Here a Biography of the New American Continent

by Anthony DePalma

Book Overview

As the former bureau chief for The New York Times in both Canada and Mexico, Anthony DePalma is uniquely qualified to report on North America. Here is his "biography of a continent," a look at how... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891620835
• ISBN13: 9781891620836
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

North American colossus and the NAFTA dream

In his preface to this book, New York Times journalist Anthony DePalma laments the historical distortions he acquired growing up in the United States. He writes QUOTE We don't think much about Canada or Mexico at all, because they are too close, too common UNQUOTE His words echoed two personal experiences which immediately came to mind. As a student in Paris, I was once invited by an American friend to her college "junior year abroad" class in international politics taught by a well-known French political scientist. Asking the class what was the name of the ruling political party in Mexico, he got blank stares from his fifty odd young and eager U.S. internationalists.Later, some French Canadian friends gave me a tape of songs by leading singers from Quebec (Charlebois, Gagnons, and others). Only once in the dozens of times I played this tape for friends in the United States was it recognized as a contemporary product from our northern neighbor.I therefore found appealing DiPalma's invitation to take his readers on a journey of discovery reflecting his six years of reportage from Mexico and Canada for the New York Times. DiPalma couples highly readable analysis of both the history of both countries, including in relation to the United States, and their recent politics, particularly in the 1990s. He writes eloquently and hopefully of a future which he is believes is destined to link the three countries even more closely, placing special emphasis on the "triple elections of 2000" when new administrations were elected in all three countries. QUOTE From 1993 to 2000, North America evolved from being defined solely as three seperate nations divided by two borders on one continent to being a community of shared interest, common dreams, and coordinated responses to problems that have no regard for borders. UNQUOTEDiPalma's optimistic outlook on the future relations of these three neighbors might seem to short shrift the real difficulties and controversies surrounding some aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which he analyzes in a positive light against the historical backdrop developed in this book. Clearly, it was not his intention to make these debates a major focus of his book.I have no doubt that better understanding in all three countries of each other's politics and history will be critical in the twenty frist century. I found this book to be one of the few existing attempts to take a truly "North American perspective" on the trilateral relations between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and one which is grounded in a broad, if somewhat selective, view of the histories of the three countries, and thus the continent. Hopefully, readers in the United States will welcome it as a positive contribution to increasing their historical and geographical literacy of their own backyard.

Humanizing recent trends on the American continen

As a college magazine editor and writer, I've heard dozens of speakers and read many authors over the years who either apply political and economic theories to events in Latin America or tell stories that attempt to shine a light on individuals or groups in that region. But in "Here", DePalma puts a face on the people and finds the story behind the events, public and private, he witnessed in his singular role as a journalist covering Latin America, the U.S., and Canada. By combining these stories with reflections of his own family's immigration and throwing closely observed political events into the mix, he illuminates the struggles, aspirations, and challenges facing all of us on the American continent. He presents an original and well-grounded worldview that, whether or not you agree with it, provides a solid and insightful foundation for a long overdue discussion on the connectedness of North and South.As a writer, I admire the clarity and accuracy of observation in DePalma's prose, whether he's unmasking Subcomandante Marcos during a downpour in Aguascalientes or listening to a Mayan soldier for the source of the outrage that fed the Zapatista movement. DePalma doesn't lose the individual in the larger scheme of things, but also never loses sight of that larger context. DePalma's book humanized for me recent trends on the American continent. My only regret after reading it is that I didn't do so before accompanying students on a recent learning expedition to Mexico. Next time, I'll take it with me.

Here. A Biography of the New American Continent

I found the book very easy to read and to understand. Once I began to read it, it was very difficult to put down. The author weaves the history of these three great countries, Mexico, the United States and Canada with his own life, and his assignments for The New York Times in Mexico and Canada in an fascinating way.I have shared with the author by coincidence several experiences and places described in his book, the creation of the new Canadian Territory of Nunavut and the historic Nisga'a Treaty. The descriptions of Canada's north and the communities of nothern British Columbia where very accurate and allowed me to relive those wonderful experiences through accurate word pictures provided. It was also easy for me to imagine being in the other places and events described of which I had not experienced.It is a book I would highly recommend to anyone that has an intrest in these three great countries and the relationship they have and will need to have for the future or to anyone who is simply looking for a good book read.Tom Molloy Chief Negotiator for the Government of Canada Nunavut Land Claims Settlement and the Nisga'a Final Agreement.

Someone finally understands Mexico and Canada

This book is a supberb portrayal of the issues and obstacles that seperate the United States from Mexico and Canada. Drawing on personal experience as a husband, father, and NY Times bureau chief living in both Mexico and Canada successively, Anthony DePalma hits nail after nail on the head. With the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) scheduled for ratification by up to 34 nations within the next four years this book is both important and timely. For a person wanting to understand what all the fuss is about with respect to issues of free trade, globalization, protection of the environment, and human rights, this is the starting point. And if you as a reader appreciate careful and meaningful description punctuated by use of the perfect metaphor you will find it here. A simply supberb read!

the rediscovery of a continent I "thought" I knew

Anthony Depalma's book "Here: A Biography of the New American Continent" re-introduced me to a continent I thought I knew. His personal and passionate portrayal of Mexico and Canada opened my eyes to nations which, until now, were unfamiliar to me. Thank you, Mr. Depalma, for sharing your experiences with all of us and for your wonderful contribution to America. Here, Here!