The Course of Mexican History

I genuinely did not want to put this textbook down; it was well-written and informative. 10/10.

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of Mexico, beginning with the Olmecs and continuing on to the present. Meyer does an excellent job covering not only historical events, but also grounding those events in the relevant cultural and societal settings. He really helps you to understand why Moctezuma was so complacent against Cortez, and to understand the motivations of the conquistadores, etc. Overall, his coverage of the Conquest is outstanding.I also feel that his coverage of modern events is informative, though it does much less to make you understand the modern Mexican cultural and societal dynamic than was the case for the era of the Conquest.Where this book bogs down a great deal is in the discussion of the period stretching from the beginning of the Colonial period up to the Revolution. There is little grounding for the discussion of the independence movement - one gets the impression that it sort of just happened... The same thing is true for the Revolution. Meyer hits his stride again once the Revolution gets going, but you have 200 pages in the middle that are nowhere near as good as the beginning and end.Still, this is an excellent introduction to Mexican history that I greatly enjoyed. I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about a thoroughly fascinating country.

Rented this for class online this semester. Received and there's LOADS of lines, highlighter and sticky notes in it.... Kind of annoying, but also, how did the previous people not get fined for this!?Book is great, reads kinda like a story, and is very clearly laid out and descriptive. A good read aside from school!

Sherman, Myers and Deeds have the best book on Mexican history that can be found. It covers all aspects from the social and cultural to the military and political. It is very well written with plenty of pictures so you can visualize what happened at each point. The analysis is truly top notch and one of the great assets of this book is the wonderful suggested reading at the end of each chapter. It really allows you to learn all about Mexico and then go back and read further on the parts you find the most interesting. This is an essential book for any latin American history library and one that will live on throughout the ages. It is updated regularly although any edition is a great start to learning about Mexico. Whether you are an expert or a beginner you will find this book useful.

Was the correct book for my class

This is a general narrative summary of Mexican history. It is not very deep on anything, has few direct quotes from primary materials, but it's organized fairly well. For the beginner - or college student who is not very intellectually ambitious or curious - it's OK. For anyone else, I'd advise buying the really excellent Mexico Reader, Duke Univ Press, edited by Gil Joseph et al. The Mexico Reader is a terrific compendium of original sources covering all the same periods and can be used as a complement or in place of this book.

As a history student, I really enjoy this book and this edition in particular. It provides enough detail and explanation on the material it is being covered.

Very good textbook. Sometimes is hard for me to read history book because it has too much information and it can be a little bit overwhelming. Not this book, everything flowed and it was very helpful and interesting while I was reading.

Wanted to know more about the country I was visiting- now I do. good book, well worth buying- try it!