Villa

"Starting with twenty-eight followers, Francisco "Pancho" Villa rose out of banditry to become a dynamic strategist who mastered the use of a diverse array of weapons and tactics, including military transportation via railroad and fast-paced cavalry movements, in contesting control of Mexico. His military career began in 1910 during the Mexican Revolution. During the Revolution's bloodiest months, he contended for control of the nation and, by the time of his defeat at the Battle of Celaya in 1915, he commanded 15,000 horsemen. Villa could be a generous patron to his loyal followers but a terrifying enemy, believing that those he defeated earned the "privilege" of being executed by his own hand. He was intimidated by no one, including Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who led the U.S. Army's Punitive Expedition to try to capture Villa after his raids into New Mexico in 1916. Villa died in 1923 as violently as he had lived, the victim of an assassination squad." "In this biography, historian Robert L. Scheina recounts the life of this complex man and places his accomplishments against the backdrop of Mexico's complex political history and social turmoil."--BOOK JACKET.