Good biography on Francisco Leon de la Barra, interim President of Mexico between May and November 1911. Not really a politician, de la Barra was a distinguished diplomat who was called upon to serve as President after Porfirio Diaz was forced to resign. De la Barra insured that the October 1911 election was as fair as possible in a country that was not used to free elections. The author explains how, while de la Barra was an honest man of good intentions, the forces unleashed by the spring revolution were not going to be contained with text-book ‘good government’. The revolutionaries wanted more than just the removal of Diaz; they demanded a complete restructuring of society, something de la Barra was intellectually unable to come to terms with. History has not been kind to de la Barra, and author Henderson attempts to show us a more balanced view. This is not a book for the general reader, but should be of interest to anyone who has a strong interest in the history of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. ( )