Why read Death and the Idea of Mexico?

Book cover of Death and the Idea of Mexico

Book description

Death and the Idea of Mexico is the first social, cultural, and political history of death in a nation that has made death its tutelary sign. Examining the history of death and of the death sign from the sixteenth-century holocaust to contemporary Mexican American identity politics, anthropologist Claudio Lomnitz’s innovative…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Death and the Idea of Mexico as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Marcus Sedgwick

Author

I wanted to include a book here on ‘Holy Death’ herself, Santa Muerte, but there simply isn’t a good one. There’s a terrible one published by a once respectable academic publisher, but I can’t recommend it. Instead, there are some passages on Santa Muerte in this huge and significant piece of work: Lomnitz’s encyclopedic book digs into Mexico’s deep roots to explore the long relationship the country has with Death, of which the still growing ‘cult’ of Santa Muerte is but one emanation.

From Marcus' list on The best books on the USA / Mexico border, drug cartels, and misery.