Rebecca West (1892–1983) wrote prolifically through most of the twentieth century. She is best known for her travel memoir/historical meditation on Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. Bernard Schweizer is assistant professor of English at Long Island University (Brooklyn). He is the author of Rebecca West: Heroism, Rebellion and the Female Epic and Radicals on the Road: The Politics of English Travel Writing in the 1930s.

Mexico City

Anthropological Museum I

Anthropological Museum II

Juan de Zummáraga

Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain

Minerals and Mines

Religion and Sorcery

Race Relations II

"A volume that makes for luscious reading. A good portion of the book is West's survey and commentary on the collision of Spain and the Aztecs—among the most wondrous tales human history has to tell. . . . The book succeeds beautifully as a travelogue thanks to West's intellect and experience, with Mexico serving as the vehicle for it all. . . . Readers should come to Survivors in Mexico expecting less of Mexico and more of the vital mind of Rebecca West, but that's not a bad thing."—Sam Quinones, Washington Post Book World




"An enthrallingly readable book. . . . Very few writers have managed to be more knowledgeable and profound in their thinking. . . . Survivors in Mexico is an astonishingly fertile book, full of sharp impressions and stimulating insights, whether West is pondering the question of why miners have been among the most mistreated of all laborers or speculating about the social and political effects of the Aztecs' lack of domesticated animals. . . . West's deeply personal take on Mexico is ultimately a meditation on the meaning of life itself."—Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review