Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture

Rating:
Summary: If you are a fan of crime photography, this is your book
Review: "Muerte!" is not for the faint of heart. As the more comical reviews of this book might indicate, it packs a wallop with its graphic depictions of murder and gore in modern-day Mexico. No, this book is not about creating a business plan (unless one is aspiring to be an undertaker). But it does touch upon a not-too-well-explored area of Mexican culture: crime tabloids. There are no similar publications in the United States. Part Enquirer, part "True Detective," these tabloids graphically show the end results of brutal slayings throughout Mexico. "Muerte!" could use a second or third edit. It does tend to ramble into other areas that are inappropriate for the topic. Given that the book is relatively small, the lack of cohesiveness does stick out. However, the book is important simply because it explores a significant aspect of Mexican culture that has been ignored. If you liked the book "Death Scenes," you probably will appreciate "Muerte!" There are a lot of pictures in this book, most of good quality. Obviously, parents must use good judgment in keeping control of this book while children are about. Further, persons who are unstable or easily affected by this sort of material should think twice about opening this book.

Rating:
Summary: Muerte! Death in Mexican Popular Culture
Review: "Muerte!" is not for the faint of heart. As the more comical reviews of this book might indicate, it packs a wallop with its graphic depictions of murder and gore in modern-day Mexico. No, this book is not about creating a business plan (unless one is aspiring to be an undertaker). But it does touch upon a not-too-well-explored area of Mexican culture: crime tabloids. There are no similar publications in the United States. Part Enquirer, part "True Detective," these tabloids graphically show the end results of brutal slayings throughout Mexico. "Muerte!" could use a second or third edit. It does tend to ramble into other areas that are inappropriate for the topic. Given that the book is relatively small, the lack of cohesiveness does stick out. However, the book is important simply because it explores a significant aspect of Mexican culture that has been ignored. If you liked the book "Death Scenes," you probably will appreciate "Muerte!" There are a lot of pictures in this book, most of good quality. Obviously, parents must use good judgment in keeping control of this book while children are about. Further, persons who are unstable or easily affected by this sort of material should think twice about opening this book.

Rating:
Summary: If you are a fan of crime photography, this is your book
Review: "Muerte!" is not for the faint of heart. As the more comical reviews of this book might indicate, it packs a wallop with its graphic depictions of murder and gore in modern-day Mexico. No, this book is not about creating a business plan (unless one is aspiring to be an undertaker). But it does touch upon a not-too-well-explored area of Mexican culture: crime tabloids. There are no similar publications in the United States. Part Enquirer, part "True Detective," these tabloids graphically show the end results of brutal slayings throughout Mexico. "Muerte!" could use a second or third edit. It does tend to ramble into other areas that are inappropriate for the topic. Given that the book is relatively small, the lack of cohesiveness does stick out. However, the book is important simply because it explores a significant aspect of Mexican culture that has been ignored. If you liked the book "Death Scenes," you probably will appreciate "Muerte!" There are a lot of pictures in this book, most of good quality. Obviously, parents must use good judgment in keeping control of this book while children are about. Further, persons who are unstable or easily affected by this sort of material should think twice about opening this book.

Rating:
Summary: A scholar of Mexican art says AVOID THIS BOOK
Review: ...it isn't just that the crime photos it republishes are problematic, but the book has NO INTELLECTUAL WEIGHT and in fact, uses the essays by Medina and Fox (commissioned for another publication, edited and republished without their consent) to "validate" the author's egocentric/gringocentric visions. The TITLE IS TOTALLY MISLEADING and the text offers no ideas that are worth remembering. The first book I ever wanted to really really trash.

Rating:
Summary: Muerte! Death in Mexican Popular Culture
Review: .This book is a harsh glimpse into reality in the form of graphic death scene photos and commentary on Mexican death tabloids such as Alarma! Someone said the title was misleading - I do not think so - it says exactly what it is, and has several bloody photos right on the cover. It is not a sugar-coated day-of-the-dead book, although the subject is covered - nor is it meant to be a complete commentary on Latin culture. It is a study of magazines that have been around for years and sell millions of copies each week. The publisher reports on this subject but seems to be blamed for the existence of these tabloids in some reviews I have read. No one seems to mind if Alarma! publishes death scene photos or if people put stickers of peeing kids on the back windows of their cars and say it's about Latino culture. As far as intellectual content is concerned, that is a matter of opinion. I f you are familiar with any of this publisher's other books, then you must know they do not publish shallow material. This is a serious study about a serious subject and it's exploitation and is not for the faint of heart. This book is about death in Mexican popular culture and it's exploitaion and is a subject few have chosen to discuss in detail. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the workings of Mexican death tabloids and death scenes in general.

Rating:
Summary: Muerte : Death in Mexican Popular Culture
Review: Wow, is this book horrible! Not only are the graphic pictures disgusting, I could handle that if they meant something, but the writing is arbitrary sensationalistic tripe! Along with the gruesome body count, there's suddenly an exerpt on Michael Jackson! What this is doing in the book, I have no idea! I bought this book in hopes of gleaning something about Mexican culture, possibly related to their "Day of the Dead" and other honorings of the dead. Boy, was this book way off base!

Rating:
Summary: Muerte : Death in Mexican Popular Culture
Review: Wow, is this book horrible! Not only are the graphic pictures disgusting, I could handle that if they meant something, but the writing is arbitrary sensationalistic tripe! Along with the gruesome body count, there's suddenly an exerpt on Michael Jackson! What this is doing in the book, I have no idea! I bought this book in hopes of gleaning something about Mexican culture, possibly related to their "Day of the Dead" and other honorings of the dead. Boy, was this book way off base!