If you're a Pitt fan, then you're longing for that day when Penn State will bow to the Panthers again (sadly, never again in old Pitt Stadium, razed in 1999). If you're a Penn State fan, you've seen that blue and gold nemesis to the west fade from its once high point of gridiron glory. But whether you're a Panther or a Nittany Lion, you've got to appreciate the 107 year old rivalry between these two storied squads. Pannacio's book is a game-by-game history of the series, from the first snowy meeting in 1893, to the day in 1981 when underdog Penn State smooshed then-No.1-ranked Pitt (going into the game 10-0 under Jackie Sherril) in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, Panaccio's book ends in 1981, but it captures the best years of the rivalry, as Pitt has gone 3-10-1 against the team from Happy Valley in the ensuing years. Sadly, the rivalry was interrupted 1993-1996, but four more games were scheduled for 1997-2000, so the thrill temporarily lives on. Hopefully these two schools will continue to schedule one another for the long term. In the meantime, enjoy Pannacio's nicely written work. It's full of photos, newspaper clippings, and gripping highlights.

This book has answers to all kinds of science questions and other facts. This book has answers to questions about nature, machines, computers, and all other things that have to do with science. This is a very good book to have if you are interested in science.

This novel's style is very minimalist; it is often critisized as having no plot and flat characters. After reading it and thoroughly analyzing it however (this book is one that takes effort; it doesn't "jump" at you) one can see that the Revolution is the plot, and that the characters are only relevant in how they are affected by, or how they reflect upon, the Revolution. Some say that true literature isn't great unless it's political. Maybe so, but a really good novel makes you care about the characters and the reader not want the story to end, and with The Underdogs it just isn't so. Not bad, but not THAT great either. Should definately be read by anyone interested in Mexican history.

I was assigned to read this book for a Mexican Literature class, and I was expecting it to be just another boring history novel. However, this novel was a wonderfully metaphorical account of the hopes, yearnings, desires, and dreams of the "rebels," the poor common-man revolutionists during the Mexican Revolution. It is full of colorful similes that really increase the effects of the fight...the cause...that these people are working for. It is, by no means, "just another war-filled history story." It's an easy read, I finished it cover to cover in just a day and a half, and there's an actual story-line to follow, unlike with so many history tales which are merely accounts of battle. This story has more than its share of graphic battle scenes, but the plight of the revolutionists somehow stirs up empathy with the reader. A fine piece of Mexican literature. Recommended.

I teach sophomore and junior English at a public high school in California. During the first fifteen minutes of each class, my students engage in SSR (silent sustained reading), and I model reading for them by not grading papers during this time, but by reading a book of my own choice. Every day in every class I looked forward to reading The Underdogs during SSR. It's a fast read and provides a spring board into the historical context of which it speaks. This book has made me a student of the Mexican Revolution.

The main character, Demetrio Macias, and his band of revolutionaries at once attract and repulse you until, at the novel's end, the reader understands how bitterly disillusioned Azuela had become with the likes of the generals and foot soldiers who turned their noble cause into a pretext for their own personal gain. Thus, the revolution implodes upon the idealists who gave her birth and, in the end, the generals and foot soldiers of the revolution become comsumed by the same base impulses that once fueled their enemies.

The dialogue, of which there is plenty, burns through the storyline like a prairie fire, so real, so vibrant, and so poetic is it. The narrative draws the reader along seamlessly, and the numerous descriptions of nature dazzle his mind's eye like an apocalyptic vision.

In my opinion, a good novel engages me in the lives of its characters. Demetrio, Manteca, Luis Cervantes, Camilla, War Paint, et al. remain vivdly in my mind as victims of injustice, heroes of liberty, and perpetrators of pointless mayhem.

I fell so much in love with Azuela's style and his masterful use of imagery that I ordered the Spanish language version Los de Abajo! I can't wait to read this novel in the original Spanish. I can't wait to unleash its volcanic energy upon my students.

My favorite line? That of the mad poet Valderrama, who proclaims after the defeat of General Villa at Celaya, "Villa? Obregon? Carranza? What's the difference? I love the revolution like a volcano in eruption; I love the volcano because it's a volcano, the revolution because it's the revolution! What do I care about the stones left above or below after the cataclysm? What are they to me?"

Every gabacho should read this book!