The Mexicans

Book of the Month Club selection!

The Mexicans is a multifaceted portrait of the complex, increasingly turbulent neighbor to our south. It is the story of a country in crisis -- poverty, class tensions, political corruption -- as told through stories of individuals. 

From Augustín, an honest cop, we learn that many in the Mexican police force use torture as their number-one-crime-solving technique; from Julio Scherer Garcia, a leading newspaper editor, we find how kidnapping and intimidating phone calls stifle a free press; we hear from a homosexual teacher wary of bigotry in a land of machismo; and many others. 

Moving from Mexico City discos to remote Indian towns, Patrick Oster tells of Mexicans whose lives reveal something vital about Mexico, and in doing so, helps to understand why many decide to risk their lives in order to have the opportunity to live in the United States.

“Oster does excellent research. He’s as bold at venturing into dangerous out-of-the-way places as he is diligent in delving into arcane government data on economics and employment and foreign relations. For instance, he walks into street gang territory in a Mexico City slum to interview gang members. Even though that encounter is used as a springboard for a discussion about crime in the city, the gang members emerge as surprisingly likeable – even sensible – given the conditions they live under.” — Mexconnect.com

Find out more at Amazon.com.