Publisher Description
There may be no story today with a wider gap between fact and fiction than the relationship between the United States and Mexico.
Wall or no wall, deeply intertwined social, economic, business, cultural, and personal relationships mean the US-Mexico border is more like a seam than a barrier, weaving together two economies and cultures.
Mexico faces huge crime and corruption problems, but its remarkable transformation over the past two decades has made it a more educated, prosperous, and innovative nation than most Americans realize. Through portraits of business leaders, migrants, chefs, movie directors, police officers, and media and sports executives, Andrew Selee looks at this emerging Mexico, showing how it increasingly influences our daily lives in the United States in surprising ways — the jobs we do, the goods we consume, and even the new technology and entertainment we enjoy.
From the Mexican entrepreneur in Missouri who saved the US nail industry, to the city leaders who were visionary enough to build a bridge over the border fence so the people of San Diego and Tijuana could share a single international airport, to the connections between innovators in Mexico’s emerging tech hub in Guadalajara and those in Silicon Valley, Mexicans and Americans together have been creating productive connections that now blur the boundaries that once separated us from each other.
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This beautifully crafted work is an extraordinary account of the deep and complex relationship between Mexico and the United States, sharing the same qualities as Richard Reeves’ bestselling American Journey: Traveling with Tocqueville in Search of Democracy in America. Like Reeves and Tocqueville, he has travelled throughout the United States, speaking in-depth with Mexicans and Americans from all backgrounds and ages, in order to shed light on the degree to which the two countries have become integrated economically and culturally, presenting fascinating stories of successful individuals whose professions range from restaurants to film, sports to journalism, and technology to politics. Their personal experiences are woven deeply through the fabric of both societies, allowing readers to identify and clearly understand numerous trends in their deepening integration. The degree to which Selee effectively combines fascinating personal accounts with in-depth recent data revealing significant trends in the relationship will appeal to and deserves the broadest readership.
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Roderic AiCamp, Philip McKennaProfessor of the Pacific Rim, Claremont McKennaCollege, and author, Politics in MexicoÂ
