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Dr. John M. Hart Publishes New Book and is Honored in an Essay Collection
Posted: August 22, 2008
The History Department at the University of Houston is delighted to announce that Moores Professor of History John M. Hart has published a new book titled The Silver of the Sierra Madre: John Robinson, Boss Shepherd and the People of the Canyons. Additionally, Dr. Hart has been honored by the publication of a volume of essays celebrating his many contributions as a historian of Mexico, titled A cien anos de la Revolucion Mexicana: Dialogos con John M. Hart.
Published by The University of Arizona Press, The Silver of the Sierra Madre: John Robinson, Boss Shepherd and the People of the Canyons focuses on American investors' effort to exploit Mexican mining from the 1860s to the Revolution of 1910. Hart's new book, one synopsis explains, "exposes the mentality and methods of mine owners, John Robinson and Alexander 'Boss' Shepard, vividly detailing their exploitation of the people and the natural resources of Chihuahua. Hart aptly demonstrates the human and financial losses resulting from President Porfirio Díaz's development programs, which relied on foreign investors, foreign managers, and foreign technology."
In addition to the publication of The Silver of Sierra Madre, Hart's career is celebrated in a commemorative volume just published by The National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico in conjunction with the National Institute of Anthropology and History and the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH). The volume, titled A cien anos de la Revolucion Mexicana: Dialogos con John M. Hart, consists of seven articles. The first, a laudatory essay written by Professor Jose Pantoja Reyes asserts that "Hart is a pioneer in the history of the working class and the ideas of the Mexican revolutionaries" and that his contributions regarding the role of American capitalists in Mexico are "invaluable". The book includes three new articles written by Professor Hart and three articles edited by him and written by Mexican graduate students at the ENAH and National University that treat topics directly related to his work.
