Mexico Books

even though this is a short and easy to read book, it hooks u into reading other books that go more into deteail about the same topic. reveals many truths about history that has been hidden from us. everyone of indigenous decent should definately read this book.

Whatever opinions you may have on Xikano-Mexikano people, the truth is that we're not illegals on this land. Tlapoyawa gives it to you straight and tells it like it is. Citing acclaimed and reknowned scholars and authors, he takes you step by step through the different chapters of historical Mexican culture and identity. After reading this compelling and thought provoking book, there will be no doubt in your mind of the ties and right Mexikah people have on the land now known as the Southwest. Aztlan is not a myth; it is a documented historical ancestral homeland of the Nawatl speaking people, and we, the descendants of the original people of this continent, have the right to migrate freely back and forth as we please, following in the tradition of our ancestors. This book is a must read for truth and culture seekers, myth de-bunkers, and students in Indigenous/Native American and Chicano Studies.

"We Will Rise" is based on the belief that Mexicano/Chicanos must begin our liberation from the correct point of reference. The book
begins not with the Chicano Movement of the 1970s, or the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848, or even the Spanish invasion of Mexiko in
1519. It begins with our origins in the present-day Southwest U.S. thousands of years ago. It brings the reader full-circle to our current situation as an occupied nation in the Southwest. It offers a system for lifting ourselves to our former greatness and unity as a people, not through violence, but through Mexikayotl, in solidarity with our northern native brothers and sisters. It does all this in a very easy-to-read style, with clarity as well as beautiful original artwork. It is perfect for students of all ages. A truly uplifting book.

This is the story of a boy and man who, against more odds than most of us will ever know, took charge of the life he would live. His father, already resigned to the year-in-year-out uncertainty and toil of the Texas cotton fields, once questioned his son's nascent thoughts of abandoning the fieldwork he knew for the uncertainty of education, music, and other such dreams. The father, intending to convince rather than ask, put a rhetorical question to his son, "Where can the ox go that he won't have to plow?" Manuel Peña knew what his father was saying but chose instead to take his father's question as a challenge, to take the tejano road less traveled ... and that made all the difference.
In Where the Ox does not Plow, Peña recounts in compelling detail how he found his way to live and work in a world absent oxen, plows, and the oppressive yoke of poverty and fieldwork. Peña's style is detailed yet fluid. The reader often wonder's how he recalls so much, but it becomes clear that every event in this varied life is so full of such emotion and at-the-moment introspection that the writer could not help but have near perfect recall. And what is more, Peña's story is clearly iconic of this generation of tejanos everywhere; I know this because I continuously thought of life vignettes recounted other tejano friends of mine the whole time I was reading.
Peña takes various literary tacks to keep his reader with him on his page-to-page journey. He deftly presents a yet-to-be-resolved global narrative, then switches gears to focus on a detail or two, finally getting back to settle the whole series of events for himself and for us. He makes occasional use of italics to let the reader know he is stepping away into some kind of mental activity like reminiscing, evaluating, disclosing, acknowledging, or just thinking in the present. He sometimes uses a realistic mix of Spanish and English, always with well crafted translations. And the book is divided into short chapters that are independent but at the same time chained in the sequential life story presented by the author. All these techniques help Peña make this more than an autobiography, i.e., what he himself calls an auto-ethnography.
What most struck me in Peña's narrative was the ultra-high level of self-disclosure present throughout the book. It would be way too much honesty and directness for me to attempt if I were to try creating such a work, but Peña makes it work as an integral part of the auto-ethnography genre. In fact, it's what makes it more than just the story of one life. For example, after the extreme tension Peña unmercifully creates for his reader (and at one time for himself) in a discussion related to his marriage, he inserts in the last three lines of the book the most precipitous denouement I have ever experienced in a work of literature, saying of his wife: "Suppressing a choke and putting on my 'leather face,' as we would say in Spanish, I approached, took her hand in mine, and accompanied María into eternity." Real life is so not-romantic, but this is romance!
My tests for a good book are simple: do I think about it between readings, and am I anxious to get back to it? Where the Ox does not Plow is off the chart in both respects. I guarantee that you will start to think more about yourself and your life because of what you learn about where the ox does and does not plow.

Where the Ox Does not Plow is a riveting tale of a young boy born to a Mexican family in Texas. He works the fields in the brutal sun and from there ends up becoming a prominent scholar and professor. The path of this boy is incredible, exciting, enlightening, painful and even more poignant because it is the true story of author Manuel Pena. Being relatively new to California, I learned a ton about the backs that have worked the fields here, and produced my food. I also have a newfound appreciation for migrants and Mexican culture. This is a must-read story of the cultural assimilation, cultural mixing, human experience, love and place. I highly recommend it!

Where the Ox Does Not Plow: A Mexican American Ballad is an autobiographical ethnography, collecting twenty-six episodes of award-winning author Manuel Pena's life journey from penniless migrant worker to successful academic and anthropologist. Pena reflects on problems and issues connected to the marginalized state of Mexicans and other Latinos in the United States. Vignettes of conflict between ethnicities, the difficulty of integrating into American society, family closeness, love, shock, and survival, Where the Ox Does Not Plow is a resoundingly authentic account of a rich and varied life, illustrated with a dozen black-and-white photographs.

A couple of years ago, after moving to Las Vegas,NEW MEXICO, our local bookstore proprietor suggested I read Howard Bryan's book regarding some of the more violent pieces of local history. I read with interest and disdain how it was that the US Army under General Kearney's command wiped out the village of Los Valles near here and nearly destroyed the Taos Pueblo, "leaving a few houses standing to shelter the women and children." That was in 1847 during the period of "pacification" after the US had defeated Mexico.

As appaling the events at Los Valles and Taos Pueblo were, at least there was a modicum of human decency in US Military Policy. There was a certain respect for the humanity of the native peoples, a desire to provide some protection for the women and children. All that changed in the next 20 years or so as witnessed at Wounded Knee where women and children were slaughtered by the US Army.

We have a beautiful public square known as the Plaza here in "The Meadow City." Bryan discusses the historical fact that public hangings were a frequent event of some degree of entertainment. The executions took place from a windmill in the center of the Plaza. Today a bandstand sits where the windmill executions once occured. As Bryan points out the hangings stopped when one day Las Vegans came to the realization that the executions were having detrimental effects upon the younger generation: children had taken to playing at hangings! What better rationale can we find in modern times to end our current versions of capital punishment?

This is a must read especially for those fascinated with the history of the American West.

I'm a native of this town (born there in 1923) and found Howard Bryan's book an outstanding and worthwhile account. I've recounted some of his tales to people in other states and countries, and encountered disbelief. It sounds too much like a B movie to be credible, but it's all true. In fact, it's understated.

My father had one of the original posters which is reproduced on the back of the jacket, and I can testify it is authentic.

Most people find it hard to believe such a tough town could stay that way for as long as Las Vegas NEW MEXICO did. The original Las Vegas was established a hundred years before Bugsy Seigal the mobster started his air-conditioned, neon-lit palace for city dudes, hundreds of miles away, in the Nevada desert.

The photographs are also historical artifacts of great value.
I recommend the book with great enthusiasm.

This is a very easy reading book, with some of the most compelling short stories (true short stories) of the Las Vegas, New Mexico area, during the 1800 and very early 1900s. You pick up some amazing historical facts... and hear some tales of famous, or infamous characters that simply amaze!

Low cost, easy to read, and gives you several of those "Oh my ...." moments when you least expect them. A great read.Wildest of the Wild West: True Tales of a Frontier Town on the Santa Fe Trail

This is an amazingly realistic tale of former and modern Mexico and the US. I recommend it as a personal read or even as a text book on Mexican/American Studies. The New Author (new in writing not in life) has a talent to tell about his personal experiences and the reality of these countries. Great Buy!

Great book, covering economics and politics in Mexico during the period of 1988-1994 (president Carlos Salinas de Gortari). Without fear, it reveals many important facts previously unknown to the public. It as well deals with Mexican way of life and shows the causes of present situation in Mexico and possible solutions. New and innovative look at recent history of Mexico and its people. I personally recomend it to everyone who wants to understand the real face of Mexico and its people.

It is the exact truth about the Mexican peopl

"Yucatan Passages", through its beautifully envisioned and executed photographs, and the accompanying diary entries, essays and poems, offers a rare insight into the ancient Mayan ruins, Franciscan mission churches and Spanish haciendas, as well as the people of the Yucatan. The photographs, produced using a large format view camera and the platinum/palladium printing process, are quite skillfully and artistically composed and printed. The tonal range and incredible clarity of the images, combined with a masterful use of natural lighting, reveals the essence of these places. Through meticulous composition and the balancing of luminous light and darkness, the viewer is drawn into the scene or space being photographed. Robert Hansen has succeeded in creating a most eloquent book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this fascinating region and its history and culture, and especially to those who appreciate exceptional black and white fine art photography.

Hansen has marvelously interpreted the people and their culture. His artistic instincts leave the reader with the impression of being by his side as he works the magic of the camera and the subject. He has captured a people and their culture in a way that no other photographer has accomplished.

Photography of this quality has rarely been seen and appreciated since Ansel Adams.

D.R. Jones, CP-MA

Robert Hansen's magnificent black and white photographs of the Yucatan capture the uniqueness of the area in a way which I have not previously seen. Being familiar with the Yucatan, it is a joy for me to turn the pages and find so many images which remind me of the beauty of the landscape, the afternoon rains during the rainy season, the timelessness of the Mayan ruins and a sense of peace. It is a pleasure to see the Yucatan and it's people through Mr. Hansen's eyes, and to read how the experience affected him.

I purchased this Book as a gift for my father , who had raced in the Baja 1000 in the early years. He enjoyed the book and thought the stories rang true as he remembered. I have since tried to buy other copies of this book and have not had any luck finding them available . This book makes a great gift ( If you can find It )

Marty Fiolka's 1000 MILES TO GLORY: THE HISTORY OF THE BAJA 1000 tells of one Dave Elkins, who in 1962 rode his new Honda from the Mexican border along the Baja peninsula to La Paz as a test of the new motorcycle: a journey which would take nearly forty hours and which would create incentive for other racers and manufacturers to test their endurance in Baja's rugged desert terrain. 1000 MILES TO GLORY documents these ventures in a year-by-year history which begins at the 1967 inaugural race and continues to modern times. The evolution of vehicles, colorful participants, and zany and incredible racing stories blend with full-page color and vintage photos to provide an outstanding visual survey and history of the people and vehicles involved. If you like auto racing in general and the Baja 1000 in particular, you can't miss this treasure trove of details.

As a resident of Southern Colorado, I was looking for a guide of nearby geological, historical, archaeological, and topographical interesting day hikes and backpacking trips. This guide is exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend it to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge and opportunities for adventure in Northern New Mexico!

i own many hiking guides, but this one is a favorite! i highly recommend it for all levels of hikers.

For a genuine traveller, ready to explore new territories, this road atlas is the best I've used during my trips all across North America. From detailed charts of major cities (the map of Washington DC helped me a lot) to comprehensive maps of practically every area of interest, this atlas has been with me through thick and thin.
I do recommend it to everyone, ready to go out there and still feel safe.

Is there anyone who is not familiar with the 'bible of the road' the AAA road guides to the US and Mexico. While not exciting or newsy, the books contain good background info for the driving traveler.

Adela Breton (1849-1923) was a well-to-do English Victorian woman who did not begin her unique work of painting Mayan ruins until she was 50. Even for her age, in this she displayed an adventurousness, energy, and individuality reminiscent of Isek Dinesen. Visiting the Mayan ruins during a travel excursion known as the Mexican Grand Tour, she became absorbed in the ancient Mexican civilization's archaeology. Combining this new-found interest with her practice of painting and sketching archaeological objects of Scotland, Egypt, and Africa from her readings in anthropology, Breton's Mayan paintings are of interest not mainly for any innovative or exceptional skill, but for their verisimilitude. Some of her paintings are the only documents available for lost relics or ones which have deteriorated. Her congenital interest in archaeology and anthropology combing the enthusiasm of the amateur with the reflection and understanding of the professional and the appreciation she had for her subjects is seen in her bright colors, clarity of line, and the attention to detail. The biography by an independent scholar with a law degree portrays Breton in an almost novelistic manner--she is not simply a subject, but a character of a story too. Quotes from diaries and letters of hers and from letters to her and writings of others about her at the openings of chapters are particularly pertinent and revealing about Breton's significance in the archaeological work being done in Mexico in the early 1900s, her feelings for what she was doing, and the special regard of others for her. The conflict and instability of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 brought an end to the archaeological work of Breton and her associates. But not before she had managed to paint and sketch numerous Mayan relics of all types from pyramids to murals to pottery.

This well written work is a fascinating account of how an English gentlewoman's color art saved a record of images painted by Mayans 1500 years earlier. Accompanied by her Indian guide, this incredible women spent several years in the Yucatan jungles making the only copies we have of this aspect of Mayan history. Most of those images deteriorated rapidly in the early years of the 20th Century. Highly recommended reading for all, even for those not familiar with that great civilization.

more details, more information, and a sense of humor make this a fine guide for Puerto Vallarta and the area.

Used this on our vacation. Saved tons of time and money but doing some reading ahead of time. Don't leave home without it.