Ruiz uses the most dense prose I have ever encountered. If you have the time and the patience, out of this dense prose emerges a detailed account of Mexican history. Ruiz has gone to great lenghts to obtain personal histories and personality profiles of hundreds of key figures in Mexican history, and uses this information to weave a tale that shows how not only political machinations but personal foibles and ambitions interact to create history. His story encompasses romance, war, and economic figures, and is told with a surprising bit of subtle irony, while striving to maintain an objective view of events. This book is for history buffs who love to read lengthy tomes, but is not meant for Cliff's notes fans.

Ruiz has given scholars and laymen alike an interesting interpretation of the Mexican revolution. Ruiz argues that Mexico did not experience a revolution but rather a rebellion. Although Ruiz makes some valuable points and supports his thesis with reliable sources, it would be premature to make a generalized critique of the Mexican revolution. By this I mean, it is true that some geographical areas in Mexico did not participate in the revolution and that many states had different experiences and outcomes. Yet it can also be argued that sinse much of the new Mexican historiograghy is being conducted around subaltern communities, we are learning new ways of how to analyze and critique the so called "great rebellion." Overall, the book stimulates new ideas and controvercies about an event that changed the lives of Mexican's politically, economically, socially, and historically.

Mr. Ruiz has obviously spent a great deal of time and effort in researching this book. His in-depth yet easy to read analysis is very impressive. However, his inability to be objective is very disappointing. It seems that the author had a very biased opinion when starting this book. There are many problems in the border region and Mr. Ruiz does an excellent job of identifying and explaining these problems and challenges. On the other hand, this writer never tells us much about the other side of the story. For example, he mentions that Tijuana has a large middle class, yet only wants to focus on and analyze the negatives of the "maquila" industry. It seems that his interviews with Mexicans are only used to prove his point. Contrary points of view are not fully examined or are simply discounted. There are many other examples of this "telling half the story" throughout the book. I think it might do Mr. Ruiz some good to study the economic theory of comparative advantage. Mr. Ruiz is an excellent writer; I hope his next project will not be as lopsided.

Ramon E. Ruiz dispells many of the myhs about life on the Mexican-U.S. border. The chapters are devoted to contrasting the life that exist on the each side of the border. Each chapter is well written and his use of economic analysis is used cleverly to set up countless examples about the cultures that exist along the border. Ruiz writes an essential analysis in the study of Mexican-United States relations. A must read.