José Skinner
‘Human Matter’ Dredges up the Dark History of the Guatemalan Civil War
‘The Red Caddy’ Is Charles Bowden’s Pithy, Witty Posthumous Tribute to Edward Abbey
Bowden and Abbey were both fearless, larger-than-life types with a taste for tequila, an eye for women and a big problem with authority.
Charles Bowden was a notorious walker-outer. Obituaries of the celebrated writer, who died in 2014, often note that he walked out of his own dissertation defense, irritated by his professors’ questions. In his introduction to The Red Caddy, Luis Urrea … Read More
In ‘Blue Texas,’ a Historical Blueprint for Texas Activists
Max Krochmal's new history of multiracial civil rights movements in Texas offers lessons for progressives in the age of Trump, one of which is that demography is not necessarily destiny.
In Krochmal’s view, if progressives today are to triumph over Trumpism, they are going to have to build truly united and lasting grassroots organizations and not merely encourage disparate groups to show up at the voting booth. They need to be more confrontational and not shy away from demands for immediate social justice. Read More
Book Review: How NAFTA Transformed a Mexican Border Town
Boom, Bust, Exodus follows how NAFTA, coupled with Maytag’s move to Mexico, helped signal doom for Appliance City and transform a small border town. Read More