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Title: The Life and Times of Pancho Villa by Friedrich Katz ISBN: 0-8047-3046-6 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr Pub. Date: September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Rigorous history that is more exciting than fiction
Comment: Probably, the most important thing about this book is the fact that, though its subject is one of the most misunderstood characters of world history, it rests on an extremely rigorous research. Prof. Katz, one of the most serious and best historians you can read, and a specialist in Mexico, sought and found every available source of information. His history is as objective as it could be. But this is much more than just a biography of Pancho Villa; it is a history of the Mexican Revolution that develops around Villa and his movement. Besides, the life of Villa is more impressive, exciting and interesting than many, many fictional characters, even when the historian puts the legends aside and stays within the boundaries of solid data. It is really a pity that most people have an idea of Villa which comes from easy novels (like "The friends of Pancho Villa"). These novels may be good or bad, but most of the time they are pure fantasy. For example, most of them paint Villa as a bandit who led a disorderly band of killers. Well, surprise! Villa, who certainly had a past as an outlaw, managed to organize the most formidable war machine of the Revolution. During the 1910-1911, and 1913-1915 campaigns, his army was the best in terms of logistics, organization, discipline, morale, and strategy (until Villa made serious mistakes and Obregon defeated him). And more surprises: of all the revolutionary armies, Villa's was the most disciplined in terms of their behavior. Villa strongly prohibited and punished vandalism, rapes, destruction and raids. This is not to say they were a band of angels, but their cruelty and the devastation they created must be put in context. Carranza's army was much more terrible, and Carranza was no bandit, but a wealthy landowner. Anyway, this is a magnificent piece of work, extremely readable. Of course, it will not satisfy the reviewer below, who was looking for ten minutes of information in the Brittanica (very flawed, by the way), or the person who was looking just for "stories" and less "information". This, though extremely enjoyable, is serious history for serious readers who, along the way, find the amazing story of a contradictory man, with great wits, poor education, no significant traces of corruption (he had multiple opportunities to steal, run and keep the money, and never did it), extreme attitudes of cruelty, ruthlesness, violence, and also generosity, tenderness, and loyalty. Neither simple bandit nor saint: just an extraordinary man living in the hardest of times, escaping from death time after time, until the last time. Fictional characters don't get more amazing and historians don't get any better.
Rating: 5
Summary: You see all facets of Villa, in the context of Revolution
Comment: This is a great book. Not since John Womack's "Zapata & the Mexican Revolution" 2 decades ago has such a scholarly, well-written, moving account of the Mexican Revolution found its way into english. The book was, obviously, a labor of love and the labor of a career for Katz, who must have mined every possible source to generate a full-blooded picture of Villa himself, how he fit into the revolution, and the revolution'sown history. The book's length is formidable & off-putting, but not a difficult read at all ... I would recommend that people who might be scared off by its size try reading the first 50 pages or so before they conclude it is just too lengthy. I think most of you will find yourselves drawn in during that first immersion, and end-up buying (or taking it out of the library).
Rating: 1
Summary: This Book is too long
Comment: I had to read this book for my History of Latin America class, which I just didn't bother doing, cause it was way too long. There are many other shorter concise books on good old Pancho Villa. Skip this one and get a shorter one.
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Title: Zapata and the Mexican Revolution by John Womack Jr. ISBN: 0394708539 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 1970 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Wind that Swept Mexico by Anita Brenner, George R. Leighton ISBN: 0292790244 Publisher: Univ of Texas Press Pub. Date: 1984 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution by Frank McLynn ISBN: 0786710888 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Pancho Villa: Strong Man of the Revolution by Larry A. Harris ISBN: 0944383319 Publisher: High Lonesome Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Zapata by John Steinbeck, Robert E. Morsberger ISBN: 0140173226 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: May, 1993 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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