Survivors in Mexico (Yale Nota Bene)

by Rebecca West

Other authorsDr. Bernard Schweizer (Editor)

Paperback, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

972.08

Genres

Collection

Untitled collection

Publication

Yale University Press (2004), Paperback, 294 pages

Description

A travelogue and historical exploration of Mexico from one of the twentieth century's greatest travel writers Dame Rebecca West travels through Mexico and explores its people, history, religion, and culture in her unfinished work Survivors in Mexico, carefully stitched together by Bernard Schweizer in this posthumously published edition. West tackles the country's broad historical legacy--the Spanish conquest and Mexican revolution, the muralist movement, race relations, and contemporary life--and delves into the personal, intimate lives of key figures such as Hernán Cortés, Montezuma, Dr. Atl, Diego Rivera, and Leon Trotsky. Conceived as a companion to West's masterful classic Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, this book showcases the complexity of West's character, addresses the paradoxes inherent in her work, and allows for a mature understanding of her ideology. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Rebecca West featuring rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, McFarlin Library, at the University of Tulsa.… (more)

Media reviews

New York Times

Witty and entertaining, substantive and reflective, insightful and well documented, in splendid and uncommon prose, Rebecca West's travelogue -- meandering commentary and ruminations on Mexico from pre-Columbian civilization to traffic in the capital during the mid-1960's -- is a model of British

sophistication and knack for seeing the other.

Show Less

User reviews

LibraryThing member cbl_tn

Rebecca West and her husband visited Mexico in the mid-1960s. Afterward, West worked off and on on a book based on her observations and experiences, but it was left uncompleted at her death. West scholar Bernard Schweizer edited the various drafts of the book, which was finally published in 2003.

West seemed more interested in Mexico's early history, and a good portion of the book is devoted to the Spanish conquest. In the modern era, her interest mainly focuses on revolutionary artists Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo, Trotsky's Mexican exile, and Mexican artist Dr. Atl, with whom West shared a passion for volcanoes that she traces to the influence of the Reclus brothers. West's observations do not seem to offer any groundbreaking insights on Mexican history or culture. The book will be of more value to readers with an interest in the author herself.

Show Less