Mexico in World History

摘要

The editors of the Oxford New World History series do not lack ambition. They aim to produce accessible, up-to-date histories of different regions, encompassing global influences, global comparisons, elites and masses. This is a tall order for any textbook, let alone one of 179 pages covering several millennia. Unsurprisingly, this book is more successful in some respects than others. Beezley assumes that most readers will be familiar with some aspects of Mexican culture as it has been disseminated around the world - tacos, mariachis, telenovelas - but will know less about the development of Mexican society and politics, and this seems fair enough. He provides a lively, socially inclusive narrative of Mexico's history. There is perhaps not as much global context as promised by the title, and historiography could be better integrated, although some omissions are inevitable in such a synthesis. The most serious problems are more prosaic and editorial.