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Fire And Blood: A History Of Mexico
Fire And Blood: A History Of Mexico
Fire And Blood: A History Of Mexico
Audiobook35 hours

Fire And Blood: A History Of Mexico

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About this audiobook

There have been many Mexicos: the country of varied terrain, of Amerindian heritage, of the Spanish Conquest, of the Revolution, and of the modern era of elections and the rule of bankers. Mexico was forged in the fires of successive civilizations, and baptized with the blood of millions, all of whom added tragic dimensions to the modern Mexican identity. T. R. Fehrenbach brilliantly delineates the contrasts and conflicts between them, unraveling the history while weaving a fascinating tapestry of beauty and brutality: the Amerindians, who wrought from the vulnerable land a great indigenous Meso-American civilization by the first millennium B.C.; the successive reigns of Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Mexic masters, who ruled through an admirably efficient bureaucracy and the power of the priests, propitiating the capricious gods with human sacrifices; the Spanish conquistadors, who used smallpox, technology, and their own ruthless individualism to erect a new tyranny over the ruins of the old; the agony of independent Mexico, struggling with the weight of its overwhelming past and tremendous potential. Throughout the narrative the author resurrects the great personalities of Mexican history, such as Motecuhzoma, Cortes, Santa Anna, Juárez, Maximilian, Diaz, Pancho Villa, and Zapata. Fehrenbach, who has updated this edition to include recent events, has created a work of scholarly perspective and gripping prose.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 6, 2018
ISBN9781541447721
Author

T.R. Fehrenbach

During World War II, the late Fehrenbach served with the US Infantry and Engineers as platoon sergeant with an engineer battalion. He continued his military career in the Korean War, rising from platoon leader to company commander and then to battalion staff officer of the 72nd Tank battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. Prior to his military involvement, a young T. R. Fehrenbach, born in San Benito, Texas, worked as a farmer and the owner of an insurance company. His most enduring work is Lone Star, a one-volume history of Texas. In retirement, he wrote a political column for a San Antonio newspaper. He sold numerous pieces to publications such as the Saturday Evening Post and Argosy. He is author of several books, including U.S. Marines in Action, The Battle of Anzio, and This Kind of War.

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Rating: 3.706896551724138 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    If you are seeking a book where a white man talks unsubstantiated rubbish about primitives and savages, look no further. Hopelessly outdated and unscientific, eye wateringly racist.

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Soy un “history buff” que no cree en la objetividad; todos tenemos filias y fobias. Pero sí creo en el esfuerzo consciente y honesto por evitar, en lo posible, la inserción de ideas preconcebidas en la formación de los juicios. Ese afán, por supuesto, hace una enorme diferencia de grado.

    La historiografía, como todas las disciplinas que se prestan a la manipulación ideológica, implica inevitablemente una selección. Las fuentes históricas presentan una gran diversidad, como que provienen de intereses encontrados. Abundan las discrepancias y, peor aún, las contradicciones. Cuando esto sucede es necesario concentrarnos en la EVIDENCIA. Y cuando ésta no es concluyente, hay que admitirlo así y resaltar el hecho al opinar sobre el tema. El señor Fehrenbach no procede de esta manera. Él está interesado en el sensacionalismo, en que su libro se venda. Jamás expresa una duda o aclara que hay versiones opuestas de un mismo acontecimiento. Se concreta a elegir lo que considera que concuerda con los prejuicios de sus congéneres.

    La manipulación ideológica no necesita recurrir al engaño grosero. Basta con SELECCIONAR lo que se expresa y lo que se omite. A este truco recurre el señor Fehrenbach. Busca versiones a su gusto y las repite, con frecuencia, v
    erbatim (copy & paste), sin dar crédito al autor. ¿Dónde quedó la ética profesional?

    Podría dar múltiples ejemplos de la deformación histórica a la que recurre el señor Fehrenhback mediante la omisión de hechos fundamentales. Sería demasiado largo. Incluyo dos muy obvios: 1. En toda su extensísima obra jamás menciona la contínua e importante interferencia que, para bien o para mal, ha ejercido el gobierno americano, no sólo en los asuntos mexicanos, sino en los de toda Latinoamérica, considerada por muchos políticos estadounidenses como su “patio trasero”. Henry Kissinger, John Bolton y otros muchos importantes dirigentes lo han justificado abiertamente. 2. No menciona tampoco el señor Fehrenbach que tres presidentes estadounidenses - John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln y Ulysses S. Grant - expresaron, con claridad meridiana, que la guerra con México era un abuso del fuerte sobre el débil motivado por el deseo de extender el territorio controlado por los esclavistas. Y así sucesivamente.




    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fire and Blood is popular history in the best sense, though not without some of the faults of the genre. On the positive side, the author presents a strong, clear narrative based on an impressive array of published sources, mostly in Spanish. His account is reasonably well-balanced. The only characters presented as purely black are Victoriano Huerta, whose dictatorship sparked the Mexican Revolution and led to the constitution of 1917, and the U.S. ambassador of the time, Henry Lane Wilson. The only unblemished angel is Álvaro Obregón, whose post-Revolution presidency set the template for Mexican governance, for better or worse, until the collapse of the PRI's political monopoly at the turn of the 21st Century.On the negative side, most historians would be delighted to be as certain about anything as Mr. Fehrenbach is about everything. There is no doubt in his narrative, no need to resolve conflicting judgments about men or events. The complete absence of footnotes makes it difficult to check the bases for the text's confident assertions. In this respect, the book is more like a nonfiction novel than a work of history.The author's evaluations also waver strangely. He routinely praises the policies of "state capitalism" followed by most Mexican administrations since the Revolution, insisting that the country lacked the human and economic wherewithal for a genuine free market. Yet he also routinely deplores the inequality, poverty, corruption and bureaucratic misrule that are dirigisme's most conspicuous progeny.Fire and Blood was originally published in 1972, then brought up to date in 1995. It thus covers only the early phases of the transition to multi-party democracy and completely omits the rise of the drug cartels and the ensuing de facto civil war. For readers who want to know what led up to Mexico's present distress, the book is a lively and generally reliable guide.