Recommend me a book, TexAgs. I'm leaning towards one called "So Far from God" by Eisenhower.

Thoughts?

Eisenhower is a good choice.

If you want to look at border skirmishes since then you might try Clarendon's "Blood on the Border"

I loved Shaara's "Gone For Soldiers" as a historical novel- it helped me get more of a "feel" for everything that happened before I got heavy into analytical books about the war.

Harley's suggestion is excellent even though it is a historical-novel.

Haven't read Eisenhower but many recommend it.

I would add:

There is book that is going to be released on July 29 that is creating some buzz by David Clary called: Eagles and Empire: The United States, Mexico, and the Struggle for a Continent. Supposedly it is one of the first books to give through coverage of the war from both perspectives.

Another new one already out is Martin Dugard's The Training Ground that views the conflict throught he perspective of future Civil War leaders and how it influenced them in the CW.

Timothy Johnson's A Gallant Little Army: The Mexico City Campaign is like the pure historical account covered by Sharra's book.

Another book on a minor aspect of the war but one that is part war story, part adventure is Doniphan's March by Joseph Dawson.

There is also a recent book written from the Mexican perspective without getting too politically correct but the name is escaping me at the time, I'll have to go home and look for it.

The book on the Doniphon campaign is about one expedition that travelled from Missouri, to Bent's Fort, to Santa Fe and then down into Chihuahua, where they lived off the land and went native after a fashion. I put it up there with the Anabasis among stories of great military wandering books.

There was an excellent collection of pieces by Mexicans about the war which was published by either UT or A&M press some years ago called The View From Chapultapec. It collects a number of different opinions from Mexican authors and offers some very good insight.

One, for example, offered the opinion that the Americans were successful because Mexican nationalism was not that strong. When Americans needed food or mules, etc, there was always some Mexicans happy to sell. Compare that to Texas during the Runaway Scrape where they burned or killed what they could not tote off.

Overall, I think the Eisenhower book is the best starter on the war. Too bad there is no good biography of Polk to accompany it. It was his war and the best understanding of why it was waged can be found in his diaries but they are too long to burden a non professional with.

He wanted California to go with Washington, which he threatened England with war over.

The English compromised, as did Polk. The Mexicans would not and the US got everything but had to fight an unnecessary war to get it.

By the way, the building the Texas Rangers stayed in while in Mexico City is still there on Doncelles Street, near the Zocalo.

Gone for Soldiers, while a novel, was a good read.......

For quick factual reads, I sometimes like the US Army's Center for Military History:

http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/MexWar.html

CMH also has some pretty good bibliographical info on the Mexican War here (click on the links in blue for the detailed bibliography):

http://www.history.army.mil/reference/mexwar/MW-CVR.htm

--John

[This message has been edited by DogCo84 (edited 7/15/2009 1:53p).]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to get the Eisenhower book & follow up with the Doniphan story. (I loved Anabasis)

Mr. Polk's Army
I've read this, but don't remember any specifics about it which leads me to believe it wasn't the be all end all of Mex War books

Eisenhower also has a bio of Winfield Scott that was pretty good too