Chronicles of the Gringos (fülszöveg)
These eyewitness accounts from largely unpublished sources recount in the voices of the soldiers themselves what has been called America's most unpopular and poorly managed war, the war which marked the first massive U.S. invasion and occupation of a foreign country. But this is not a book arguing the ethics or justice of America's invasion of Mexico. Rather, it is a record of the daily experiences and moods of the troops, their own stories of the fury of battle, the brutality of forced marches, the ennui of camp life, the dread of tropical disease, and the frustrations and pleasures experienced as conquerors in a hostile, alien land. Like the war itself the stories of the American combatants involve every echelon of the army, from foot soldier to general, and as the army was involved so was the nation. If the spirit of manifest destiny shaped the prevailing mood of the country, it did not silence the bitter, angry dissent of those troubled by the morality of the American cause, and from Congress to the battlefields the Mexican War was often called "Mr. Polk's Democratic-party war."
Lines of supply were deplorable, medicine was in a primitive state, and Washington insisted on paper estimates of the war instead of what the generals needed in the field. Nonetheless, a sense of high adventure, of loyalty to country and flag, filled the troops as Taylor and Scott penetrated deeper into Mexico, closer to the final confrontation at Chapultepec, and Kearny and Frémont campaigned victoriously in New Mexico and California.
Combining closeup and perspective with editorial commentary, the authors unfold the entire panorama of the war—from recruiting volunteers through the bitter fighting that finally led to the occupation of Mexico and, at last, the return of the victors. From these first-hand reports arises that singular vividness and immediacy which characterizes the experiences of all soldiers in all wars.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
