This lengthy, award-winning study details the critical role played by the city of El Paso, Texas, in the violent phase of the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1920. The monograph is thoroughly researched using local, state, and federal sources and rests primarily on US archival materials, especially the infrequently used Federal Bureau of Investigation records. The authors show little concern with why the Mexican Revolution occurred and the underlying ideological forces that drove it, claiming that such issues are “overemphasized” by scholars who have addressed them “ad infinitum.” Instead, Charles Harris and Louis Sadler focus on “the mechanics of rebellion” or the manner in which the revolution unfolded in the northern half of the country (p. xi). Their analytical approach, which emphasizes questions of “how” rather than “why,” is refreshing and logical since ideological commitment, factional loyalty, and concern for national interests were fragile. Actors on both sides of the...

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