Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Here is a history of today's biggest city from the Aztecs to the present—a vast subject treated in a hefty volume. The author, a Wall Street Journal editor who grew up in a sheltered area of Mexico City, offers a lively chronological narrative flecked with pithy observations, colorful details, and some memorable sketches of people. The trouble is that the city's life too often is represented only in national events and the public lives of national leaders and their intimates. Kandell does best with what he has seen, heard, and smelled for himself. Too few of the 575 pages of text are rooted in this kind of intimacy or a clear vision of the city's past as that of a place in process." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [577]-624) and index.