Judith Adler Hellman's new book is a wonderful addition to her previous work including her bestseller Mexican Lives (also published by the New Press). In her newest book, Hellman uses in-depth interviews to document the lives of Mexican migrants in both the US and Mexico. Hellman combines incredible skill, care and compassion to illustrate the challenges, hopes, dreams and realities of the migrants and their families. Their voices ring clear and strong as she develops a critique of US migration policy and develops the narrow space within which Mexican migrants must exist, a space that is characterised by difficulties, barriers, bigotry, mistrust and misunderstanding; these are people caught between ‘the rock and the hard place’ as Hellman describes it.

Hellman's book includes an introduction, four sections and a conclusion. The bulk of her discussion is organised into four sections that follow Mexican migrants from their homes and home towns to their destinations and futures. An introduction reviews the history of Mexican migration to the US and some of the theories used by social scientists to explain the migration process. Migration from Mexico to the US is not new, yet, its history is often overlooked, thus, Hellman's discussion is critical to understanding the contemporary processes and challenges. The introduction ends with an important section that Hellman titles ‘The Big Questions’. In this section, Hellman enumerates the issues that she addresses; but as importantly, these are questions the reader must confront and ponder. Not only are we challenged to explore why Mexicans are in the US – and as she points out, it is not all about economics; we are challenged to consider what migration means for those Mexicans who are left in rural communities in Mexico as well as the future for Mexicans who are in the US.

In Part I: The Rock, Hellman documents life in Mexican sending households and communities. She introduces us to migrants, their families and the decisions they must make. She explores motivations for moving and notes that not all migrants are looking for work. Her discussions with Marta (chapter four) remind us that women migrate to escape the abuse (physical and verbal) that often characterises their lives. Part II: The Journey, follows the migrants as they cross the US border. We learn that the process of border crossing has changed becoming more dangerous and difficult even as its cat and mouse qualities continue; see chapter eight and Angel who recounts his trips from Morelos to the US. Part III: The Hard Place, documents the experiences of Mexican migrants who made it to the US, but as the example of Julio reminds us, not everyone succeeds. Julio's experiences, including his brutal arrest and later his return to Puebla, contrast with the experiences of Manuel, who runs a successful shipping business. But life isn't black and white, and the final chapter in Hellman's book documents Patricia who came to New York from Puebla and has encountered both the best and worst of the migrant experience.

Hellman's conclusion reframes her discussion in terms of migration theory. She examines the motivations for migration and emphasises that while economics drive a good deal of cross-border movement (in other words the search for living wages, etc.). Other factors motivate as well, including social connections and social changes. Hellman also shows how the outcomes of movement are linked to the strong social networks that exist among Mexicans who move between Mexico and the US. Finally, she turns to the present and future and asks what might be done to deal with migration, particularly in light of September 11, 2001 and the collapse of the Bush/Fox initiatives to manage Mexican-US migration. While the proposals failed to gain any traction and are now instead replaced with increasing militarisation of the border, Hellman notes the administration's goals would have reinforced the image that undocumented peoples in the US are criminal (p. 229).

Hellman's book is a timely and important contribution to the discussion of Mexican-US migration. Her writing is engaging, and her ability to weave the lives of migrants into a moving narrative is profound. Few if any writers are able to make the world of others come to life in so rich and complete a style – in fact, for me, Hellman's writing and this book stand clearly with Stud Terkel's works which continue to document the American experience. For the novice who wants to understand Mexican-US migration, this is one of the best books available. For the scholar of migration, Hellman's work is an important addition that must be read. Students will gain a great deal from reading ‘The World of Mexican Migrants’, but as importantly and maybe more importantly, Hellman's work is critical for policy makers who continue to demonise Mexican migrants and avoid thinking about and confronting the ‘big questions’ that Hellman poses.