Book description
The Mexican Revolution (1910-19) was the first seismic social
convulsion of the twentieth century, superseded in historical
importance only by the Russian and Chinese revolutions. Tierra y
Libertad (Land and Liberty) was the watchword of the revolutionaries
who fought a succession of autocrats in Mexico City. But the
revolution was fired by a confusing multiplicity of issues: local,
national, international, cultural, racial and economic. The two
greatest rebel leaders were Francisco (Pancho) Villa and Emiliano
Zapata, and Frank McLynn here tells the story of the Revolution
through a dual biography of these legendary heroes.
The great ten-year struggle that devastated Mexico was essentially a
war on two fronts: in the north waged by Villa and a mobile army of
ex-cowboys and ranchers; and in the south carried on by Zapata and an
infantry army recruited from the peons of the sugar plantations. Villa
was the Revolution's great military hero, but Zapata was its soul and
the only rebel whose revolt was aimed at a genuine root-and-branch
transformation of Mexican society. The two men reached the peak of
their careers in 1914 when they met briefly in triumph in Mexico City.
Failing to make common cause, over the next five years they gradually
fell victim to their great rivals, Obregon and Carranza.
Mixed up in the turbulent melting pot of the Revolution were the US
government, American oil interests and German secret agents, and among
the dramatic events McLynn discusses are Villa's raid on Columbus,
Pershing's punitive expedition south of the border and the Zimmermann
telegraph. Villa and Zapata is an enthralling biography and a
remarkable work of history.
Frank McLynn is a highly regarded historian, who specializes in
biographies and military history. He has written over 20 books,
including critically acclaimed biographies of Napoleon and Richard the
Lionheart. Other books include
1066
,
Stanley, 1759,
and
Marcus Aurelius.
He is a graduate of Wadham College, Oxford, and London University, where
he obtained his doctorate.
