The Illusion of Ignorance: Constructing the American Encounter with Mexico, 1877–1920

This volume seeks to examine the images of Mexico reflected in United States newspapers, magazines, and published accounts, as well as the unsuccessful efforts by the Mexican government of Porfirio Díaz to change that image. Thus it is “a book not about Mexico but about Americans thinking about Mexico” (p. vi), quoting and examining articles from newspapers and magazines perceived as influential, as well as travel accounts published in book form in the United States. Given its focus on image, it provides little information or context about either country and is based primarily on items that are already well known to scholars of Mexico. Therefore this work will be of more interest to historians of the United States than to those specializing in Mexico or Latin America. Reflecting its chosen focus, the work is inevitably based primarily on previously published materials, save for...