la Normal Rural "Raúl Isidro Burgos", escuchará las intensas voces de sus estudiantes, algunas veces llenas de valor y orgullo, otras de miedo y soledad. Viajará a los sórdidos lugares donde se aplicaron infames torturas para fabricar culpables, así como a las oficinas de altos funcionarios donde se ejecutó el encubrimiento. Asimismo, conocerá de viva voz los testimonios de aquellos que recibieron jugosas ofertas de dinero para que se culparan y culparan a otros, y así cerrar el incómodo caso. Finalmente, vislumbrará en las voces de los testigos la desesperación de las víctimas durante las horas del exterminio, el coraje de los sobrevivientes y las lágrimas de los que fueron desaparecidos.Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish. Read more

There's so much to love about Mexico. Indigenous traditions stretching back millennia; colourful cuisine that's loved the world over; and vibrant festivals bursting with joyful energy. Mexico is a country worth celebrating - and that's exactly what ¡Viva Mexico! is all about.Within its pages, you'll discover the rich diversity of this vast country. Uncover its varied natural landscapes, which stretch from white-sand beaches to jungle-cloaked mountains; explore its vibrant cuisine and how it differs greatly from region to region; and learn about its ever-changing cycle of colourful feasts and fiestas. The book also covers Day of the Dead traditions, how staples of Mexican food have changed as they've travelled the globe, and how pioneering filmmakers continue to influence the world of cinema.Throughout, you'll unearth the unshakable ties that link this diverse country together, whether it's the importance of family, a love of chilis or simply the desire to keep chatting around the table long after dinner has finished. So, get ready to learn what makes Mexico so special - ¡viva Mexico! Long live Mexico! Read more

In November 1519, Hernando Cortés walked along a causeway leading to the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with Moctezuma. That story--and the story of what happened afterwards--has been told many times, but always following the narrative offered by the Spaniards. After all, we have been taught, it was the Europeans who held the pens. But the Native Americans were intrigued by the Roman alphabet and, unbeknownst to the newcomers, they used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Until recently, these sources remained obscure, only partially translated, and rarely consulted by scholars. For the first time, in Fifth Sun, the history of the Aztecs is offered in all its complexity based solely on the texts written by the indigenous people themselves. Camilla Townsend presents an accessible and humanized depiction of these native Mexicans, rather than seeing them as the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes. The conquest, in this work, is neither an apocalyptic moment, nor an origin story launching Mexicans into existence. The Mexica people had a history of their own long before the Europeans arrived and did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization. Instead, they realigned their political allegiances, accommodated new obligations, adopted new technologies, and endured. This engaging revisionist history of the Aztecs, told through their own words, explores the experience of a once-powerful people facing the trauma of conquest and finding ways to survive, offering an empathetic interpretation for experts and non-specialists alike. Read more

If you want to discover the captivating history of Mexico, then pay attention...Two captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: History of Mexico: A Captivating Guide to Mexican History, Starting from the Rise of Tenochtitlan Through Maximilian's Empire to the Mexican Revolution and the Zapatista Indigenous UprisingThe Mexican Revolution: A Captivating Guide to the Mexican Civil War and How Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata Impacted MexicoHere are just some of the topics covered in part one of this audiobook:The Era of EmpiresThe Spanish-Aztec War and New SpainThe Birth of a Nation“From the Halls of Montezuma...”The Big Division“The Most Beautiful Empire in the World”In the Times of Don PorfirioThe Mexican RevolutionThe CristerosThe Second World War and the Mexican MiracleEnd of Century PangsAnd much, much more!Here are just some of the topics covered in part two of this audiobook:The CometThe Strong Man of the AmericasFrancisco and the SpiritsVictory Comes Too SoonThe Wicked AmbassadorVictoriano HuertaTwo HurricanesThe Convention of AguascalientesThe Presidential ChairHuerta Strikes BackThe Horsemen of the ApocalypseThe Centaur and the General: Pershing’s Punitive ExpeditionThe Zimmermann TelegramAftermathAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the history of Mexico and the Mexican Revolution, buy this audiobook now! Read more

At once intimate and wide-ranging, and as enthralling, surprising, and vivid as the place itself, this is a uniquely eye-opening tour of one of the great metropolises of the world, and its largest Spanish-speaking city.Horizontal Vertigo: The title refers to the fear of ever-impending earthquakes that led Mexicans to build their capital city outward rather than upward. With the perspicacity of a keenly observant flaneur, Juan Villoro wanders through Mexico City seemingly without a plan, describing people, places, and things while brilliantly drawing connections among them. In so doing he reveals, in all its multitudinous glory, the vicissitudes and triumphs of the city ’s cultural, political, and social history: from indigenous antiquity to the Aztec period, from the Spanish conquest to Mexico City today - one of the world’s leading cultural and financial centers.In this deeply iconoclastic book, Villoro organizes his text around a recurring series of topics: “Living in the City”, “City Characters”, “Shocks”, “Crossings”, and “Ceremonies”. What he achieves, miraculously, is a stunning, intriguingly coherent meditation on Mexico City’s genius loci, its spirit of place. Read more

If you want to discover the captivating history of Mexico, then pay attention....Before the modern country was born in 1821, the territory that today comprises 32 states and few small islands was inhabited by ancient dynasties and kingdoms of warriors, astronomers, priests, temples for human sacrifice, and, surprisingly, some of the largest cities in the world. It is estimated that the sacred city of Chichen Itza, in the Yucatan Peninsula, was larger than Paris at its height of splendor.This fascinating journey through Mexico’s history, from its amazing pre-Hispanic past to the end of the 20th century, will reveal more surprises than the listener can imagine. In the words of the self-proclaimed Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, “Mexico has magic. I looked for that magic, and I found it there.”In History of Mexico: A Captivating Guide to Mexican History, Starting from the Rise of Tenochtitlan through Maximilian's Empire to the Mexican Revolution and the Zapatista Indigenous Uprising, you will discover topics such as:The era of empiresThe Spanish-Aztec war and new SpainThe birth of a nation“From the Halls of Montezuma....”The big division“The most beautiful empire in the world”In the times of Don PorfirioThe Mexican RevolutionThe CristerosThe Second World War and the Mexican miracleEnd of century pangsAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the history of Mexico, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button! Read more

The myths and beliefs of the great pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica have baffled and fascinated outsiders ever since the Spanish Conquest. Yet, until now, no single-volume introduction has existed to act as a guide to this labyrinthine symbolic world.The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya is the first-ever English-language dictionary of Mesoamerican mythology and religion. Nearly 300 entries, from accession to yoke, describe the main gods and symbols of the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Mixtecs, Toltecs, and Aztecs. Topics range from jaguar and jester gods to reptile eye and rubber, from creation accounts and sacred places to ritual practices such as bloodletting, confession, dance, and pilgrimage. In addition, two introductory essays provide succinct accounts of Mesoamerican history and religion, while a substantial bibliographical survey directs the reader to original sources and recent discussions. Dictionary entries are illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned line drawings. Mary Miller and Karl Taube draw on their research in the fast-changing field of Maya studies, and on the latest Mexican discoveries, to produce an authoritative work that will serve as a standard reference for students, scholars, and travelers. Photographs and illustrations throughout Read more

Octavio Paz has long been acknowledged as Mexico's foremost writer and critic. In this international classic, Paz has written one of the most enduring and powerful works ever created on Mexico and its people, character, and culture. Compared to Ortega y Gasset's The Revolt of the Masses for its trenchant analysis, this collection contains his most famous work, "The Labyrinth of Solitude," a beautifully written and deeply felt discourse on Mexico's quest for identity that gives us an unequaled look at the country hidden behind "the mask." Also included are "The Other Mexico," "Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude," "Mexico and the United States," and "The Philanthropic Ogre," all of which develop the themes of the title essay and extend his penetrating commentary to the United States and Latin America. Read more

Unearth the powerful, ancient secrets of the Aztec people in the first herbal and medical manuscript compiled in the New World, encompassing ancient remedies and the medical expertise of indigenous populations spanning several centuries.   "I love that this book is the real deal. A truly unique and informative read." — Texas Kitchen and Garden and More Originally written in the Aztec language, Nahuatl, in 1552, this classic codex was the first herbal and medical text compiled in the New World. The author of this extraordinarily rare and valuable document was Martín de la Cruz, an Aztec physician, whose work was subsequently translated into Latin by an Aztec nobleman, Juan Badiano. The book was translated into English in 1939 by William Gates. In these pages are centuries-old Aztec remedies for boils, hair loss, cataracts, insomnia, sore throats, hiccups, gout, lesions, wounds, joint diseases, tumors, and scores of other ailments. Over 180 black-and-white figures of the plants augment the text, along with 38 full-color illustrations made especially for the Gates edition. Additional supplements include an introduction to the Mexican botanical system, an analytical index of the plants, and a new Introduction by anthropologist Bruce Byland of the City University of New York. Remarkable for its scope, detail, careful observation, and accurate description, An Aztec Herbal stands as a magnificent example of the impressive medical knowledge of indigenous peoples. This handsome and inexpensive edition of a long-unavailable work promises to engender a new appreciation of the skill and inventiveness of Aztec medical practices in particular and of Native American science in general.   Discover centuries-old secrets: Uncover Aztec remedies for common ailments like boils, hair loss, cataracts, insomnia, sore throats, hiccups, gout, lesions, wounds, joint diseases, tumors, and more. Written in Nahuatl and originally compiled in 1552, this rare document is a valuable resource for modern readers.Authentic illustrations: Over 180 black-and-white figures of the plants and 38 full-color illustrations enhance the text.Accurate description: Carefully observed and accurately described, this classic codex is a magnificent example of the impressive medical knowledge of indigenous peoples.New Introduction: Includes an introduction to the Mexican botanical system, an analytical index of the plants, and a new Introduction by anthropologist Bruce Byland.This affordable edition of An Aztec Herbal will inspire new ethnobotany studies and a new appreciation of the incredible skill and inventiveness of Aztec medical practice in particular and Native American science in general.   Read more

Winner of the Bancroft Prize • One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022 • A Kirkus Best World History Book of 2022 One of Smithsonian's 10 Best History Books of 2022 • Longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction • Shortlisted for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction • Shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction • Shortlisted for the Mark Lynton History prize • Longlisted for the Cundill History Prize “Rebel historian” Kelly Lytle Hernández reframes our understanding of U.S. history in this groundbreaking narrative of revolution in the borderlands.Bad Mexicans tells the dramatic story of the magonistas, the migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the United States. Led by a brilliant but ill-tempered radical named Ricardo Flores Magón, the magonistas were a motley band of journalists, miners, migrant workers, and more, who organized thousands of Mexican workers―and American dissidents―to their cause. Determined to oust Mexico’s dictator, Porfirio Díaz, who encouraged the plunder of his country by U.S. imperialists such as Guggenheim and Rockefeller, the rebels had to outrun and outsmart the swarm of U. S. authorities vested in protecting the Diaz regime. The U.S. Departments of War, State, Treasury, and Justice as well as police, sheriffs, and spies, hunted the magonistas across the country. Capturing Ricardo Flores Magón was one of the FBI’s first cases.But the magonistas persevered. They lived in hiding, wrote in secret code, and launched armed raids into Mexico until they ignited the world’s first social revolution of the twentieth century.Taking readers to the frontlines of the magonista uprising and the counterinsurgency campaign that failed to stop them, Kelly Lytle Hernández puts the magonista revolt at the heart of U.S. history. Long ignored by textbooks, the magonistas threatened to undo the rise of Anglo-American power, on both sides of the border, and inspired a revolution that gave birth to the Mexican-American population, making the magonistas’ story integral to modern American life. 39 photographs; 1 map Read more

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Mexican Revolution, then keep reading...The Mexican Revolution was a defining moment of the 20th century. The Mexican fight for democracy, equality, and justice sent shockwaves around the world. No other episode in its history has left a deeper mark. It is a three-act drama full of politics, persecution, and war, not to mention earthquakes, signs in the sky, and even spiritualist sessions, while being populated by larger-than-life villains, international spies, and the universally known figures of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. In fact, our modern idea of “revolution” owes much to what happened in this country between 1910 and 1920.Although the uprisings of the oppressed classes have occurred since antiquity, Mexico in the 20th century is a unique case—this was the first triumphant popular revolution that, unlike others, was able to establish a popular government that carried out extensive social transformations without resorting to state terror, as was the case in the Soviet Union and China. It integrated marginalized groups into national life, and it gave birth to a refurbished nation, where, for a hundred years, there has not been a new coup d’état, a problem that devastated other Latin American countries during the 20th century.In The Mexican Revolution: A Captivating Guide to the Mexican Civil War and How Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata Impacted Mexico, you will discover topics such as:The CometThe Strong Man of the AmericasFrancisco and the SpiritsVictory Comes Too SoonThe Wicked AmbassadorVictoriano HuertaTwo HurricanesThe Convention of AguascalientesThe Presidential ChairHuerta Strikes BackThe Horsemen of the ApocalypseThe Centaur and the General: Pershing’s Punitive ExpeditionThe Zimmermann TelegramAftermathAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the Mexican Revolution, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button! Read more

A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between Montezuma and Hernando Cortés that completely overturns what we know about the Spanish conquest of the AmericasOn November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This introduction—the prelude to the Spanish seizure of Mexico City and to European colonization of the mainland of the Americas—has long been the symbol of Cortés’s bold and brilliant military genius. Montezuma, on the other hand, is remembered as a coward who gave away a vast empire and touched off a wave of colonial invasions across the hemisphere.But is this really what happened? In a departure from traditional tellings, When Montezuma Met Cortés uses “the Meeting”—as Restall dubs their first encounter—as the entry point into a comprehensive reevaluation of both Cortés and Montezuma. Drawing on rare primary sources and overlooked accounts by conquistadors and Aztecs alike, Restall explores Cortés’s and Montezuma’s posthumous reputations, their achievements and failures, and the worlds in which they lived—leading, step by step, to a dramatic inversion of the old story. As Restall takes us through this sweeping, revisionist account of a pivotal moment in modern civilization, he calls into question our view of the history of the Americas, and, indeed, of history itself.  Read more

Es que los españoles nos conquistaron, trajeron toda la maldad y por eso somos pobres... Es que la Malinche... Es que los gringos nos robaron el territorio del norte y por eso no somos una potencia... Es que Porfirio Díaz fue un terrible dictador... Es que todos los ricos son malos y todos los pobres son buenos, y somos pobres pero honrados... Es que lo importante no es ganar sino competir..., por eso perdemos... Vamos a mandar a México a unas cuantas sesiones de psicoterapia. Lo acostaremos en el diván y lo enfrentaremos contra sí mismo, para ver si la lógica y la razón logran imponerse contra los dogmas históricos ridículos que lo atan al pasado. El mexicano es poco colaborador, personalista, egoísta, y no tiene en absoluto el espíritu de participación de otros pueblos. El mexicano vive el hoy volteando al ayer, lo que en definitiva no lo hace nada visionario. Nunca llegará al futuro un pueblo tan obsesionado con su pasado... peor aún, con un pasado mítico. Nuestra historia, como la de todos los países, está llena de mitos y mentiras. Será labor de este libro tratar de brindar versiones alternativas de la historia que nos ayuden a comprender nuestro carácter, nuestros ideales y nuestros complejos de hoy. Y es desde luego el sueño que este libro ayude a producir en el mexicano el cambio que tanto necesitamos para progresar como país, como personas y como sociedad.ENGLISH DESCRIPTIONBecause the Spanish conquered us and brought wickedness with them, and that is why we are poor... Because Malinche... Because the gringos stole the northern territories and we are no longer a global superpower... Because Porfirio Díaz was an awful dictator... Because all rich people are bad, and the poor are good, and we are poor, but honest... Because what matters is not to win, but to compete... that is why we lose...   We are sending Mexico to a few psychotherapy sessions. We will get it on the couch and make it confront itself to see if logic and reason manage to prevail against ridiculous historical dogmatisms that keep it tied to the past.   Mexicans do not cooperate much, they are personalistic and selfish; they do not share the collective spirit other peoples have. Mexicans live today with their eyes on yesterday, which in the end does not make them visionaries at all. A nation so heavily obsessed with the past, and worse, with a mythical past, will never make it into the future.   Our story, same as it is in all other countries, is full of myth and lies. It will be this book’s mission to give alternative versions of history to help us understand our character, our ideals, and our current complexes. Read more

A revelatory history of the vast tequila empire born from the fires of the Mexican Revolution.At the dawn of the twentieth century, José Cuervo inherited his family’s humble distillery, La Rojeña, in the Tequila Valley. Within a decade, he had transformed it into a complex national enterprise that would become Mexico’s leading producer of tequila. Cuervo grew his kingdom of agave by acquiring thousands of acres of estates throughout the valley; he brought electricity and a railroad line to Tequila, so he could reach drinkers across the country. But when the Mexican Revolution erupted, a charge of treason and a death threat against him by Pancho Villa forced Cuervo to flee. His disappearance turned him into an obscure, shadowy historical figure―despite having one of the most famous names in Mexican history.In Tequila Wars, award-winning author Ted Genoways restores Cuervo to his place as a key player in Mexico’s formative period. Before the revolution, Cuervo’s acclaim spread worldwide, and once war broke out, Cuervo remained an impresario, kingmaker, and cultural force. In the face of his own government’s corruption and the nationalism of his northern neighbors, Cuervo reached American drinkers by establishing Mexico’s covert form of cross-border commerce with the United States. As the largest and most important distilleries in the Tequila Valley recognized the threat posed by Mexico’s unraveling, Cuervo also lobbied for suspending normal competition in favor of “a union of tequila makers”―what would become the first Mexican cartel.With extensive original research, including access to the secret archives of the Cuervo and Sauza families, Genoways follows the violent, unpredictable, and hugely profitable world of tequila through the story of its most successful maker. The first biography of Cuervo, Tequila Wars uncovers the history of the man who would forever change not only the business of tequila, but international relations between Mexico and the United States. 8 pp illustrations Read more

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An exploration of the Zapatista project, from its conception to the present.On the thirtieth anniversary of the Mayan Indigenous uprising in Chiapas, The Zapatista Experience reconstructs the trajectory of the Zapatista struggle over the last three decades, both in its concrete achievements and in its contributions to the renewal of critical and antisystemic thinking. The Zapatista rebellion has become a reference and source of inspiration for many struggles around the world due to its major contribution in reformulating a credible and desirable path to emancipation, a path that broke with previously dominant conceptions: state-centric, productivist, Eurocentric, modernist, and patriarchal. Baschet demonstrates how the Zapatistas have succeeded in materializing, on a massive scale, the concrete experience of another way of living, a forerunner of possible emerging worlds. The autonomous rebel territories of Chiapas are among the most developed and radical of the "real utopias" that exist in the world today, exceptional in their experiments in self-governance and anti-State political form, argues  Jérôme Baschet. The Zapatista Experience orients readers in the profusion of Zapatista writings concerning, for example, the elaboration of a different understanding of politics, the Zapatistas' planetary conjunctural analysis of capitalism as a total war against humanity, their conception of Indigeneity that breaks with both modernist individualism and identity politics, and their notion of time and history. All this in clear opposition to neoliberal capitalism. Read more