Excellent coverage of the military and political aspects of the war

books:

	• So Far from God: The U.S. War With Mexico, 1846-1848 John S. D. Eisenhower University of Oklahoma Press, 2000 - 436 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The best book on this war

Interest in the war with Mexico fluctuates from low to none. Most authors simply do not consider this war as anything but a precursor to the American Civil War. These histories focus not on this war but on the junior officers that were important in the next one. This book focuses on the War with Mexico as a stand-alone event and as part of America's history. In doing so, the book is both unique and important. John S. D. Eisenhower is an excellent writer and a respected historian with a number of excellent books to his credit. This is one of his better ones and could be the best overview of this war. It is readable, intelligent and accurate with the right amount of looking forward to 1861.

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Excellent coverage of the military and political aspects of the war

Any war is a complicated equation, requiring multiple authors and perspectives. In this case, reviewing the Mexican colonial period and revolution and early American Republic history are all worthwhile in order to better understand where the Mexican War fits within the bigger picture of North American development in the early to mid-1800s.

Within the parameters of the subject matter covered in this book, the author does an excellent job of helping us understand the American political environment as it affects the instigation and prosecution of the war. This provides an excellent background against which the war itself plays out. The author colors in this background with stories of the main players, each army's expedition, and the major outcomes of each battle. Battle descriptions are tasteful and concise with no hint of jingoism or derogation of Mexico, its military leaders, or its people.

In conclusion, this book is well-written and the author makes history come alive, which is a rare skill for an historian. The book should be a must-read for anybody interested in studying 19th Century American history.

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A light in a dark point of United States history

I think that this is a good book about the yankee-mexican war. It shows the political and military problems in both sides, USA and Mexican, and also writes about personal histories, always interesting. It shows clearly also evident, that it's bad business to be neighbour of United States if your are not strong. The different ways of conduct of United States with England ( in Canada and Oregon problem) and with Mexico shows it clearly. Some things are difficult to believe , by example , that in a fight hand to hand only a yankee died and almost three hundred mexican did. but in general, I think that it's a good book for a first sight of that conquest war.
I remember a film of John Wayne which when he travels to mexican lands and a mexican in a horse come to give him wellcome, John Wayne shoot him and kill. That's the way the yankees ( not americans, because all habitants of America are americans, mexicans too ) did with every country that they can do it, Mexico, Spain ( Puerto Rico, Cuba , Filipinas, etc ), Colombia with Panama Channel, etc.
And it's very curious how this war is hide of United States films . If one see westerns films and about California, it seems a empty land and nobody knows that it was stealed to mexicans. Fortunately the time is changing and every year more and more mexican people live in that States and, who knows ? When United Stated would be not so strong, another countries made him like he did with others.
Anyway a good book that respect both fighters, only I miss a complete map with all the land stealed to Mexico ( almost a third of the country ) that reach Canada.

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History of one of the first American war crimes

There have been many war crimes committed by the United States throughout its history, but the war with Mexico in the mid 1840's has been one that is almost completely unknown. It is not mentioned in debates on the ethics of pre-emptive war, nor discussed much at all in the history books (but thankfully this is changing). This book gives the reader a view of the U.S.-Mexico war from the standpoint of a military historian, and does so in a manner that is free from the jingoism that is present in much of contemporary historical analysis of U.S. foreign policy. If one is not an expert in the history of the time, as is the case for this reviewer, one cannot attest to the accuracy of the author's account. However, the author gives references for those readers who need more in-depth coverage. The historical analysis of the U.S.-Mexico war, as is the case for all such analysis of U.S. foreign policy, has become the most important issue of the time. This importance has as its root the need for accurate information, and the dire need for authors who are honest and objective in their analysis. This does not mean that historians must be free from bias, for this is both impossible and in fact deleterious for any kind of analysis. But it does mean that authors must not suppress facts that conflict with their worldviews.

Whatever its historical accuracy, this book is captivating reading, due mostly to the author's writing style and his ability to make the important battles come alive in the reader's imagination. Warfare was more "in your face" at this time, in spite of the use of artillery that at the present time makes conflict more anonymous and therefore the pricking of conscience more rare. And as the author notes, information traveled a lot more slowly from the battlefield to the White House at the time. One can conclude that this gave commanders much more leeway in making battlefield decisions and more freedom in indulging themselves in their own strategic idiosyncrasies.

There are many fascinating facts in this book that may surprise readers new to this time in history. One of these concerns the tension between the United States and Great Britain over the Oregon territory. Another is that the death rate in this war was the greatest of any war in U.S. history. Still another was the actual occupation of Mexico City, and this being done with a surprisingly small number of troops. The jingoism and false patriotism of the time though was similar to what we are now experiencing with the war with Iraq. The Hobsonian "passion of the spectator, the inciter, the backer, but not of the fighter" was in play then as much as it is now, unfortunately.

Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, and other commanders who participated in the war are fixtures in history books, to be remembered forever, but the names of the soldiers who served under them are not. The occupation of Mexico City is still celebrated with the Aztec Club, the origin of which is discussed in the book, and whose members still proudly celebrate the heritage and history of the carnage against the citizens of Mexico City. Ulysses S. Grant can be remembered as one of the few leaders of notoriety who opposed the war, and as brought out in the book, he referred to it as "the most unjust war ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation" as "instance of a republic following the bad example of European monarchies." The historical parallels with today are striking, giving one more reason, beyond pure curiosity, for making this book, and others like it that discuss the U.S.-Mexico war, as being one that should be studied in detail. The author is correct when he says in the introduction that this time should not be "relegated to the attic of memory."

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Understanding US and Mexican Relations Today

This book is a must for anyone trying to understand US and Mexican relations today. It is very well reserched yet readable. This period in US history was not one of our finer moments. We are doomed to regret and pay for the actions of our imperialism, in the name of Manifest Destiny, for generations to come.This book helps us understand why we still have a price to pay in 2006.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Mexican-American War of the 1840s, precipitated by border disputes and the U.S. annexation of Texas, ended with the military occupation of Mexico City by General Winfield Scott. In the subsequent treaty, the United States gained territory that would become California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado. In this highly readable account, John S. D. Eisenhower provides a comprehensive survey of this frequently overlooked war.

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