Mexico Books

These boatwomen are indeed remarkable, and superb ambassadors of the Grand Canyon Colorado River corridor. Sure, I'm biased: my first commercial river trip featured two of the profiled women plus another guide noted in the Acknowledgments. All were consummate storytellers, and gender was never an issue. Ms. Teal has an unfortunate habit of occasionally padding her descriptions with platitudes, but these lapses do not significantly diminish the value of this book.

A friend who is a river guide gave me this book. I never really understood the fasination with rafting until I read this. The writing leaves a little to be desired, but the subject matter and the information is very moving.

A friend told me about this book several years ago when I was raft guiding on the Colorado River a little north of the Grand Canyon. I bought the book, and absolutely loved it. As one of the rare breed of female white water rafting guides, it was amazing to read about other women who shared my passion for the river and for the wild places around us. Breaking into the Current is NOT a male-bashing book; it filled with stories that are waiting to be told--stories by and about interesting women who went into a career that few women would consider entering. I loved reading the stories about Lava Falls, the making of Crystal Rapid, and all the others. Each time I return to the book it makes me ache to be on the river yet again.

A few years back on my first trip through the Grand Canyon I was lucky enough to be in a group that included Louise Teal as one of the guides. I bought this book after the trip and read it on the drive home. I was blown away. Her love of the canyon, the river, the people...it all glows from every page. Rafting the Grand is a life-changing experience; and the elements that make it so are all here--captured and expressed by a woman who has become part of the river and vice versa. She tells the stories of the women who 'broke into the current' with humor, sensitivity, respect and love. On top of all that, she is a very talented writer and this book works purely on that basis. If you've ever run the canyon, buy this book. If you have ever wanted to run it, buy this book. If you've got no interest in the canyon or the Colordo river but enjoy good writing about real stuff, buy this book.

I recently travelled a rafting trip of the canyon and was totally enthralled by the experience. In many ways it changed my life. Reading this book brings back so many memories of what the trip there is really about. I felt a true connection with the women that travelled it before me. The descriptions are so beautiful. This book crosses genders and is simply about a wonderful place and some extrodinary women that have travelled there.

This book is filled with useful and interesting information on retiring south of the border. I recommend it as a starting point, if you are considering retiring there.

It was this very book that gave my husband and I the information we needed to start bringing our dreams of retiring in Mexico to reality.
There were so many good tips in there. We found our piece of the baja outside San Felipe in Baja Norte, and started a site called [....]

Thanks to this wonderful author who has helped us realize our dreams of living and retiring in Mexico.

Modern retirees who want to get the most out of shrinking retirement benefits will want to look at CHOOSE MEXICO FOR RETIREMENT, appearing in its 9th updated edition to provide the latest facts on local real estate, costs, medical care, business opportunities and more. From Baja California to the Yucatan Peninsula, discussions revolve around cultural and economic considerations alike and also include first-person insights on development and direction. An excellent primer for assessing Mexico's pros and cons.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Nicely organized and full of information, this is a great resource for anyone thinking of moving to Mexico. As much as anything, I learned what questions I should be asking, and what I need to consider before making a final decision. Different locations are compared in a meaningful way, so that I actually zeroed in on my tentative location (Sayulita, which I had never even heard of before) with the help of this book.

Important up-to-date information on Mexican laws regarding land ownership and vehicle insurance are critical and this book can save anyone a lot of money and inconvenience. Don't buy or rent a house in Mexico without reading this book.

This is a good book in that it addresses some of the basics of planning to move to Mexico. What it does not address is specifics such as,

1. How do you get your water and gas?
2. What should you look for in renting a house in Mexico?
3. Is there a Mexican price and is there a Gringo price for things?
4. What about learning Spanish?

In the majority of the places this book lists for expatriation you will find large gringo communitites that are isolated from the culture of Mexico with their gated communities, their own American stores, movie theaters, etc... Choose Mexico does not cover these facts. The reason for this is that the majority of gringos in these colonies do not learn Spanish. Without learning the language you cannot very well have a life in geniune Mexico.

Doug Bower
The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico

Chop, Chop is a very unique book; it's a novel about a normal guy living in a normal Midwestern town. This book tells the story of a young man questioning his faith, and coming out so much a stronger person. The whole story is so real and emotionally compelling that it could easily have been a memoir. The book is a must read for teens in the Christian community!
-Oisín

Chop, Chop is a great read for anyone with teenagers and a wonderful read for teenagers themselves. This book caught me in the story at the very beginning and held me until the very end. I laughed, I remembered and I cried. I can't wait for my kids to read it.

For me, Chop, Chop started out with ordinay people doing ordinary things, and there seemed an absence of conflict. But such was the case for only the 1st chapter or so. After this I began to care about the characters, conflict was introduced, and the story moved on to show the things I thought plain and ordinary to be exceptional and extraordinary, specifically Laci's steadfast love and Greg's goodness and wisdom (not to mention his hand gestures - these were very, very clever).

The story progresses smoothly and some conflicts are resolved and you begin to think that everything is going to be all right, as it should be. Then a whirlwind of evil arises, and the roots of the story grow deep into your heart and mind to show to what extent we are called to love.

A must read for all teens striving to deepen their faith, maintain pure relationships in dating, and find purpose for their lives. I look forward to reading the next piece of work from L. N. Cronk.

-S. A. Davis

I am a student in one of the author's classes at my school. I was the third person there to read the book. I started it during silent reading time one day when I had nothing else to read, a grave sin, so I smartly swiped it up out of a pile of books sitting near to me, and began to read. (This is allowed, I wasn't stealing.) I couldn't put it down. Afterwards, several other students also read Chop, Chop, and now the book is popular reading at our school.
The story is about a group of kids in high school and how they built a strong and lasting friendship. The book touches on themes of forgiveness, compassion, and loyalty. It made me wish that I had a group of friends like those portrayed in Chop, Chop.

Emotionally absorbed and only a few pages from the end of the book, I couldn't put it down. And yes, the dogs did need to be walked, but I had to finish reading this book. (Don't worry, they held it.)
In the pages of this book live characters that drew me in and made me care about them. It mattered; I had to know what happened next. A smooth read, timely storyline, and simple, profound truths. I read from cover to cover in one day without putting it down. Now, that's a good book.

The Gallup 14 is a gripping page turner set in a small town in New Mexico during the 1930's. The charachters are compelling and colorful beginning with Bobcat.

The reader finds himself questioning how such an event could occur in a small town where everyone knows everyone. The reader then discovers that a small town is the best place to keep secrets.

The author does a wonderful job of detailing the court room saga. The reader waits anxiously for justice to prevail. Are we disappointed or rewarded? This book has made me a fan of historical fiction. The details of real life interwoven with fiction make for more than an enjoyable read.

A must read for anyone interested in the social and cultural evolution of the southwest in the 1930's. A fresh writing style from this first time author. Five star kudos and a big thumbs up.

Excellent read! Combines a fascinating event (riot, murder, union vs. management, communism, immigration) with a fresh and very readable style. The characters, some real and some fictitious, are brought to life very well (the best being Bobcat)and the turmoil of the times comes across quite strongly. Is justice served in the end? That will be up to the individual reader to decide, and that decision will wait until the novel is finished. If you are into the culture and history of the southwest, you won't want to miss this one.

This is a well-written, fascinating novel, with an amazing control of the complex facts surrounding the events in Gallup, New Mexico in the 1930s. I enjoyed the use of actual courtroom testimony, real names and places, but with the added excitement of a fictional young lawyer and his girlfriend to discuss the case and make it entertaining. The lawyers' opening and closing statements are so real, and powerful, that they seem part of the courtroom history, till one realizes that they are part of the fictional side of the book, penned by the author to capture the true intensity of the court case. This book was enjoyable, thought-provoking, and definitely worth recommending.

Having lived in Gallup for 20 years, and working with Gary through the State Bar of Arizona where he is a frequent speaker and writer, this book held a dual interest for me. What a page turner! The courtroom scenes are especially well told. He captures the historical incident with amazing detail and clarity, and feeling that only someone close to the legal profession and Gallup, New Mexico could obtain.

I own quite a few Southwestern cookbooks and my parents lived in Southwest for quite a few years. I find this cookbook to be the best resource for authentic Southwestern recipes. Highly recommended.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title -- Mexican-American Cooking. What we typically call 'Mexican Food' in this country really isn't at all like the foods that the typical restaruant will have as you progress away from the American influenced border towns. Mexican-American food is derived from the foods of interior Mexico, but these food have been heavily modified as they crossed border. And YES, Mexican-American food is the style of food that I happen to like.

Then when he was talking about favorite Mexican restaurants and he said 'These were places you needed to be - at least once a week.' And he started talking about going into withdrawal, he was talking my language. To feed my withdrawal symptoms I've gone seeking Mexican restaurants in London (much improved in recent years), Bremen Germany (the Guacamole was Pink), Taipai (not too bad if you just don't think of it as Mexican).

Anyway, he says that he has been collecting the recipies for 18 years. And he's done a supurb job. I've found a lot of things that I want to try.

One small complaint - in the appendix he lists some mail order sources for ingredients. Fine, but he doesn't give web sites where the products might be ordered. And, another source that I've found excellent for hard to find items is the Gourmet Foods section at Amazon. But a new hispanic grocery store just opened across town so I guess I really don't care.

I am not sure how I overlooked this book. The author deserves the top awards anyone can heap upon him. Well researched, and the history is extremely good. The recipes are extensive, wonderful, and covering every region. An outstanding book. Now I will have to look for other cookbooks from this author.

Those of us who live in the Southwest simply have to have a periodic Tex-Mex fix, so we head for the nearest drive-in or our favorite Mexican restaurant. One of the best things we've done is buy a copy of La Cocina De La Frontera, a comprehensive collection of recipes for preparing Mexican-American dishes, and also a view of this particular ethnic cuisine from both a historical and culinary perspective.

Emphasizing the styles found in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the 349 page volume offers everything from Bebidas (drinks) to Postres y Dulces (desserts and sweets). In between you'll find flautas, enchiladas, beans, quesadillas, burritos, chiles relenos, and a host of other delicacies that Mexican food aficionados find irresistible.

After 18 years of research, James Peyton has collected what is in my estimation one of the finest guides to this popular cuisine. Also included is an appendix of mail order sources for some of the ingredients, plus hints for adapting recipes to low-fat and low-cholesterol diets.

- Gail Cooke

Jim Peyton has written a really terrific book. This is one that should be in everyone's collection.

This book is a great reference book for artists and afficionados of the New Mexican landscape. It is full of colorful, large paintings that represent many different styles. I saw the book in many gift shops and galleries and decided to come home and check the price. Amazon saved me almost $25.

If you live in New Mexico (or even if you just like the New Mexico landscape) and you like art, you'll love this book!

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to New Mexico. We always like to buy a photographic book as a memento of our travels to enjoy once we return home. While shopping, we did not find such a book with pictures that did the landscape justice. This book provided exactly what we wanted. We are now enjoying the landscapes of this beautiful state through the eyes of various artists.

Great book if you like New Mexico and seeing the land.

The book opens with a discussion of landscape painting in New Mexico, with reference to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century artists and what inspired them. The bulk of the book, pages 30 to 279, is given over to the present day artists and their paintings. The book concludes with a very brief Biography for each artist, a Glossary and an Index to the artists.

Each artist has a page of introduction and at least three examples of his/her work, occasionally more. While brief the text for each artist is surprisingly comprehensive, providing an indication of background and training along with comments on the work. What is particularly appealing is that it also manages a certain intimacy, bringing each artist to life. What is particularly interesting is the even balance between male and female artists represented. The artists, thirty one in total, range from the established to the immerging, and the range of work is wide, predominantly representational from impressionist to realist, but with a few approaching abstract.

This is a large book, landscape in format which of course allows for most of the work to be shown advantage. It is illustrated throughout in full-colour with well in excess of 200 paintings.

I recieved this item with a dent in it and the cover sleeve was torn. I was unhappy with that. As for the dictionary, it has every single word you'll ever want to know in Spanish AND some of the words you don't want to know.

I have found this dictionary very useful in class and in general questions I have about Spanish. Good buy!

Nice and heavy, well laid out, gives context for definitions, helped me with spanish studies.

Larousse offers a strong and affordable bilingual dictionary for persons who are studying Spanish--or even Spanish speakers studying English, for that matter. As dictionaries go, this IS one of the better ones and this edition of Larousse's Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary is bound to be a big help to many students.

People have noted that when Larousse updates their dictionaries they do more than window dressing--and they are right. You get great entries that reflect the changing times: the definitions of "software," "hostile takeover" and baby sitter" are all included in this latest edition of the dictionary. Moreover, you DO get words that reflect the different nuances of a word whenever necessary. I agree with the reviewer who writes that there are multiple translations for words like "loop;" this is the hallmark of a fine dictionary.

The dictionary even includes entries for "foul" language; this also helps the user. The 64 page guide to communication is very nicely done.

The pages are made of paper that is slightly thinner than I would like but it's more than sufficient for the student. This is a minor point, naturally. The typeface is easy to read and I like how you can use this dictionary to translate back and forth by looking up entries in either Spanish or English.

I recommend this dictionary for all students of Spanish or even Spanish speaking persons studying English. Not only will this satisfy students at the elementary level; it will also be most beneficial for students at the intermediate and advanced levels of study.

Even though this book says college--it's what's needed even for the beginner. I bought the Larousse student dictionary and hate it because most of the words I needed were not in there. The student dictionary is probably good for someone in 7th or 8th grade.

The College dictionary gives several uses of the word, which is extremely helpful to the beginner. I was able to write excellent papers in spanish early because use of this dictionary helped me to used the proper idiomatic expressions when reviewing the meaning of the words. This dictionary is a must for the serious spanish student.

The whole thing is illustrated in pen and ink, so you never have to worry if the food comes out like the picture or not. The pinto been looks like a bloated comma.

Mary Sue Miliken and Susan Feniger are two of the top chefs in LA. Their "Border Grill" in Santa Monica (4th and Broadway) is a noisy, splashy, foodie haven with superb drinks, a decent wine/beer list, and amazing food. Mesa Mexicana offers recipes that one might easily see on Border Grill's menu. For those of us who grew up equating Mexican food with Tex-Mex, Miliken and Feniger's inventive take on traditional Mexican cuisine is a revelation.

As a cookbook, Mesa Mexicana is interesting, has an attractive layout, and, by the minimal standards of the genre, is well-written. One would not want to use it on an everyday basis. Many of the recipes involve a fairly intensive amount of prep work and/or require specialized ingredients. For the hobbyist chef with access to a decent Mexican grocer and time on his/her hands, however, it is an inspiring and provocative work. Highly recommended on that qualified basis.

`Mesa Mexicana' and `too hot tamales' are the two books currently available from the chef / teaching / restauranteur team known as the `too hot tamales' of early Food Network fame, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. They recently went up against Bobby Flay on `Iron Chef America'. Not that it really matters, but I don't remember who won or what the secret ingredient was. What is important is that it was easily one of the most entertaining and memorable `Iron Chef America' episodes, comparable to the very first one featuring Chicago Mexican cuisine expert Rick Bayless and the competition featuring Oriental fusion master, Ming Tsai of `Blue Ginger'. What I do remember is the imprint of the iron on the back of Susan Feniger's blouse and the inventive recipe they did for Scotch eggs.

The first impression of both of these books is not inspiring. The layout is ordinary, leaning toward the garish. The photographs are in a grainy black and white and too small to easily make sense of what is happening, not to mention the fact that most are missing captions. In `too hot tamales', it is even difficult to tell which of these two delightful ladies is Mary Sue and which is Susan, from the lack of clear identification on the photographs. The flyleaf of `Mesa Mexicana' clears this up. Mary Sue is the taller with blond hair and Susan is the shorter with dark hair. They also neglect to give a good picture of co-author, Helene Siegel, whose voice seems to be strong in the prefaces and introductions.

Based on the strong `Iron Chef America' appearance, I decided to check out the books from this duo, even though their Food Network show was before my time. I figured two gals with this much energy and a strong showing against the indomitable Bobby must have something to say. At the outset, the book `too hot tamales' did not impress, until I got to the chapters on soups. At this point, the authors' observations seemed to come alive. This was not nearly as strong as what I saw in Deborah Madison's recent book on soups, but the comparison showed that Mary Sue and Susan clearly had something important to say. That is not to say that `too hot tamales' is the better book. `Mesa Mexicana' is actually the better of the two for anyone who is not familiar with Mexican cooking. Having determined that these books have something to say, the next big question is why get these books instead one from the heavy hitters of Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless or Diana Kennedy.

For starters, both Bayless and Kennedy's best books are more strongly oriented toward teaching Mexican cooking, either by technique or by region. Milliken and Feniger's books are more for fun, without straying too far from strong roots in genuine Mexican cooking technique. If all you want are some good, snappy recipes without being tied to the grill (as you are with many of Bobby Flay's recipes), Milliken and Feniger may be your best choice. They are certainly your best choice if you are attracted to entertaining with a Mexican theme. I had an epiphany of insight when I realized that a rather large number of pages in both books, as well as many pages in many other cookbooks are dedicated to `starters', `finger food', `appetizers', `hors `d'ourves', `antipasto' and what have your. But if you live in a typical family, how much time do you really spend making `party food' in comparison to daily breakfasts, lunches, and suppers. Why don't cookbooks dedicate 20% of their books to breakfast and 35% of their books to brown bag food rather than giving so much room to entertaining food, which the average cook may make once a month, if they are inclined to entertain with food in the first place.

All this means is that these books are much more valuable to you if you do entertain often. This is especially true because both books are very reasonably priced, appropriate to their uninspired art work. It is also true because of the rather odd organization of the recipes. In both books, some chapters are organized by function or meal, some by style of cooking, and some by principle ingredient. This means neither book is especially good if you want to find a book to fit a particular function or to use a particular ingredient. The fact that both books are relatively short confirms that neither book may be very useful if you have room for only a very small cookbook collection. But if you can afford the money and space for a large cookbook collection, you will probably already have one or more volumes from Kennedy and Bayless, so why load yourself up with our spicy gals?

For most people, the answer is simply that they are great fun to read and their recipes get right to the point. If you are a foodie, you don't need another tutorial on technique. If you are a casual cook who entertains, you can go straight to the largely very concise recipes and get on with it. So, both books are easily worth the room they take up on your shelves.

As an aside, it is really interesting to see our gals' comments on the cooking talents of the Mexicans, which is very similar to Tony Bourdain's comments in `A Cook's Tour', where he states that almost all his line chefs at `Les Halle' are Mexican with practically no formal training, yet they are as capable as most French trained cooks.

If you really like cookbooks or you really like Mexican food, I recommend both of these books.

We love their restaurants and really love this book! The recipes are easy to follow and most are quite quick to make yet are complex in flavor. We particularly like their comments before each recipe that summarize the dish and make recommendations of other dishes that complement the flavors.

I have made several recipes from this cookbook and have had loved them all. The salsas are now staples on my table as are the skirt steak, the flans (yum!) and the tortilla soup.

Many of the recipes appear on the menu at their restaurant, Border Grill. When prepared to specs, they taste just like the real thing. This makes me happy because Border Grill is one of my favorite restaurants.

Great Mexican cooking takes time, but as this cookbook shows us, it is not complicated. The book is beautiful, the recipes clear, and the results fabulous.

This is a very good overview on the subject and I dare you to find better color reproductions of these murals.

I am gald I was able to get this book and it fit with my budget perfectly and I am glad that I got it.

After having this on my wish list for a couple of years, and I finally purchased it after another trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts. If you're interested in Diego and his contemporaries, this book is a must-have!

This is definitely one of the best books out there for anyone interested in Mexican art. Few books can inspire as much as this one, especially for people from Zapotlanejo, Jalisco. It's loaded with many pictures and chronicles the lives of these three muralistas and has in depth coverage of specific murals, i especially enjoyed the coverage on "History of Mexico" mural by Diego Rivera. This book is definitely worth the price and a great addition to any collection. Orale!

Read the editorial reviews first and if you are still not convinced that this book does a good job covering the Big Three than get individual books on each. The text is outstanding and puts the works of art into a political context of the time period. The author is analytical, insightful and definitely well versed in the subject matter.There is an exhaustive bibliography, extensive endnotes on each chapter and spectacular reproductions on thick quality paper stock. There are historical photographs of public works in progress and a varity of camera angles of individual murals to show the enormity of the works. I have seen many of these murals on location and this book does an excellent job of portraying them as they are. When you see a Rivera fresco on a wall at the National Palace live or in this case from a pulled out camera angle and see the railing leading to the next floor being dwarfed by the images it is truly impressive. Looking at the details within the murals is the ultimate visual experience where you can get lost in the picture and the meaning. The closeups and details of individual segments are superior. This is art for the peoples public viewing brought directly to you from Mexico to hold in your hands and examine at your leisure. There are several good books out there on Mexican Murals but this one for the money is outstanding. The three artists each had a distictive style but each brought a unifying nationalistic approach to the walls of public buildings. Is one artist better than the other? You be the judge, everyone has their own favorite. If you are unfamiliar with the works of the Big Three than check it out, you are in for a treat.

I ordered Mexicocina because I was looking for decorating ideas for my kitchen. But, I found so much more! This book is not only equipped with beautiful Mexican kitchens, but also the history behind the kitchens, and tasty recipes. Me and my husband's favorite country to visit is Mexico. This book gave us some great information on bed and breakfasts in different areas of Mexico.

This is a great coffee table book too!

Thank you,
Adrianna

If you have a Spanish style home, or are merely interested in decoration, this is simply a wonderful book. The kitchens are all brilliant with color and festive with decoration. Lots of tile, alcoves, and sunny spaces captivate the eye. This is happy book, and full of inspiring ideas.

I'm addicted to Mexican style, colors, and design aesthetics. This newest book in the "Mexi-" series focuses entirely on kitchens. The photos are profuse with color, light, and (if you love this stuff the way I do) decorating ideas!

As a bonus, if you own all the books in this series (Mexicolor, Mexicasa, In a Mexican Garden, and Mexicocina), they themselves become a terrific Mexican-style design accent placed together on your bookshelf. :-)

My husband and I are building a new home in Mexico and wanted to make sure we kept it as authentic as possible, thus the book orders. This particular book is filled with spectacular photos of Mexican kitchens ranging from the most spectacular to the more common. Each page is filled with building ideas as well as decorating inspirations. Who would have thought of collecting beautifully carved wooden spoons for a wall display ! The authors include much narrative explaining background of the kitchens and various decorations/selections, as well as history. Everyone will enjoy the brilliant colors and artwork as each page is turned.

The pictures are glorious and the text is very well written, concise and informative. I have travelled to many of these kitchens with Betsy McNair and it's like taking the tour all over again. There's no better guide to Mexico than Ms. McNair. She really knows the history and the people. If you can't go with her in person then the book is the next best thing.