Mexican Lives

Mexican Lives by Judith Adler Hellman is an amazing and important book, which focuses on the lives of Mexicans; ranging from the rich and poor, urban and rural, north and south. The author gives an insight of the truth of every Mexicans struggle. A great book to learn and enjoy about the government dealing with political issues. I personally did not enjoy this book, but I highly recommend this book to readers that are interested in politics and governmental policies.

I take a group of graduate nursing students to Oaxaca every year for a two-week language acquisition and practice experience. Previously I used a collection of articles from popular press and health care literature to provide background. Now, I use Mexican Lives to prepare these students with excellent results. I cannot imagine a better reading assignment of this type for the students. To me, it is a perceptive, thoughtful and beautifully written book.

Judith Hellman's book reflects the care and respect she gave to the people she studied. This is always a good thing to see from a social scientist!! (Nothing like Margaret Mead!!) Since Judith Hellman was my professor this year at York University, I saw first hand how much she enjoyed her work, and how seriously she took it too. This is a GREAT read for anyone who is interested in Mexican lives from the human level.....not just what the media tells us!!