This book served as an excellent introduction to the history of Mexico for me. Fehrenbach writes with great skill and manages to craft a gripping and informative saga of the many varied and fascinating characters and episodes that have taken place over the long and often tragic history of our southern neighbor.For those who've been upset by "racial overtones" and "politically incorrect tropes" they found in the text, I would encourage you to continue reading works published before 2000! Let us not discount either history nor the presentation of history due to our contemporary sensitivities; we would all be intellectually poorer for that. Yes, this book was originally published in the 1970s, but I found Fehrenbach's a fair and compassionate record of a complex human story, which makes for a winning read in any decade.I look forward to using this work as a springboard to learn even more about Mexican history. Those reviewers unimpressed by Fehrenbach's "opinions and generalizations" would do well to continue your own study of Mexico. You may find that all historians will make such generalizations. How wonderful it is to live in a country and time where we can access as many histories as we like, eventually forming our *own* opinions and contributing our voice to the delightful and diverse conversation that is history.Thank you Mr. Fehrenbach, and happy reading to all.