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Top of the pile
85
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
71/100Critics
93/100Scholars
92/100Author:
Kelly Lytle Hernández
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Date:
May 10, 2022
Historian Kelly Lytle Hernández reframes our understanding of U.S. history in this narrative of revolution in the borderlands.
What The Reviewers Say
Hernández offers a brilliant, impeccably-researched, and engaging history of the lead up to the Mexican Revolution, whose impact on trade, immigration and international relations reverberates and impacts so many things even more than a century later.
Lytle Hernández is a natural storyteller, and her writing shines throughout Bad Mexicans. And while it reads like a novel — she proves to be masterful at building narrative suspense — it's also meticulously researched, and the author provides ample context to help readers understand the history of Mexico and its relationship with the U.S..
While Bad Mexicans is both thrilling and informative, it can become a tedious read for those without background knowledge of Mexican history, which is long and messy. It forces the reader to vigilantly keep track of the characters. I found myself rereading pages only to realize the person I thought I was following wasn’t present at all. Hernández carries us most of the way through, but it might require a bit of stamina (especially around the 300-page mark) not to lose sight of where she’s taking us. By the end of the hike, the view is clear.
... astute.
