4 h 17 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 17 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man fights to save his home, then can no longer name his cause?
In a canyon in Zacatecas, Demetrio Macías is a farmer with a wife and small son, not a soldier. A quarrel with the local boss drives him from home and into the hills. There, other country men gather around him. Mariano Azuela’s The Underdogs follows this unlikely rebel leader into the fighting of the Mexican Revolution.
Among Demetrio’s rough followers, loyalty sits beside cruelty, and jokes give way to killing. Luis Cervantes, a medical student and journalist from the federal side, talks his way into the band. His ambitions sharpen the question beneath each swift scene: is this a struggle for justice, or a storm that carries people away from everything they mean to defend?
What you’ll discover
- A farmer under arms Follow Demetrio as the need to protect his family draws him into rebellion.
- Loyalty with rough edges Meet country men whose courage, wild humor, and cruelty share the same camp.
- Ambition behind the cause Watch Cervantes use his education and words to pursue his own interests.
- Lives among armed men Camila and La Pintada reveal struggles for safety and power within the band.
- War in sharp scenes Short chapters bring the fighting close, letting actions carry questions that speeches cannot settle.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like war stories told from the ground, vivid characters, black humour, and fiction that sets history in the faces of ordinary men.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An injury becomes a cause
- Victory grows from shared suffering
- Cervantes gives the fighting a meaning
- Military success leaves the purpose uncertain
- Victory opens the way to plunder
- Personal moods replace any common law
- Courage cannot supply a missing purpose
- Sharp contrasts carry the argument
- The fighters remain beneath the cause
Who’s who
- Demetrio MaciasA farmer from Limon who becomes a rebel general, brave and loyal, and unable to say what he is fighting for.
- Luis CervantesA city student and journalist who joins the rebels, talks well, and quietly works to enrich himself.
- Anastasio MontanezDemetrio's old friend and a bearded fighter who boasts of twenty oxen and misses the sierra.
- CamillaA mountain girl who brings Demetrio water, loves Cervantes, and is drawn into the general's camp.
- War PaintA fierce, quick-tempered camp follower who rides a stolen black horse and clings to Blondie.
- BlondieA former waiter turned cruel major, fond of drink, practical jokes, and shooting.
- VenancioA barber who plays the healer and dreams of becoming a real doctor.
- SolisA disillusioned officer on Natera's staff who sees both the beauty and the failure of the revolution.
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The Underdogs
by Mariano Azuela · 1915
A farmer burned out of his home in the Mexican sierra gathers a band of riders and cannot say what they fight for.
Easy read2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What happens to a man who fights hard for a cause and then cannot say what it is? That question runs through The Underdogs, a short novel by Mariano Azuela, a doctor who served with rebel forces in the Mexican Revolution and wrote the book from what he saw.
The Underdogs at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 30 min2 h fast, 3 h slow
- Length
- 35,900 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1915by Mariano Azuela
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A farmer is hunted from his own home
The novel opens at night on a mountain ranch called Limon. Demetrio Macias is eating tortillas while his wife listens to their dog barking at something in the dark. Federal soldiers are coming up the slope. She tells him to hide, and he takes his rifle and slips into the shadows.
A drunken sergeant and lieutenant shoot the dog, demand eggs and milk, and boast about what they will do to the house. Then they say this is the ground of the famous Demetrio Macias, and a white shape appears in the doorway. The lieutenant turns into a fawning coward and offers his hand. Demetrio only looks at him with a cold smile. He sends his wife away with the child and climbs into the hills. Looking back, he sees flames rising from the canyon.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 50 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Azuela, Mariano. The Underdogs. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-underdogs.
Azuela, M. (2026). The underdogs. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-underdogs (Original work published 1915)
Azuela, Mariano. The Underdogs. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-underdogs.
@book{azuela2026underdogs,
author = {Azuela, Mariano},
title = {The Underdogs},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-underdogs},
note = {First published 1915}
}
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What is The Underdogs about?
It follows Demetrio Macias, a farmer driven from his home by a local boss who becomes a rebel general in the Mexican Revolution, while the war around him turns from hope to plunder and confusion.
What does the title The Underdogs mean?
In Spanish the title is Los de abajo, meaning those at the bottom. It points to the poor peasants who do the fighting in the revolution while others above them take the rewards.
Is The Underdogs based on a true story?
It is a novel, but Azuela served as a doctor with rebel troops and drew on what he saw. It was first published in 1915, during the war itself, and real figures such as Villa and Natera appear.
The author
Mariano Azuela
1873–1952 · Mexican novelist
Mariano Azuela (1873–1952) was a Mexican novelist and physician. He was born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, and died in Mexico City. He worked as a doctor during the Mexican Revolution. His novel The Underdogs was first published in 1915. He later lived and practised medicine in Mexico City.
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