Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexican Border by Rachel C. St. John

This book gives a concise, yet informative history of the border between the U.S. and Mexico, especially between El Paso and the Pacific Ocean. In so doing, it shows how different people and governments use the border--not just to control immigration, but also to, at times, challenge state sovereignty, collect revenue, avoid customs duties, gain a military advantage, and police morality. Indeed, the idea of fencing the border came late. In the conclusion, St. John lays out her cards: she believes that the border fence is not the best solution to the challenges of illegal immigration, and that the U.S. and Mexico should work together, along with the transnational community, to come up with a more flexible method of policing the border. I also learned more than I ever knew about the Mexican Revolution. A well-written and thought-provoking book.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

While this book seems at first focused on the fate of a briefcase of money that Llewellyn Moss discovers at the scene of a massive heroin deal gone bad, by the end, I came to the consider the really moving story that of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, who matches himself against Anton Chigurh, in an attempt to save Moss and to redeem himself from the errors he made as a young soldier. I found the book really moving and surprisingly (to me at least) exciting. It did a great job balancing action and moral consequence. McCarthy handles both his characters and the Southwest landscape really well.