A lively, accessible introduction to the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Mexico, one of the most formative international relationships in geopolitics today.

The border between the US and Mexico is the world's longest between a wealthy industrialized nation and a part of the Global South. The economy, society, culture, and politics of the two nations have become inextricably linked.

As the United States continues to assert its considerable geopolitical power, this book reminds us that this trend runs deep in the country's history, starting with its closest neighbors. Buchenau explores US territorial expansion, the Mexican Revolution of 1910, disputes over agricultural and mineral wealth, and the migration of Mexican laborers. Despite that massive power imbalance, Buchenau shows us that Mexico's influence on the United States is just as significant as the inverse.