About the Book
FORGING A NATION Product description The history, culture and promise of America's most important national border country... Mexico... Yes, most Americans and Canadians just don't get Mexico... The news headlines tell a tiny part of the story... But the numbers reveal even more... Out of 227 countries in the world, Mexico ranks number 11 in population ahead of: Germany (16), France (21), United Kingdom (22), South Korea (26), Canada (37) and Australia (55). And ranks a whopping number 12 of 227 in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ahead of powerhouses like: South Korea (13), Spain (14), Canada (15) Australia (18) and Saudi Arabia (23)... And in the category of known oil reserves: Mexico is 18 of 227 countries ahead of the European Union (25), India (23), Australia (29), Italy (53) and France (68). You have only to look at how the European Union and other trading blocks (countries working together across borders) to see the impact of these international trading blocks... ...and see the problem pushing the United States into further decline if it does not recognize the importance of working with Mexico like a partner rather than treating it like a problem. Story Finally Told... This engaging, entertaining and quick reading history of Mexico spanning 5,000 years brings history to life and removes the shroud of secrecy, stereotypes and misconceptions that have plagued USA-Mexican relations. This book finally transcends the gory headlines of today's media and delivers on the promise of giving the reader a perspective and insight on Mexico that few English speakers grasp. Kathryn S. Blair, author of the mega-hit, In Shadow of the Angel, (200,000+ copies in print) turns her American perspective, command of Mexican history, and ability to make history come alive into brief but engaging and entertaining history of Mexico. Blair paints an evolutionary history with texture and insight in her unique story telling style... no difficult academic slogging here. At age 91, Blair, an American, has spent 70 of her 91 years living and working in Mexico. She has a lifetime of experience living, working and researching both cultures. Her highly entertaining accounts of key players in Mexican history and culture like Moctezuma, Hernan Cortes, Emperor Maximilian, General Scott, President Woodrow Wilson, Ann Morrow, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Charles Lindberg, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Leon Trotsky makes this history come alive.
About the Author: Kathryn Skidmore Blair was born in Cuba in 1920. She moved to Mexico with her American parents when she was three, and Mexico has been her home base ever since. Her father was the Manager of an international graphic arts firm, and says she grew up with two strong aromas: ink and tacos. Being bilingual and bicultural has opened doors all her life. Being sent to school in California at fifteen was a real culture shock. To Americans, Mexico was border towns, half-naked children and tequila. Kathryn´s Mexico was a city of volcanoes and pyramids, a castle, an Opera house, lavish gardens and school-mates from all over the world. A recent graduate of UCLA when Pearl Harbor was attacked, Kathryn remained in Los Angeles during the war. She worked at NBC in Hollywood for Nelson Rockefeller´s Office of Interamerican Affairs, creating Spanish language radio programs that aired in the U.S. and across Latin America. Kathryn met Donald Antonio Blair Rivas Mercado and they were married in six months. The Blair´s formed a family of four children, two dogs, and a score of new Mexican and American relatives. Kathryn, who had dreamed of writing a book about Mexico, was intrigued with stories about Don´s grandfather, the architect of Mexico´s Independence Monument, known to all as the "Angel". When she discovered that her husband´s -mother, Antonieta Rivas Mercado, had committed suicide in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, a scandal hushed by the family for thirty years, she found her heroine. Thus began twenty years of researching Antonieta´s life. Brilliant and independent, defender of women´s rights, heiress to a fortune, she became the center of a post-revolutionary group of young writers, painters, poets, musicians and playwrights eager to join the modern world. Today, Kathryn´s book has triggered official recognition of Antonieta´s efforts to promote Mexico´s modern culture. Felipe Calderón, the President of Mexico, called her "our national Angel". "In the Shadow of the Angel" is Kathryn´s first book. Published in Spanish in 1995, it is now considered a classic, and has sold over 200,000 copies. Her newest book, "Forging a Nation, the Story of Mexico from the Aztecs to the Present" has just reached the bookstores and is available in Amazon & Kindle. Kathryn says that at age 91, her brain and knees still work, and she hopes to continue writing.
