Geo-Mexico: The Geography and Dynamics of Modern Mexico (review)

This year, Mexico celebrates both the bicentennial of the Grito de Dolores, marking the inception of its struggle for independence, and the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Porfirio Diaz and the start of the Mexican Revolution. In recent decades, the country has been the locus of numerous events of profound (social and scholarly) significance, including: its role as ground zero for imposition of structural adjustment policies in Latin America; contestation of neoliberalism, as exemplified by the Zapatistas' demands for indigenous autonomy; the discontents of NAFTA, such as controversies over the social and ecological implications of genetically modified organisms and the displacement and migration of millions of rural Mexicans; and, currently, the militarization of security and use of terror(ism) as a means of defending entrenched political and economic interests on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Given the confluence of these momentous historical circumstances, and the unfortunate dearth of introductory geography textbooks focusing on Mexico, the publication of Geo-Mexico: The Geography and Dynamics of Modern Mexico, is both remarkably propitious and timely.

In Geo-Mexico, authors Richard Rhoda and Tony Burton attempt to highlight Mexico's relevance, both geopolitically and as a focus of scholarly inquiry. The book, consisting of 31 brief chapters (averaging about eight pages), offers an ambitious and sweeping survey of Mexico's physical, cultural, economic, and political geography. Following an introductory discussion of key geographic themes, the first section of the book (Chapters 2 to 7) focuses on the country's physical features, including topography, climate, physiographic/ecological regions, water resources and natural hazards. Chapters 8 through 10 examine demographic issues, including population processes and Mexico's indigenous peoples. The next three chapters highlight patterns of social and cultural change in Mexico, including religion, language, music, food and politics. Subsequently, seven chapters (14-20) provide a detailed description of the country's economic geography, including a discussion of Mexico's role in the global economy. Urbanization, from the emergence of pre-Columbian cities and colonial settlement to the morphology and problems of the 21st century city, is the focus of the following section of the book, followed by three chapters which deal with domestic and international migration and transnationalism (25-27). The next three chapters of Geo-Mexico highlight themes related to development, including quality of life and sustainability, and the book concludes with a brief discussion of environmental change and social and economic trends.

An authoritative and expansive survey of Mexico's physical and human geography is a daunting task and Rhoda and Burton deserve credit for the sheer volume of information that they have managed to compile. The book is replete with figures (112), tables (31), and text boxes (54), most well-designed and quite effective, and much of the information comes from Mexican government sources frequently overlooked in traditional regional geography textbooks. In addition, the authors draw upon the day-to-day understanding gleaned from living and working in Mexico for many years, as well as mainstream scholarly literature, and use a direct, non-technical writing style that will likely appeal to the casual reader. As a consequence, given its breadth and the wealth of information it contains, Geo-Mexico could serve as a useful supplemental resource, perhaps in an undergraduate survey class.

Notwithstanding these strong points, Geo-Mexico suffers from several fatal flaws, particularly if the reader is seeking a regional geography textbook. Lacking a preface, the introductory chapter fails to identify the book's target audience or primary objectives (beyond the desire to enhance understanding of Mexico's complex geography). The four traditions of geography, introduced briefly in the first chapter, largely disappear in the avalanche of information found in the rest of the book. Inevitably, any regional geography textbook must strike a careful balance between the breadth and depth of material it covers. To its credit, the scope of Geo...