Description
Book SynopsisThe only substantive study of Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution, this book traces the remarkable life story of a complex and little-understood, yet key figure in Mexico''s history. Jürgen Buchenau draws on a rich array of archival evidence from Mexico, the United States, and Europe to explore Calles''s origins and political trajectory. He hailed from Sonora, a border state marked by fundamental social and economic change at the turn of the twentieth century. After dabbling in various careers, Calles found the early years of the revolution (1910-1920) afforded him the chance to rise to local and ultimately national prominence. As president from 1924 to 1928, Calles embarked on an ambitious reform program, modernized the financial system, and defended national sovereignty against an interventionist U.S. government. Yet these reforms failed to eradicate underdevelopment, corruption, and social injustice. Moreover, his unyielding campaigns against the Catholic Church and his
Trade ReviewJürgen Buchenau's well-crafted work provides important insights into the Mexican presidency and the Mexican state in the wake of the Revolution. -- Linda B. Hall, University of New Mexico
...Jurgen Buchemau's balanced, judicious, and concise biography ably synthesizes an impressive amount of scholarly literature, and mines overlooked primary sources... * The American, January 2008 *
Calles lived in tumultuous times and the picture one gets from this clearly written and well-researched book offers a window on the revolution and its after-math that should be read with interest by students and scholars alike. * American Historical Review, June 2008 *
[This book] fills a very important niche in the history of postrevolutionary Mexico....This excellent and well-researched biography leaves the impression that the noncharismatic Calles may have cast a longer shadow over Mexico's history than any of these more heroic figures. * The Historian *
Jürgen Buchenau's Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution provides a much-needed analysis of the little-understood life of Mexican strongman Plutarco Elías Calles.... Although there is much in this book for newcomers to Mexican history, specialists in the region will also benefit.... Clearly written, and easily accessible to an undergraduate audience.... A welcome addition to the newly emerging scholarship on Mexico's postrevolutionary period. -- Gregory Swedberg * HAHR, May 2009 *
Few students of modern Mexico grasp the history of its twentieth-century revolution as thoroughly across its regional, national, and international dimensions as Jürgen Buchenau. Combining illuminating biographical detail with overarching context, this first serious study of one of the Revolution's most important but least understood leaders is certain to please scholars and teachers alike. A superior achievement. -- Gilbert M. Joseph, Yale University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 1. A Life Adrift Chapter 2 2. Seeking Order in Chaos Chapter 3 3.Strongman of Sonora Chapter 4 4. In the Shadow of the Caudillo Chapter 5 5. El Señor Presidente Chapter 6 6. Jefe Máximo of the Revolution Chapter 7 7. In the Twilight
