Los Gringos

Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus), 1819-1869Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 779K words
Chapters: 78

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Los Gringos by H. A. WiseAuthor: Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus), 1819-1869,Language: English, Class: F1201: North America local history: Mexico, Release Date: Apr 29, 2010

Editor's review

Los Gringos is Henry Augustus Wise's record of his travels in Mexico and surrounding regions in the mid-nineteenth century, belonging to North American local history and travel writing. The word “gringos” in the title itself carries the flavor of a local term for outsiders at the time, and the book preserves the author's gaze and prejudices as an outside observer; precisely for this reason it is both a depiction of local customs and a source for studying cross-cultural perception and period attitudes. The prose carries the expansiveness and personal judgments of nineteenth-century travel literature, with uneven information density, requiring readers to read with discernment. As a public-domain e-book it is fully searchable, and works well read alongside the history of the American Southwest and U.S.–Mexico relations. Treat it as a historical travelogue, not an objective, neutral guide.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century Mexico and the history of the North American frontier
Literature enthusiasts studying travel writing and cross-cultural observation
History students who need original English travel accounts
Readers who enjoy old-time chronicles of places and can tolerate loose narration

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking practical information for modern travel in Mexico
Researchers who prefer rigorous academic argument and annotation
Readers sensitive to nineteenth-century colonial perspectives and prejudiced statements

Reading tips

Learn the author's era and the background of U.S.–Mexico relations before entering the text.
Compare the book's observations with modern historical scholarship, flagging doubtful or biased judgments.
Trace the itinerary geographically, using a map to locate the places described.
Select chapters on local customs and people, skipping long digressions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does “gringos” in the title mean?

It is a Spanish-speaking region's term for foreigners, especially English speakers, and can be neutral or derogatory depending on context. The author uses it as his title to mark his position as an outsider observing Mexico. Note how this perspective shapes his descriptions and judgments of local people and events.

Is this book suitable as a travel guide?

No. It records observations and personal impressions from the mid-nineteenth century; transport, towns, and social conditions have long since changed, and the narration carries clear subjective judgments. It would be badly outdated as a travel reference; it is better read as historical background and as a travel-literature text.

What background knowledge is needed to read it?

It helps to know the political relations between the United States and Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century, the context of frontier expansion, and the common conventions of travel writing at the time. With a basic historical framework, readers can better distinguish reliable observation from period prejudice, improving the quality of their discernment.

Comments

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About the author

Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus), 1819-1869 Author · American · 1819–1869

Henry Augustus Wise (H. A. Wise, 1819–1869) was an American naval officer, with two of his works held in this collection. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life remain unclear; existing accounts center mainly on his seafaring experience and travel writing. His representative work Los Gringos records his observations in Mexico and belongs to the genre of maritime and foreign-lands travelogue, while Captain Brand of the Centipede draws on life at sea and has the flavor of a maritime adventure narrative. Both books are based on personal experience and lean toward documentary description and scene painting, offering reference for the study of nineteenth-century American naval impressions of Latin America and of life at sea.