Reviews
A Massacre in Mexico: The True Story Behind the Missing Forty Three Students by Anabel Hernández
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
In September 2014, 43 students from the Raul Isidro Burgos Normal School of Ayotzinapa were disappeared in Mexico. They literally vanished. They group was largely first year students. They have never been found. At time, it made the headlines even outside of Mexico. Today, ever so often an international news report will mention the status of investigation.
Anabel Hernández’s book details not only the night of attacks when the 43 students disappeared but also the cover-ups that followed. On one hand, the writing is dry. Hernandez is reporting. She is trying to prove the cove ups.
The important thing is that she does. The detail and information she has gathered and presented makes her case.
If you live in the US, this is really a book you should read because it does have impact on way there are refugees and the impact of the war on drugs.
Anabel Hernández’s book details not only the night of attacks when the 43 students disappeared but also the cover-ups that followed. On one hand, the writing is dry. Hernandez is reporting. She is trying to prove the cove ups.
The important thing is that she does. The detail and information she has gathered and presented makes her case.
If you live in the US, this is really a book you should read because it does have impact on way there are refugees and the impact of the war on drugs.
secretbookcase's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This is an in-depth investigation into the forced disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College in Mexico, which took place in September 2014. The quality and scope of the investigation is impressive, and I admire the courage of Hernandez in carrying it out. It exposes the deep rot at the heart of the Mexican state and the callousness with which state security forces resort to excessive violence and commit human rights abuses. The reason I am only giving it 3.5 stars is that it was a bit of a slog to read. The writing is dry and descriptive, and the reader gets bombarded with minute details about the events and actors involved. It very much reads like an investigative report and little effort was made to build in some narrative. Nonetheless this is a very important book because of how it dares to challenge the state's official narrative about the disappearance of the students.
More...