The Life and Times of Mexico is a grand narrative driven by 3,000 years of history: the Indian world, the Spanish invasion, Independence, the 1910 Revolution, the tragic lives of workers in assembly plants along the border, and the experiences of millions of Mexicans who live in the United States. Mexico is seen here as if it were a person, but in the Aztec way; the mind, the heart, the winds of life; and on every page there are portraits and stories: artists, shamans, teachers, a young Maya political leader; the rich few and the many poor. Earl Shorris is ingenious at finding ways to tell this story: prostitutes in the Plaza Loreto launch the discussion of economics; we are taken inside two crucial elections as Mexico struggles toward democracy; we watch the creation of a popular "telenovela" and meet the country's greatest living intellectual. The result is a work of magnificent scope and profound insight into the divided soul of Mexico.

About the Author
Earl Shorris (1936-2012) was the author of many works of both fiction and non-fiction including Latinos, Under the Fifth Sun, In the Language of Kings, and Riches for the Poor. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Clinton for his founding of the Clemente Course in the Humanities (R), Inc.

Reviews
"Expansive, creative, and nuanced." -- Megan Harlan - San Francisco Chronicle
"Magisterial and intimate, panoramic and close up, historical and novelistic, The Life and Times of Mexico is a magnum opus in every sense, the peak but not the end of Shorris's long career of interpreting the otherness that lives alongside and inside our borders." -- Ronald Christ - The New Mexican



Book Information
ISBN 9780393327670
Author Earl Shorris
Format Paperback
Page Count 800
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 859g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 142mm * 56mm