The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregón and the Mexican Revolution

“The Last Caudillo is a fine biography of Alvaro Obregon, as well as an excellent overview of the Mexican Revolution. Students will come away with a good understanding of the social forces and political events that shaped Mexico during this critical time in its history. The book is also a great companion to Buchenau’s earlier work, Plutarco Elas Calles and the Mexican Revolution, published in 2006.”  (The Latin Americanist, 1 September 2013)

“The Last Caudillo calls in an impressive array of primary sources to render an evenhanded portrait of Obregón as it appropriately casts him as a pivotal figure in the making of modern Mexico. …more specifically, Buchenau taps into the historiography of the Latin American strongman or “caudillo” in considering Obregón the last of that lineage, to come to an end when institutions, political parties, enforceable laws, bureaucracy, “systems” and “networks” overwhelmed—for better or worse—the many vicissitudes of individual power.”  (The Americas, 1 October 2012)

"It is Buchenau's combined analysis of caudillismo, the Mexican revolution, and Alvaro Obregon that makes this book an important contribution to the literature on this revolutionary figure and the times that produced him. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (Choice, 1 November 2011)