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| Plot Summary of Insurgent Mexico |
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"John Reed was an American journalist who had been born into a life of luxury and ease but joined the socialist movement in the period right before World War I. A graduate of Harvard, he moved to New York where he became part of a circle of free-thinkers. He was very interested and involved in various workers' movements.
In 1913, he headed south with his lover the wealthy heiress and patroness of the arts Mabel Dodge to have a look at the Mexican Revoltuion. By that time, Mexico had been in upheaval for three years. In 1910, Francisco Madero, a wealthy landowner, had seized control of the government, overthrowing General Porfirio Diaz. When Madero failed to live up to his promises of land reform, he was in challenged by the peasant leader Emiliano Zapata. That revolution attempt would fail, but a group of rightist generals succeeded in assassinating Madero and replacing him with the American-backed restore the old dictatorship. With the help of the supposedly loyal General Huerta. Huerta was challenged, however, by Pancho Villa.
For four months, Reed would follow Villa on his march south from Texas through Chihuahua and south towards Torreon. Traveling not on an opulent train, but in the company of peons, Reed got to know firsthand the people who would support Villa in his ultimate overthrow of the Mexican government. This book tells in a very colorful fashion the story of those four months.
Reed would leave Mexico before Villa's job was finished. After a short time in the United States, he'd head for Europe, where he gained fame as a witness to the Russian Revolution. His most famous book would be Ten Days That Shook the World. The movie Reds, which starred Warren Beatty, would be about Reed and that portion of his life. "
Ann Gaines, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Insurgent Mexico |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
War/Spying
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1900+
Which war?
- Revolution, General
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Biography of famous person?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other people
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 7 ()
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Mexico
Misc setting
- moving train
Century:
- 1900-1920's
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel?
- challenged
Commentary on society?
Yes
Commentary on
- war
Writer's slant towards subject:
- very favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Autobiography?
Yes
How much dialogue in bio?
- significantly more descript than dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 0-25% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 26-50% of book
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Click here for more information about this book
John Reed Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Ann Gaines
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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