“From the solemn chronicles of archives to the myths burnished by campfire light; in photographs with their winking shimmer to the oral traditions carried in joke, anecdote, and rumor; from the steady and steadily assailed official record, Paco Ignacio Taibo II captures history as commotion. This narrative biography grants equal weight to what ‘actually’ happened as to what was said to have happened – a lingering sediment of memory and desire. Taibo does not simply reconstruct the ‘true story’ of Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution, he recovers the ache of a world without witness and the transformation of a man into legend.”
— Christina Heatherton, author of Arise! Global Radicalism in the Era of the Mexican Revolution
Praise for Paco Taibo II
“One of the best crime writers of our time.” —Gabino Iglesias, Crime Reads
“Paco Ignacio Taibo II is the father of the neopoliciaco genre and one of the most talented and historically educated chroniclers of Mexico City. However, fans of crime fiction should read him because he has a soft spot for everyday people and a fist of anger always ready to attack injustice and defend those who, through their everyday hustling and menial jobs, keep Mexico City functioning.” —Gabino Iglesias, Crime Reads
“Taibo’s writing is witty, provocative, finely nuanced and well worth the challenge.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Paco Taibo II is one of the greatest experts on Pancho Villa’s life.” —CNN Mexico
“Taibo writes with genuine savvy, a crackling wit and a certain zaniness that is his very own. Once we pick up the strange but beguiling rhythms of his narrative style, we begin to understand that Taibo is a storyteller of real genius.” —Jonathan Kirsch, LA Times
”The name Paco Ignacio Taibo II… evokes various descriptions: an author translated in multiple languages, an indefatigable promoter of culture, a hispanic-mexican citizen, a historian, the current director of the Economic Culture Fund, an arduous defendor of art, and, most importantly, a figure of resistance.” —Adonai Castañeda, Neotraba
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