Survivors in Mexico

West's travelogue is the perfect companion for a non-Mexican visitor to this most wonderful country, as her wit and insight provide a very nice overview of some of the key elements of Mexican culture and history. West was one of the first to write of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, long before they became the pop culture figures that they are today. Her insights into the concept of Mestizaje are insightful; she sees that it has been to Mexico's benefit and detriment that its society is not merely some variant of Europe and SPain but is instead an entirely new society of both European as well as Pre-columbian/ indigenous social attitudes and mores. Her discussion of the Revolution of the early 20th century is brief but also very telling of the background to that event, and her criticism of the inept US ambassador during that time, HL Wilson, is biting. West is capable of writing with insight about persons as well as events, notwithstanding that Mexico can be a notoriously difficult country to sound; yet she does so in a fashion that is clear, witty and quite intelligent. She never insults either her reader or the personages about which she writes. DOn't be put off by reviews which pick holes in West's research or even her spelling. Any errors herein are likely more a result of the difficulty for any non-native person to truly understand and know all that there is about a place. West is not a sloppy or lazy writer by any means. But neither is she a Mexican, and so I think that any intelligent reader will be more than pleased with what they find herein. And of course, this book is not the FINAL word on Mexico and the Mexicans! Travelogues written by non-natives bring out a special difficulty of writing about places and societies. Those who are native to a place often are blind to much of the Genus Loci, as they have lived in their midst forever; yet their insights can also be deeper, as the spirit is in their bones. An intelligent and perceptive visitor on the other hand can often see behind the daily facades that natives ignore, and thereby arrive at truths which even the natives would be surprised by. West's book here is an admirable mix of both of these, and I recommend this book to all who are interested in learning more about the Mexico that exists away from the sandy beaches and high rise tourist hotels. For example, all the crazy gringos who go to Chapala or San Miguel without speaking the language and without knowing who Juarez, Diaz, Villa or Zapata are, should really read this book. Hopefully, this will inspire more of them to pay a little closer attention during their visits to Mexico profundo.... y mientras estoy en mi casita Queretana, hablando con Dr. Atl de chocolate y las plumas verdes y brillantes del Quetzalcoatl...

Professor Schweizer, I don't know how I reached the age of 64 without being aware of Rebecca West. I purchased this book on a whim hoping it would help me to understand Mexico. I spent the overseas years of my foreign service career in Asia and ignored Europe. Upon retirement nine years ago I set out to understand how the Roman Empire (cum Christendom and Christendom in the New World) has molded our lives and minds. I vowed to visit the outlines of the Roman Empire and certainly many of those places where great things happened. I have largely accomplished this.Next month and in Feb I'm going to make my fourth and fifth trip to Mexico. I have read Krause's history of modern Mexico and several books on Hernan Cortez (e.g. Conquest). However Rebecca West's reflections on Mexico seem to be the most insightful of the lot. With every page I grasped a clearer image of something that I had only imperfectly understood. How (why?) does a non specialist come to such a clear vision that seems to elude those who are better prepared?Her thoughts on the Aztec religion and Montezuma had me saying, "Of course, that is the way it must have been." Also I am under a social cloud for rather admiring Hernan Cortez for his historic accomplishment all the while acknowledging his less than savory side. I say this because not only does West's estimation of this man equal mine but because her's is an approach (or an attitude) toward this and other things that I wish were mine.The question is: What does that say about me?I finished the book early on yesterday's flight from Orlando to Reagan Airport in Virginia. Such a lofty perspective is just the place to re-read your fine introduction.Thank you for bringing this book to publication.

This book, which is an assemblage of fragments Rebecca West intended to form into a book, but never completed, is a very enjoyable and provocative read. I think we get more insight into the mind of West than into her subject, which is the people and country of Mexico, but since she thinks a lot about the world, and the intersections of history, art, religion, and politics, one comes away having learned a lot. Although some might consider West opinionated, she has an engaging style, and forms judgements only after examining an issue from several angles, so one might disagree with her conclusions, but still enjoy the internal debates she conducts with herself. She dwells on several topics which interest her, including Aztec society, the historical encounter between Cortes and Montezuma, the relationship between native people, Europeans and the mixed culture, and individual historical figures that have lived in or passed through Mexico (Kahlo, Rivera, Trotzky, Zummarago). West seems especially interested in Encounters between very different people and cultures, and what those encounters reveal. This book gives the reader the sense of being present at several occasions, partly with vivid detail, as well as because West has familial connections with some of the individuals, and so can give an insider's view. The introduction is also very interesting, giving a sense of who Rebecca West was, as well as the struggle she faced in trying to write a book that could live up to the success of her earlier book, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.