The Mexican war

The Old West #22

by David Nevin, Time-Life Books

Book by Time-Life Books

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Historical

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1978

About the author

David Reinhardt Nevin was born in Washington. His father, a veterinarian in the US Army when it had a horse cavalry, was soon assigned to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Mr. Nevin joined the US Navy as a teenager and served in the Pacific. After the war he did poorly in college, but could write well enough to be hired as a police reporter for The Brownsville (Texas) Herald. That led to work for Time and Life magazines.

Reviews

[Pat Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another Time/Life book about the U.S. versus Mexico war. Like all the Tim/Life books I have read it is understandable and enjoyable if you have an interest in the subject. The book covers a war that I don't remember learning anything more than "It happened" when I was in school. There are some officers written about that were big personalities in the Civil War. The fighting was as tough or tougher than any of the previous wars America had been in. The battles were described in pretty good detail and the framework of how they were planned is included. Certainly worth a try reading if you like history or reading about war.

[redbird_fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful. Excellent amount of information in a concise format. These books are not intended to be detailed studies of the subject matter.

Just what I was looking for on the subject.

[Henry Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided the detail of the first stages of the war starting from Texas. I already knew a lot about the invasion and attack on Mexico City but it did add some different points of view.

[William Razavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The same author did The Texans from this series but this book is a much better and more even handed telling of the US-Mexico War of 1846-48. For one thing, we aren't given the myth but the reality of Polk's attempts to invent a casus belli in the disputed border between Mexico and the newly annexed Texas.
We get to see the words of those Americans who thought this was an unjust war. Even those who were there in it like Ulysses Grant who would famously call this war a real piece of crap.
But...if you want to have a real taste of the problem embodied in this book it's the way it casually tells us about American troops shooting up towns and murdering civilians and raping people and how the Texas Rangers especially were noted for this. I mean, I suppose the one thing that impresses me is that the fact hasn't been erased from this book. There's that. I suppose it's hard to tell the story of this war without mentioning that the volunteer forces especially were known for being basically a paramilitary human rights violation on the move. So good on the author for not trying to wipe that slate clean. But on the other hand, the narrative really feels like it needs a record scratch moment several times when the occupying army goes on the rampage.
You'll pardon me if the current state of the world makes occupation stories especially...distasteful.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Time-Life series, "The Old West," considers the Mexican War in this volume. At the outset, the volume notes the lack of preparedness by the Mexican forces (Page 6): "But Mexico was ill prepared for war. Her generals fought each other for the presidency; her army bulged with untrained officers commanding underfed, underequipped Indian conscripts."

The book begins with the provocative march of General Zachary Taylor's force to the Rio Grande. The book speaks of the start of hostilities; it also begins by noting the controversy surrounding the outbreak of war. Was the United States simply muscling another country to expand its territory?

The book notes key American troops, from the young Ulysses ("Sam") Grant to the brilliant engineer Robert E. Lee to the two generals leading different armies (Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott). Also noted are Mexican leaders, particularly General/President Santa Anna (ironic, in that the United States helped him reenter Mexican politics, only to see him lead his country's forces against the Americans!). The book goes on to describe early battles between Taylor's forces and those of the Mexican Army, from Palo Alto to Resaca de la Palma to Buena Vista. Maps and illustrations and photos provide immediacy to the context of these early fights.

There is also the tale of how the United States took control of the West, specifically California. But, central to the conclusion of the war, we also read of Winfield Scott's amphibious assault on the coast and his taking of Veracruz. After that, his force cast loose and marched to the interior, toward Mexico City. Victory after victory occurred, often against difficult conditions. Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, Chapultepec. . . .

The book does not cover events in great depth, but there is enough detail to get a sense of the players and the action.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became aware of this Time-Life series, "The Old West," quite a while back. I decided to buy books in this series for my son, so that, once he got to the right age, he'd have all these books to read. Funny thing about life. . . . I doubt that he read a single book. But I read a lot of them and enjoyed the series quite a bit (some duds, but most books worked well for me).

This explores the Mexican War, from origins to outcomes. The book has a fairly realistic view and discusses the different perspectives as to whether this was a legitimate war or raw imperialism by the United States. The book does a nice job of looking at the key campaigns, such as the advance on New Mexico and California, Zachary Taylor's advance into Northern Mexico, and Winfield Scott's movement from the amphibious landing at Veracruz to his victory at Mexico City.

Not a bad volume. A good read. Not overwhelming in detail (although my preference is overwhelming detail!).