An American Family in the Mexican Revolution (review)

An American Family in the Mexican Revolution. By Robert Woodmansee Herr. In collaboration with Richard Herr. Introduction by William E. French. Latin American Silhouettes: Studies in History and Culture. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1999. Photographs. Maps. Notes. Index. xlvi, 263 pp. Cloth, $55.00.

Robert Woodmansee Herr's reconstruction of his family's life in Mexico during thirty years of revolutionary upheaval is fascinating and important. Herr's father, Irving, and his wife Luella, supervised the Cubo mine near Guanajuato between 1902 and 1932. Robert Herr and his brothers, John and Richard, were born in Cubo. Irving's correspondence, Luella's letters and diaries, and other family sources are reproduced in length, and form the core of the book. Robert Herr provides historical background, reminiscences, and some commentary; his youngest brother, Richard Herr, who was born in 1922, provides additional material and the oversight of a trained historian.

Fear for personal safety led to Luella's returning with her children to the United States on several occasions and, between 1915 and 1920, to the entire family's leaving Mexico. Worrying far less about the ideology of the revolution than the resulting absence of law enforcement, however, Irving and Luella made it clear that they did not perceive the revolution as a general uprising against Americans or American property. Desire for effective American intervention to end lawlessness was a constant concern; however, it was a concern that led the Herrs to censure Woodrow Wilson for his intervention in Veracruz against the dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta who, in their eyes, kept order. The family was later more comfortable with the Villistas, who for several months maintained order in the vicinity of Guanajuato, than they were with Venustiano Carranza's Constitutionalist forces whom they viewed as far more lawless and corrupt. In sum, the family seemed to perceive as friendly the very figures of the revolution that orthodox histories present as the "bad guys." The Herrs' perspective also challenges historians of the John Mason Hart school who view the revolution as a struggle for national liberation against American imperialism.

Robert Herr has done an excellent job editing the personal papers of his parents. The unselfconscious voices of Irving and Luella are not censored, although it must have been tempting to do so since the elder Herrs spoke of Mexicans in a way that is patronizing and racist by today's measures; for example, Irving's reference to the family's cook as "one of the Mexicans who are white in everything but color" (p. 111). It is evident, nevertheless, that Robert and Richard take great pride in the humaneness of their parents toward their employees and their skill in understanding Mexicans.

Because so many voices are present in the text, readers will have to take care to note the transitions. This will be no problem to trained historians, but could cause difficulties for students for whom this book will otherwise be readable. One thing students will enjoy is the detail of Herr family life in the Cubo hacienda which lacked American amenities but certainly provided compensating adventure for the Herr boys who grew up there. Robert and John were taught the use of pistols for self defense in their early teens while Luella did not hesitate to ride her horse into Guanajuato for bridge or tea with other expatriate Americans.

Robert Herr's book will aid historians and students in better understanding the revolution and the perspective of Americans who lived through it. Historians interested in mining history, the role of American investments, and the life of the larger American community in Mexico will find the book especially rewarding. Excellent photographs, useful maps, a chronology, an index, and a valuable introduction by historian William E. French are also part of this well edited volume. It can be read for both enjoyment and historical value.

Joel S. Cleland
Lander University

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