Arrebatos carnales II. Las pasiones que consumieron a los protagonistas de la historia de México. (Carnal Desires II

Moreno returns with another illustrious cast of characters from Mexico's colorful history. The historical significance of each figure in this sweeping panorama is interspersed with prurient details of bed hopping and bodice ripping. Featured first is La Güera Rodríguez, passionate proponent of independence (her own as well as the nation's). Following the unsurprising chapter on Diego Rivera, whose womanizing is as famed as his art, is the last Mexica princess, Isabel Motecuhzoma, valiant protector of the indigenous peoples and wife of Cuauhtémoc, who provides a disturbing account of being violated by the filthy and foul-smelling Cortés. The segment devoted to Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez is touchingly told by her widower. Concluding this collection is an account of the much-beloved reformist President Lázaro Cárdenas, who evidently had a penchant for barely legal ladies. Moreno has researched deeply and then taken broad liberties with the facts, but it could have happened the way he envisions. Fans of the first Arrebatos Carnales will be delighted by more of the same. Purists and historians who hold these persons to be sacrosanct will be duly horrified. Recommended for most bookstores and public libraries.—Carolyn Kost, Stevenson Sch., Pebble Beach, CA