The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border

The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
Average customer rating:

Daughters of Juarez

Compelling story, purple prose delivery

Daughters of Juarez

Compelling read, but with reservations

Thrilling Read

The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
Teresa Rodriguez , Diana Montané , and Lisa Pulitzer
Manufacturer: Atria
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Las Hijas de Juarez (Daughters of Juarez): Un auténtico relato de asesinatos en serie al sur de la frontera

Ask a Mexican

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ASIN: 0743292030

Book Description

Despite the fact that Juarez is a Mexican border city just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, most Americans are unaware that for more than twelve years this city has been the center of an epidemic of horrific crimes against women and girls, consisting of kidnappings, rape, mutilation, and murder, with most of the victims conforming to a specific profile: young, slender, and poor, fueling the premise that the murders are not random.

Indeed, there has been much speculation that the killer or killers are American citizens. While some leading members of the American media have reported on the situation, prompting the U.S. government to send in top criminal profilers from the FBI, little real information about this international atrocity has emerged. According to Amnesty International, as of 2006 more than 400 bodies have been recovered, with hundreds still missing.

As for who is behind the murders themselves, the answer remains unknown, although many have argued that the killings have become a sort of blood sport, due to the lawlessness of the city itself. Among the theories being considered are illegal trafficking in human organs, ritualistic satanic sacrifices, copycat killers, and a conspiracy between members of the powerful Juárez drug cartel and some corrupt Mexican officials who have turned a blind eye to the felonies, all the while lining their pockets with money drenched in blood.

Despite numerous arrests over the last ten years, the murders continue to occur, with the killers growing bolder, dumping bodies in the city itself rather than on the outskirts of town, as was initially the case, indicating a possible growing and most alarming alliance of silence and cover-up by Mexican politicians.

The Daughters of Juárez promises to be the first eye-opening, authoritative nonfiction work of its kind to examine the brutal killings and draw attention to these atrocities on the border. The end result will shock readers and become required reading on the subject for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Daughters of Juarez.......2007-10-03

Daughters of Juarez is a disturbing story, but it is a true account of the unsolved mysteries of these young women's lost lives. It is an insight into the poverty and injustice that occurs daily in this border town and surrounding areas.

Compelling story, purple prose delivery.......2007-09-09

I would have to agree with the previous reviewer who said that the story was compelling and important, but the overlong purple prose descriptions of what the families went through and the overly dramatic descriptions of the situations, with speculations on what everyone was thinking mar an important and compelling book.

Some straight crime reporting, an analysis of the facts and maybe some more social analysis (for instance, how do the drug culture, the male dominated hispanic culture, the pervasive corruption of the border towns, etc. contribute to this holocaust against women) would have helped a lot.

Still, there is not much written about this problem, which if it were happening here or in any first world country, would be page one news everyday, so the book is valuable.

So, good subject and investigative reporting marred by overly dramatic writing.

I would recommend it, you can skip over the long emotional descriptions of background, thoughts and other contrived elements.

Daughters of Juarez.......2007-08-26

I live in El Paso and have followed much of this in the newspaper including the two Bus drivers, The FBI coming to help, etc. Now I know it was all lies.

Mexico has been called the most corrupt nation on earth and I've heard the stories and now I see it in action. I have too many chilling stories direct from American victims of the Juarez Police to share here.

This corruption has spread to El Paso with corruption in the Border Patrol, the government, the police and I'm not just saying this, I've talked to people and have examples both from the Newspaper and people in the know. The FBI has been conducting an investigation into the El Paso government for several months and people are going to jail. Halleluiah!

Personally I've been afraid to go across the Border for years based on these stories and now I'll be spreading the word. Do not go into Mexico!

This book hits hard with details that would make a strong man cry. The horrible end to young lives, the Police laughing at parents asking for help and the intimidating of helpless mothers who might "know too much", the framing of innocents, The corruption of "investigations" run by incompetents.

This book is an indictment, a denunciation of a government and society gone terribly wrong. Bribes are necessary just to get your TV cable hooked up and this pattern of behavior climbs to the very top.

I hope this book helps but in a society that accepts incompetence and corruption as a given I have my doubts. If Mexico is to change it must come from the bottom and it is so instilled in the poverty stricken common people to not make waves how can we expect them to effectively rise up. But enough publicity might send the rats scurrying, we need more books and TV exposes like this.

Compelling read, but with reservations.......2007-08-09

The Daughters of Juarez, by Teresa Rodriguez (with Diana Montané and Lisa Pulitzer), chronicles a series of horrific murders of young women (and teens) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the last fourteen years, the law enforcement/governmental response to them, and the myriad theories as to the perpetrator(s). Over this period, a good part of 400 poor women were raped, tortured and killed, then dumped in desert areas and vacant lots around the city. The book details a rich tapestry of police and governmental brutality, corruption, blatant sexual discrimination, disregard for public safety, and just plain incompetence.

Although many suspects have been charged and held, it is doubtful that any of the murders can ever be considered legitimately solved because of this pervasive and persistent institutional dysfunction. In fact, one can say that this is a glaring example of how not to run a criminal justice system. It's heartbreaking to consider that the families of these slain women will never see justice done. Additionally, it must have been so frustrating for those in law enforcement and government who made efforts to run effective investigations, only to be stymied at every turn by the very system they should have been able to trust, forced out of their jobs because they wouldn't falsify results or analyses, or even physically threatened.

Daughters is definitely a compelling, true tale and Rodriguez does a service to those affected by these horrors by airing them for everyone to examine. The book, however, suffers from a lack of organization: Rodriguez bounces around dates, people and events so much so that it's hard to keep them all straight. Also, she makes a point of maudlin over-description of the women and their families so as to make them more sympathetic. This in my mind is unnecessary; most people will find the thought of someone (not to mention hundreds) being subjected to the extreme violence that these women experienced and the grief (on multiple levels) that their loved ones were forced to endure to be inconceivably horrible - no matter who the reader is. I also think Rodriguez could have used some citations to support what must have been years of research and investigation. In the end, I would recommend this book as a real eye-opener, but with these reservations.

Thrilling Read.......2007-08-05

I stumbled onto The Daughter's of Juarez after having a discussion on the term femicide (the act of killing a woman is a more generic term but this term is often applied to specific mass killings of women). In Juarez, Mexico women from all social classes and with distinctly different family ties have been going missing. Now and then bodies (and the occasional mass grave) of women that have been sexually abused and mutilated show up. The Daughter's of Juarez explores the lives of these missing women, the media blips that have occurred as a result, the political turmoil caused over these cases, as well as the possible answers to what has happened to so many women. After reading about this I was horrified by what had happened and because I had never heard of anything about this prior to the reading. A thrilling and exploratory read of the lives of women in Juarez, Mexico as well as a look at the relations between the U.S. and its border neighbor.

Genders in Production: Making Workers in Mexico's Global Factories

Average customer rating:

The exploitation of gender for profit

Genders in Production: Making Workers in Mexico's Global Factories
Leslie Salzinger
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520235398

Book Description

In this engrossing and original book, Leslie Salzinger takes us with her into the gendered world of Mexico's global factories. Her careful ethnographic work, personal voice, and sophisticated analysis capture the feel of life inside the maquiladoras and make a compelling case that transnational production is a gendered process. The research grounds contemporary feminist theory in an examination of daily practices and provides an important new perspective on globalization.

Customer Reviews:

The exploitation of gender for profit.......2005-06-25

"Genders in Production" by Leslie Salzinger is a groundbreaking study about production processes in Mexico's maquiladoras. This fascinating book should appeal to academics, feminists, labor activists and others who may be interested in learning about the dynamic processes by which globalization exploits gender for profit. Importantly, Ms. Salzinger's keen insight and analysis helps open the door to imagining a world where gender stereotypes could be transcended and labor rights accorded more respect.

Ms. Salzinger's meticulous ethnographic work at four maquila factories helps her obtain an insider's view of how sexual identities struggle for recognition and reward on the shop floor. The author discusses how the "trope of feminity" deludes investors into locating factories in places where it is believed that female laborers will passively accept routinized work for low wages. However, as the facts on the ground depart from this fantasy, the struggle between capital and labor is observed to be gendered but nonetheless highly variable and contextual.

Ms. Salzinger dedicates one chapter apiece to her experiences at four manufacturing plants in northern Mexico. She cleverly assigns pseudonyms to describe the salient characteristics of each plant. For example, "Andromex" is a factory where male and female workers become almost androgenous through the development of similar work habits; "Anarchomex" is noteworthy for its embattled masculine workers conflicting both amongst themselves and with female co-workers to create nearly anarchic conditions of production; and so on. The writing in these chapters is vivid, engaging and intelligent, imparting glimpses into both the worker's daily struggle for survival and the logic of the managerial systems that controls and exploits these workers.

I found it interesting (if not disheartening) to learn that capital's strategy of dividing the working class by gender has proven to be remarkably effective. By redefining production as primarily women's work, employers can pay below-subsistance wages and offer scant benefits, job enrichment or advancement opportunities. As made clear through Ms. Salzinger's field research, these diminished career expectations deprive the working class of Mexico with the hope of achieving a better life and are frequently used as a threat to drive down wages in the U.S. and other industrialized nations.

In the final chapter, Ms. Salzinger draws on feminist writings to connect the trope of feminity with cultural norms that tend to devalue women through their association with domesticity. By discovering that gendered meanings in the workplace can be flexible, however, the author suggests that subjectivity may be contestable. If structures of power are a "concatenation of common-sense understandings" about women's perceived role in the home, she argues, then the reality of changed meanings forged in the crucible of workplace production may point the way in time to new, empowered definitions.

I highly recommend this book to demanding readers who may be interested in an original and thought-provoking thesis about gender and globalization.

Secrets in the Sand: The Young Women of Ciudad Juarez

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Secrets in the Sand: The Young Women of Ciudad Juarez
Marjorie Agosin
Manufacturer: White Pine Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
On the Edge: The Femicide in Ciudad Juarez
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Las Muertas de Juarez

ASIN: 1893996476

Book Description

Over the past decade over 350 women around the city of Juarez, Mexico, have been raped and murdered. The remains of these brutalized young women continue to be found scattered in the parched desert, vacant city lots, and roadside ditches. Others are never found.

In Secrets In The Sand, Agosin through her words and images invites her readers to bear witness to the reality that the grieving families of the disappeared and murdered young women face every day.

As a poet and human rights activist Marjorie Agosin has dedicated her life's work to the search for justice and human dignity.

Stella's Kitchen: Creative Cooking for Fun, Flavor, and a Lean, Strong Body

Average customer rating:

Nice Book if You Can Get It
This book is a bargain
Great Book with simple to prepare recipes
This book saved me!
Unfortunately I can only give it 5 stars - Buy it!

Stella's Kitchen: Creative Cooking for Fun, Flavor, and a Lean, Strong Body
Stella C. Juarez
Manufacturer: On Target Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1931046891

Download Description

Do You .....
- Eat a diet higher in protein and nutrients than most people?
- Need to watch your sugar or sodium intake carefully?
- Want to inspire your diet with healthy, flavorful dishes? And are you tired of the same boring recipes?

If so, let's get cooking! Stella's Kitchen will teach you how to cook healthy, well-balanced meals for you and your family. The delicious meal and snack selections emphasize protein intake and the consumption of minimally-processed complex carbohydrates. Awarded Best Cookbook of 2003 by the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Publishers Association.

191 pages of recipes, nutrition calculations for all recipes, kitchen tips and cooking features. You're going to love it!

Customer Reviews:

Nice Book if You Can Get It.......2004-10-21

Why did Amazon even bother putting this book on their site? I have waited 4 MONTHS for it. There seems to be no place in the world where this book can be obtained. Granted the author and publisher are partially to blame for putting this book in such small distribution, but why would Amazon bother to say it can be ordered through them? I hope anyone considering this book realizes it's just not worth the wait.

This book is a bargain.......2004-04-06

If you are a person who desires to eat cleaner and healthier and have no clue where to begin then this is the book for you. It is not a gourmet "heart attack on a plate" or " Quick n easy unhealthy food" cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow and not overly complicated, yet will taste good and be way better than just edible like some other diet foods are. Yummy and nourishing are two words coming to mind right now. Look at the cover and I can tell you the food tastes as good as it looks. Just be sure you really are serious about the Lean, Strong body because that`s what you will get if you use the recipes in this book!

Great Book with simple to prepare recipes.......2004-04-05

I bought Stellas Kitchen a few months ago and I really like the book. The recipes are easy to follow and well explained for people, like me, who are not experienced chefs. I personally think the simplicity of the recipes is an asset to the book.
This is a great resource for those involved in the Iron game. It give many great suggestions for preparing tasty, high-protein meals simply and conveniently. Even my wife who is not especially health conscious likes the recipes in this cook book. I have found the recipes for preparing meats, poultry, and fish to be especially good. I also like the fact that the cook book explains what makes these recipes healthier than the average recipe. This information has helped me to adapt some of my own recipes in similar ways in order to make them healthier. It not only presents good recipes, but it provides a good paradigm for healthy eating.

This book saved me!.......2004-04-03

I have always loved to cook (and eat), which then put on the pounds... I gained 45lbs in 4 years and felt miserable. I have tried the high-protein, low carb diets, but felt tired all the time and never saw any permanent results. I finally joined a gym & hired a trainer in the summer of 2003. I didn't notice alot of weight loss because I hadn't really changed my diet much. I needed help in preparing healthy foods that would help me lose fat and build lean muscle, but most of all, one that is easy and not time-consuming. I am not looking to be a pro bodybuilder, I am just an ordinary wife and mother who works a full-time job and wants to look and feel great.

I used to "collect" cookbooks and now they are pretty much useless to me since they are loaded with high fat and simple carbs. When I found Stella's Kitchen, I was so tickled! I have tried many of the recipes and they are simple, tasty, but most important HEALTHY.

With consistent exercise and the help of Stella's Kitchen, I have lost about 30lbs. and I feel great! Thank you Stella!

Unfortunately I can only give it 5 stars - Buy it!.......2004-04-03

This book is fantastic, easy to read? YES and simpler to follow. I think this is how a cookbook should be, why complicate things with encrypted recipes, and spices that no one even knows about? Stella has taken out the guesswork and explains how the spices work, she has even included facts on various foods as chicken, beef and veggies, how to keep your food fresh and more! My kids love the recipes. We have a meal from this book on average, 4 times a week. If you need to follow sound nutritional advice and create tasty meals, this book is for you. Our whole family is into health and fitness and it was difficult to come up with meals that would pack enough nutritionally dense foods until we bought this book and POW! We are eating healthier, growing stronger, what more can I say? The title says it all. I have given fitness advice to many people over the years and I wish this book were out 10 years ago. I recommend it to everyone and so far no one is disappointed. Well-done Stella!

Las Hijas de Juarez (Daughters of Juarez): Un auténtico relato de asesinatos en serie al sur de la frontera

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Las hijas de Juarez

Las Hijas de Juarez (Daughters of Juarez): Un auténtico relato de asesinatos en serie al sur de la frontera
Teresa Rodriguez , Diana Montané , and Lisa Pulitzer
Manufacturer: Atria
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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El Regalo del Tiempo: Cartas a Mis Hijos
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Yo Soy la Hija de Mi Padre: Una Vida Sin Secretos
The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
Morir en el Intento: La Peor Tragedia de Immigrantes en la Historia de los Estados Unidos

ASIN: 0743293029

Book Description

Ciudad Juárez, México, queda en la frontera sur del Río Bravo, frente a El Paso, Texas. Por más de doce años, aquí se ha llevado a cabo un sinnúmero de crímenes atroces contra mujeres y niñas que incluyen secuestros, violaciones, mutilaciones y asesinatos. Según Amnistía Internacional, para 2006, se habían encontrado más de 400 cadáveres, sin contar centenares de desaparecidas.

Muchos creen que las muertes se deben a la violencia e impunidad que imperan en la ciudad. Entre las teorías que se proponen están uno o varios asesinos en serie, los sacrificios en rituales satánicos, el poderoso cartel del narcotráfico de Juárez y hasta corruptos funcionarios mexicanos que encubren a los responsables.

Las hijas de Juárez promete ser una reveladora obra literaria que revela no sólo la brutalidad tras estos sangrientos hechos, sino las violaciones de los derechos humanos de la mujer en México.

Customer Reviews:

Las hijas de Juarez.......2007-09-18

A lo largo de todo el libro, la autora trata muy bien la problematica de ciudad Juarez. Un libro muy interesante.

For We Are Sold, I and My People: Women and Industry in Mexico's Frontier (Suny Series in the Anthropology of Work)

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For We Are Sold, I and My People: Women and Industry in Mexico's Frontier (Suny Series in the Anthropology of Work)
Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Women & Business | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Microsoft Office 2003: A Professional Approach, Specialist Student Edition w/ CD-ROM

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Good content, poorly structured

Microsoft Office 2003: A Professional Approach, Specialist Student Edition w/ CD-ROM
Deborah Hinkle , Kathleen Stewart , Jon Juarez , John Carter , Hart Davis , and Pat R. Graves
Manufacturer: Career Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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ASIN: 0072254475

Book Description

McGraw-Hill Technology Education’s Professional Approach Series presents exercises in real-life business situations so students get hands-on experience working on actual projects--the best way to prepare them for the on-the-job challenges they'll face. Each lesson contains up to 25 skill-applications and 5 end-of-unit skill-applications that take students from simple to complex situations. The Office 2003 texts complete instruction in all skill sets and activities for the appropriate Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS) Exams.

Customer Reviews:

Good content, poorly structured .......2007-07-19

This was one of those, "must have for the course" type of books. I thought that I would use it later down the road, but I have already sold it. If you are trying to obtain a certification, this book will help. If you are just looking for general knowledge, you may want to look somewhere else.

This book is not for the "average" user. It is a whopping 1568 pages and weights over six pounds! The size did not scare me, but the wire binding did. I would highly recommend that you DO NOT purchases the wire bound version of this book. The pages are difficult to turn and the wire binding easily bends. This book has good content, but make sure you pick-up a non-wire bound copy.

If I could rate the structure of the book, I would give it a 1 star, but since I can not, I am giving it 3 stars because of its content.

Average customer rating:

Horrifying and Wonderful At the Same Time
A Simple Yet Facinating Read
A farce?
riveting! - it will pull you in and keep you reading 'til the last page

Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders
Alicia Gaspar De Alba
Manufacturer: Arte Publico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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...y no se lo tragó la tierra / ...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him

ASIN: 1558854460

Book Description

Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders Alicia Gaspar de Alba, March 31, 2005, ISBN 1-55885-446-0, Clothbound, $23.95

An incisive mystery that delves into the violent deaths of young women plaguing the US / Mexico border

It's the summer of 1998 and for five years over a hundred mangled and desecrated bodies have been found dumped on the Chihuahua desert outside of Juárez, México, just across the river from El Paso, Texas. The perpetrators of the ever-rising number of violent deaths target poor young women, terrifying inhabitants of both sides of the border.

El Paso native Ivon Villa has returned to her hometown to adopt the baby of Cecilia, a pregnant maquiladora worker in Juárez. When Cecilia turns up strangled and disemboweled in the desert, Ivon is thrown into the churning chaos of abuse and murder. Even as the rapes and killings of "girls from the south" continue—their tragic stories written in desert blood—a conspiracy covers up the crimes that implicate everyone from the Maquiladora Association to the Border Patrol.

When Ivon's younger sister gets kidnapped in Juárez, Ivon knows that it's up to her to find her sister, whatever it takes. Despite the sharp warnings she gets from family, friends, and nervous officials, Ivon's investigation moves her deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of silence. From acclaimed poet and prose-writer Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Desert Blood is a gripping thriller that ponders the effects of patriarchy, gender identity, border culture, transnationalism, and globalization on an international crisis.

Customer Reviews:

Horrifying and Wonderful At the Same Time.......2006-06-23

This book made the hair on my neck stand straight up! But I couldn't stop reading. The fact that it is fiction centered around real events made it even more horrifying and compelling. But even if the Juarez murders had not and were not taking place, this is still an incredible book. It's well written, the story riveting, and the characters (very important to me) are drawn with great reality. The protagonist, Ivon Villa, is a strong but flawed gay woman, fiercely loyal to her family in spite of her mother's hatefulness, and her iron will and determination make her a perfect vehicle for the non-fictional message of this book. BRAVO ALICIA!

A Simple Yet Facinating Read.......2005-12-12

I initially was going to give this book three stars, but in all fairness, I was hooked and couldn't put it down.

The only problem I had with this book was the way it was written. I believe the author had a message to say, theories to give, and details to offer. She then constructed a story AROUND her facts, hoping they'd fit perfectly. The story is too coincidental and unlikely in some areas. The constant Spanish dialogue was sometimes translated in same sentence, which bugged me some. She would of been better off using footnotes, in my opinion.

The writing was a bit too simple for me, but I can understand that maybe she wanted to reacher a wider audience.

The theories fascinated me though. That was what kept me turning the pages. I usually read a book in a few days, but I stayed up very late to finish this one. And I also felt satisfied when I got to the ending. Not the actual story's ending, but the way the author summed everything up in theory.
This fictional book was a vehicle to spread a horrible reality, and I am grateful. ---- Carolyn, 35, Native El Pasoan.

A farce? .......2005-07-07

This book read like a cheezy, mystery version of Rubyfruit Jungle--set on the border, Chicana style. It is overflowing with stereotype and is in need of serious editing. Despite its length, I read it in 2 days (for me not always a good sign) and was slightly shocked at how disappointed I felt because I have been a fan of Gaspar de Alba's thoughtful, theoretical work. I wonder what, if anything, this perfectly-resolved tale will do to shed light on the murdered women of Juarez, other than to detail the horror of the killings, which her readers are likely to already know.

riveting! - it will pull you in and keep you reading 'til the last page.......2005-07-04

A HUGE fan of Gaspar de Alba's earlier historical fiction, and an ardent admirer of her writing style, I was excited to find that she'd penned a new novel! -- yet, even so, for some inexplicably incomprehensible reason (I wasn't in the mood for gory violence? Mysteries are not my genre of choice?), I picked this book up several times - only to put it back down, before -- finally giving in to a closer look -- and, that was all it took!! Once I got through the first few pages, I couldn't put it down! It's true that the sometimes graphic images crafted by the carefully chosen words of Gaspar de Alba's skilled writing are often hard to stomache (that's how good she is!) -- but then - so, too, must be the very real murders and mutilations that her book fictionalizes. I commend Gaspar de Alba for her effort/s at spreading the word/s .... and .... give her "mil gracias" for the very affable creation of her "tough yet tender," "gender-bending," mapi-to-be, Yvonne-turned-Ivon. ; )

Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923

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Self-indulgent ramblings
Great Book
Hear NPR's John Burnett on Romo's book
A Pictoral and Micro-history

Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923
David Dorado Romo
Manufacturer: Cinco Puntos Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (6th Edition)

ASIN: 0938317911

Book Description

El Paso/Juarez served as the tinderbox of the Mexican Revolution and the tumultuous years to follow. In essays and archival photographs, David Romo tells the surreal stories at the roots of the greatest Latin American revolution: The sainted beauty queen Teresita inspires revolutionary fervor and is rumored to have blessed the first rifles of the revolutionaries; anarchists publish newspapers and hatch plots against the hated Porfirio Diaz regime; Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa eats ice cream cones and rides his Indian motorcycle happily through downtown; El Paso's gringo mayor wears silk underwear because he is afraid of Mexican lice; John Reed contributes a never-before-published essay; young Mexican maids refuse to be deloused so they shut down the border and back down Pershing's men in the process; vegetarian and spiritualist Francisco Madero institutes the Mexican revolutionary junta in El Paso before crossing into Juarez to his ill-fated presidency and assassination; and bands play Verdi while firing squads go about their deadly business. Romo's work does what Mike Davis' City of Quartz did for Los Angeles-it presents a subversive and contrary vision of the sister cities during this crucial time for both countries.

David Dorado Romo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is an essayist, historian, musician and cultural activist. Ringside Seat to a Revolution is the result of his three-year exploration of archives detailing the cultural and political roots of the Mexican Revolution along la frontera. Romo received a degree in Judaic studies at Stanford University and has studied in Israel and Italy.

Customer Reviews:

Self-indulgent ramblings.......2007-01-26

Nicely packaged and attractive speaks well for the publisher, but this book could have used a good editor. Author has written a very self-indulgent, rambling book filled with trivia, but often losing sight of the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa. More disappointing, most of the photos in the book have been published numerous times, which is surprising since the author claims to have examined photo archives all over the US! In fact, 70% of the photos in this book come from El Paso/Las Cruces sources--and some of them have nothing to do with the revolution--they were just interesting for the author, so he included them! I'm surprised the book was published in this form and written this way, but it will not sell well outside its target audience in El Paso.

Great Book.......2006-11-10

This book is one of the few scholarly page-turners. It covers the topic in a local-history approach. The use of many, well-chosen photographs, keeps the readers interest. The author's "hook" of viewing the Mexican Revolution from a distance in El Paso is both novel, and effective.

Hear NPR's John Burnett on Romo's book.......2006-01-29

A first rate book, with an excellent collection of photographs. See/listen to John Burnett's NPR radio materials on the David Dorado Romo book, aired Sat., Jan. 28, 2006. NPR web page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5176177

A Pictoral and Micro-history.......2005-11-29

If you like micro-history, you'll enjoy this book. Rather than dealing with the big events of the day, Romo tells his stories with the details of the day.... details that, put together, make a much larger story. The book is a series of readable essays that are fascinating to those who have an interest in immigration, Pancho Villa, the border and the Mexican Revolution. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book! I recommend it to all students of American and Mexican history.

Brotherhood of Corruption: A Cop Breaks the Silence on Police Abuse, Brutality, and Racial Profiling

Average customer rating:

A courageous, sophisticated memoir with the soul of a novel.
the truth is crazier than fiction!!!
honest hard hitting account
An honest look at the individual's contribution to a damaged system.
Hard to Believe: A Chicago Cop Actually Tells the Truth

Brotherhood of Corruption: A Cop Breaks the Silence on Police Abuse, Brutality, and Racial Profiling
Juan Antonio Juarez
Manufacturer: Chicago Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Police Brutality: An Anthology
Walking With the Devil: The Police Code of Silence
Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing
The New World of Police Accountability
Police Unbound: Corruption, Abuse, and Heroism by the Boys in Blue

ASIN: 1556525362

Book Description

A former Chicago cop exposes shocking truths about the abuses of power within the city’s police department in this memoir of violence, drugs, and men with badges. Juarez becomes a police officer because he wants to make a difference in gang-infested neighborhoods; but, as this book reveals, he ends up a corrupt member of the most powerful gang of all—the Chicago police force. Juarez shares the horrific indiscretions he witnessed during his seven years of service, from the sexually predatory officer, X, who routinely stops beautiful women for made-up traffic offenses and flirts with domestic violence victims, to sadistic Locallo, known on the streets as Locoman, who routinely stops gang members and beats them senseless. Working as a narcotics officer, Juarez begins to join his fellow officers in crossing the line between cop and criminal, as he takes advantage of his position and also becomes a participant in a system of racial profiling legitimized by the war on drugs. Ultimately, as Juarez discusses, his conscience gets the better of him and he tries to reform, only to be brought down by his own excesses. From the perspective of an insider, he tells of widespread abuses of power, random acts of brutality, and the code of silence that keeps law enforcers untouchable.

Customer Reviews:

A courageous, sophisticated memoir with the soul of a novel........2006-11-06

Anyone who wants an inside look into the often-disturbing culture of inner-city policing should not hesitate to purchase this book. Mr. Juarez writes candidly and courageously about the problems and conflicts of law enforcement, but he also writes a moving account of his own personal journey. Stories of the author's upbringing in a working class, inner-city Chicago neighborhood are heavily drawn upon as Jaurez comes to analyze and ultimately question the morality of the entire criminal justice system, from the beat cop to the courthouse to the national agenda of the War on Drugs and War on Crime. The power of this book lies in the author's ability to take a sophisticated, broad view of the institutional prejudices of the American criminal justice system while providing deeply personal, and jarringly unfiltered accounts of life on the street.

This book is brutally honest and pulls no punches as it provides specific details of the underhanded practices of crooked cops: framing suspects, violent abuse, violent intimidation, theft, bribery, and vandalism. The book also details what seems like the very routine practice of falsifying reports to cover-up the offenses listed above, justify an unlawful arrest, or to guarantee a conviction. Mr. Juarez takes pains to emphasize that the overwhelming majority of the victims of such crimes are impoverished minorities. He even details how policies are emplemented specifically to avoid targeting middle and upper-class offenders.

Even though the officer exposes what seems to be widespread corruption and an institutional bias against poor minorities, I found it very fair. Juarez in no way exempts himself and provides numerous accounts of his own misdeads and his complicity in not speaking out when confronted with other officers' criminal acts. He also provides many examples of honest, hardworking cops and seems to conclude that the biggest problem facing criminal justice lies less with the individuals that make up the system than with the system itself.

As said in the title of this review, this memoir reads like a page-turing novel. Even given the disturbing details of misdeads and injustice, there were strong elements of an uplifting nature in this memoir as well. The author's own personal journey is inspiring and admirable. If only more of us had the courage to take an honest look at ourselves and the shortcomings of the institutions that surround us, we would find our culture in a better place. One can only hope this book might inspire others to that calling.

the truth is crazier than fiction!!!.......2006-09-16

this book is wild. the author joins the police force and discovers a world of privilege and violence. he often uses these things to his advantage, though he isn't violent and racist like many of the other cops. then he ends up getting fired for a really dumb reason (although he probably should have been fired for not doing his job earlier!)

overall this book shows a police force that keeps down minorities and punishes people for stupid things like smoking pot. also they use force in a completely inappropriate fashion for their own pleasure. the one that sticks out in my mind is when they come across a homeless guy trying to stay dry, and they totally ruin his day for no reason except cruelty. another time, a couple of cops destroy these black guys' nice car just for the hell of it. it's pretty obvious where the likes of NWA got their lyrical inspiration! whether you think the author is immature or not isn't really the issue. by the way he handles his romantic relationships, it's pretty obvious he was immature! but he was also a good guy surrounded by a bunch of jerks who enabled each other in their "brotherhood," much like A STREET GANG. ironic, huh? as for judging the police force, well this book was written a while ago. it's possible things have changed a lot since then. i don't know. these cops certainly aren't the calm, super-rational, protocol-following types you see on the show "cops," that's for sure. there are good and bad people in any profession. there are great cops. of course regardless of what kind of job the police are doing, many laws and societal changes need to take place in america, instead of basically arresting people for being poor and the author addresses that this book is full of drama and interesting stuff. i enjoyed it.

honest hard hitting account.......2005-12-18

I want to thank Mr. Juarez for writing such and honest hard-hitting account of his years as an officer in the Chicago Police Department. You have shown that anyone who puts on the badge must confront not only the bad actors in our society but also the demons
nestled in one's own psyche. This is cautionary tale with a deeply redeeming ending; a must-read for anyone who is considering a career in law enforcement.

An honest look at the individual's contribution to a damaged system........2005-09-23

The storyline itself is enough to make a compelling read: ex-cop lays bare his once-secret past while exposing the prejudices of a flawed justice system. But Juarez's memoir is more than a salacious tell-all. It's an honest accounting of his own role within this system, and shines a desperately needed spotlight on the lack of personal accountability within our civic institutions.

Juarez has been called selfish and jaded by members of his own department for describing in intimate detail the brutal beatings, racially-motivated harrassment, theft and drug use rampant within the Chicago PD. But what these critics fail to acknowledge is that Juarez places these personal experiences against a framework of documented descrimination within the department and without. The juxtaposition of his detailed, in-your-face narrative against these statistics reveals how each of us bears responsibility for the larger status quo.

While the transition between chapters occasionally calls attention to the fact that this is his first book, Juarez's unflinching honesty, vivid descriptions, and educator's insight reveals an American system with real problems that must be addressed. It comes at a time when our country is in dire need of self-reflection, and it offers a fantastic example of how each and every one of us contributes, for better or for worse, to our larger community.

Hard to Believe: A Chicago Cop Actually Tells the Truth.......2005-08-30

This book confirms all the horror stories told in the ghettoes of Chicago about the city's biggest and most brutal gang. This is gang is unlike any other in the city, however, because it works for the prosecution, so its violence is usually deemed legal. It is the CPD.

Juan Antonio Juarez's true narrative of the life of a Chicago cop may shock the middle class. The abuses he describes, however, are well known to any kid on the street in Humboldt Park, Pilsen, ABLA Homes, or any other part of the city where the privileged fear to tread, and the poor are forced to live. When the victims of police misconduct tell their own stories, their accounts are often dismissed because they "lack credibility". By chronicling the abuse of power that he both witnessed, and participated in, while on the force, Juarez has done us all a great service.

I especially appreciate this book because during the same years that Juarez was working for the police department, I was teaching in many of the same hard-hit neighborhoods. Among my students the corrupt and brutal practices of police were so well known and despised, that I recall even some of my Irish-American and Polish-Americans students, whose own fathers were cops, gladly joining a picket line at city hall to denounce the racism inherent in Chicago law enforcement.

I'm personally thankful that Juarez exposes the corrupt practice euphemistically referred to as "the power of the pen." To the Chicago cop this does not mean the art of rhetorical persuasion, but rather systematic falsification of police reports and in order to intimidate and convict anyone who dares to question their actions or who is simply unfortunate enough to get in their way. I applaud this, not only because the police have threaten me for speaking out, but even more so because I have known people who were beaten as badly as Rodney King for merely asserting their own constitutional rights or the rights of their children. Inevitably, the victim was labeled the aggressor and charged with "disorderly conduct" or "mob action" as a cover for police violence. The police sadistically taunted and harassed one woman I knew because she dared to complain when they gunned down her unarmed son and then created a preposterous story to blame the kid for his own death.

Because of my own experiences, Juarez's descriptions of the abuse the cops inflict on the people they are supposedly paid to protect did not surprise me, his account of the vast privileges heaped on the even the rookie beat cop in exchange for favors, however did surprise me. If one were to draw out Juarez's argument to it logical extreme, then the Chicago cops function as the strong arm of a racist and totalitarian political machine.

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