Read by Kevin Stillwell

There may be no story today with a wider gap between fact and fiction than the relationship between the United States and Mexico. Wall or no wall, deeply intertwined social, economic, business, cultural, and personal relationships mean the US-Mexico border is more like a seam than a barrier, weaving together two economies and cultures. Mexico faces huge crime and corruption problems, but its remarkable transformation over the past two decades has made it a more educated, prosperous, and innovative nation than most Americans realize. Through portraits of business leaders, migrants, chefs, movie directors, police officers, and media and sports executives, Andrew Selee looks at this emerging Mexico, showing how it increasingly influences our daily lives in the United States in surprising ways -- the jobs we do, the goods we consume, and even the new technology and entertainment we enjoy. From the Mexican entrepreneur in Missouri who saved the US nail industry, to the city leaders who were visionary enough to build a bridge over the border fence so the people of San Diego and Tijuana could share a single international airport, to the connections between innovators in Mexico's emerging tech hub in Guadalajara and those in Silicon Valley, Mexicans and Americans together have been creating productive connections that now blur the boundaries that once separated us from each other. Andrew Selee is president of the Migration Policy Institute and former executive vice president of the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he founded and directed its Mexico Institute. For five years in the 1990s he lived in a shantytown in Tijuana, Mexico, helping to start a community center and home for migrant youth. In the quarter-century since, he has witnessed firsthand the dramatic transformation of this city specifically and the country as a whole. Dr. Selee writes a regular column for Mexico's largest newspaper and has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. "[A] welcome perspective on migration."-Reuters "Engaging.... While the intractable anti-Mexican minority in the U.S. retains its power to influence elections, their leaders really ought to read this book. So should the president."-Wall Street Journal "A painstakingly even-handed portrait of the US and Mexico at a pivotal moment."-Financial Times "An evenhanded, reasoned contribution to an overheated discussion."-Kirkus Reviews "Andrew Selee brilliantly chronicles the forces that have redefined our relationship with Mexico over the past quarter century, covering trade, immigration, security, and so much more. His intimate knowledge of Mexico and its people shines through as he tells the story, in a highly readable fashion, of why Mexico matters to the well-being of our nation. As our government is currently renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, Vanishing Frontiers is a must read for all Americans, who will find it a book once started, very hard to put down."-Carla Hills, former US traderepresentative and secretary of housing and urban development "While some politicians talk about walls, Andrew Selee tells us about the bridges that bind Mexico and the United States together. Few relationships will define our future as much as the one we have with the country next door. From energy and innovation to film and food, this book captures the many linkages that tie us together and shows why Mexico truly matters for our future."-Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico, US ambassadorto the United Nations, and secretary of energy "Drawing on his deep bicultural background, Andrew Selee narrates in colorful and fascinating detail how economic integration and demographic change are blending Mexican and American societies. Given the ongoing and heated public debate about NAFTA and US-Mexican relations, this is a most timely work."-John Negroponte, former USambassador to Mexico, deputy secretary of state, and director of na

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