Andr�s Molina Enr�quez, "the Rousseau of the Mexican Revolution," influenced the course of agrarian reform in his country, but his association with the Huerta regime has cast a shadow on his contributions to the Revolution. This biography provides the first in-depth analysis of the ideas that guided the official land-reform program, as well as the first detailed discussion of Molina Enr�quez's career after 1917.

Connections between what people eat and who they are--between cuisine and identity--reach deep into Mexican history, beginning with pre-Columbian inhabitants offering sacrifices of human flesh to maize gods in hope of securing plentiful crops. This cultural history of food in Mexico traces the influence of gender, race, and class on food preferences from Aztec times to the present and relates cuisine to the formation of national identity. The metate and mano, used by women for grinding corn and chiles since pre-Columbian times, remained essential to preparing such Mexican foods as tamales, tortillas, and mole poblano well into the twentieth century. Part of the ongoing effort by intellectuals and political leaders to Europeanize Mexico was an attempt to replace corn with wheat. But native foods and flavors persisted and became an essential part of indigenista ideology and what it meant to be authentically Mexican after 1940, when a growing urban middle class appropriated the popular native foods of the lower class and proclaimed them as national cuisine.

In this fascinating thousand year survey of America's controversial and rapidly changing neighbor, a leading expert on Latin America explains how Mexico's present and future flow directly from its past. Going well beyond analyses of recent crises, Mexicois an engrossing, pellucid introduction to the Indian civilization, the harsh rule of the Spaniards, social violence and revolution, and the country's mercurial relationship with the United States up to the present. Jaime Suchlicki indicates that Mexico's turbulent history contains recurring and often contradictory trends. He convincingly describes how that history contributes to Mexico's current and arguably future difficulties. With an engaging style that brings a colorful story to life, the author provides sophisticated insights into the exciting historical development of America's increasingly important trading partner. Mexico contains numerous rare photographs and offers an up-to-date perspective on Mexico of today and tomorrow, including an assessment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its implications for the future of United States-Mexican relations. Upon its initial release, Mexico was hailed by Mario Ojeda Gomez, president of El Colegio de Mexico “as provocative and current. The writing is sharp and the ideas are clear and original. Suchlicki has focused on important aspects of Mexico's history and has explained them with intelligence, selecting what is really significant.” And Manuel Suarez Mier of the Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) writes that Suchlicki's book is “objective and appreciative, and will enable readers to better understand Mexico and its behavior. This is a fascinating and timely book.”

From the mid-nineteenth century until the 1930s, many Latin American leaders faced a difficult dilemma regarding the idea of race. On the one hand, they aspired to an ever-closer connection to Europe and North America, where, during much of this period, "scientific" thought condemned nonwhite races to an inferior category. Yet, with the heterogeneous racial makeup of their societies clearly before them and a growing sense of national identity impelling consideration of national futures, Latin American leaders hesitated. What to do? Whom to believe? Latin American political and intellectual leaders' sometimes anguished responses to these dilemmas form the subject of The Idea of Race in Latin America. Thomas Skidmore, Aline Helg, and Alan Knight have each contributed chapters that succinctly explore various aspects of the story in Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Mexico. While keenly alert to the social and economic differences that distinguish one Latin American society from another, each author has also addressed common issues that Richard Graham ably draws together in a brief introduction. Written in a style that will make it accessible to the undergraduate, this book will appeal as well to the sophisticated scholar.