This accessible, sweeping survey of Mexican history, from pre-Columbian times to the present, introduces critical political and economic processes that have defined the country.

With ample maps and illustrations, along with historiographical inserts, this book is a guide from the earliest beginnings of a great nation down to the present day.

This second edition includes the following changes:
- Two additional chapters that cover the period of 2000 to 2025
- New content that thoroughly addresses cartels, criminal organizations, and drug war
- The latest pre-Columbian archaeological discoveries
- 10 new illustrations and 10 new inserts

To understand this complex and diverse land is to study the splendor of its pre-Columbian cultures, learn the legacies of a violent conquest, and appreciate the fluorescence of three centuries of viceregal Spanish rule. It does not shirk from addressing the darker side of history. Examining the corruption of presidents and the PRI party, it candidly identifies the roots of cartel-related violence. It introduces all of the major players: from Sor Juana to Benito Juárez, Moctezuma to AMLO, Cuauhtémoc to Lázaro Cárdenas, and Alemán to Zedillo. It answers the puzzling question: why is Mexico so poor when its powerful northern neighbor is so rich?

John W. Sherman delivers the essentials to understanding the country. The book's brevity and approach allow for instructors to match it up, unhindered, with their favorite social history books and material, and its easy-to-read and well-paced chapters will engage students. Readers come away with a rooted understanding of where Mexico has been and of contemporary Mexico as it really is.