Book Review

Caribbean and Latin America

Until recently, the life of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa remained shrouded in mystery, distorted beyond recognition by detractors and eulogists alike. The legend of ese desconocido (that stranger), as one historian called him, was perpetuated in corridos (ballads), Hollywood movies, and books with titles such as Pancho Villa, the Fifth Rider of the Apocalypse or Paco and the Lion of the North: General Pancho Villa Teaches a Boy about Life and Death during the Mexican Revolution. Villa has even ascended to the curious communion of Mexican folk saints. I recently purchased a popular novena designed to invoke his powerful spirit.	1
Now historian Friedrich Katz, one of the United States' most distinguished Mexicanists, has tackled the daunting task of disentangling history and myth and establishing wie es eigentlich gewesen ist (or, better, wie es eigentlich geschehen ist). While his earlier publications, and those of several of his students, have already strongly influenced the way specialists view Villa and his times, Katz finally offers us his long-awaited biography. At four pounds, nine ounces, Katz's magnum opus is what Mexicans refer to as a ladrillo, or brick, even superseding in sheer weight Alan Knight's The Mexican Revolution (1986), which, published in two volumes, came out at four pounds, eight ounces. But there is little fluff in this weighty history. Katz's study is more than a biography. Using Villa's life as leitmotif, the author depicts in meticulous detail the epic of the Mexican Revolution as experienced in one of its crucibles, the northern state of Chihuahua.	2
Katz is not interested in the latest academic jargon or theoretical navel staring. His prose is clear, and though he often addresses theoretical debates, he does so in a low-key, intelligible style. Katz's approach is gründlich and (refreshingly) Rankean. He has scoured hundreds of archives, from Ciudad Guerrero to Potsdam, in search of every last scrap of evidence he could lay his hands on. His adventures are described in a useful appendix entitled "On the Archival Trail of Pancho Villa." Katz often sounds like a humble Sherlock Holmes, reviewing and discarding diverse hypotheses. He is never afraid to say that he does not have an answer. Still, this habit can be wordy and even distracting at times. Katz's fascination with documents does not mean that he eschews cultural analysis. Some of the most interesting passages deal with the production and consumption of a rich variety of images of Villa, including the official priista Villa. Just as there are "many Mexicos," there are many Villas as well.	. . .