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tashby

Oct 10, 2008, 1:43 PM

Post #1 of 61 (16483 views)

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Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Now that we're living here, I'm keenly interested in learning more about Mexico and its people. I'm especially interested in books that increase my understanding of, appreciation for, and ability to enjoy living here. (I am not particularly interested in ancient cultures in and of themselves, unless the book directly relates to and informs why things are the way they are today.)

Unfortunately, I am nowhere near fluent in Spanish, so the books need to be in English. I'll enjoy hearing everyone's suggestions, but am especially interested in hearing from those who've lived in Mexico as the range of experiences that affords is so much greater.

What three books about Mexico do you consider your absolute "must reads"?

Thanks in advance!

(This post was edited by tashby on Oct 10, 2008, 1:45 PM)

Ed and Fran

Oct 10, 2008, 2:07 PM

Post #2 of 61 (16446 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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"Distant Neighbors" by Alan Riding. A bit dated but still very useful. Forget the followup volume, it's not anywhere as good as the basic book.

esperanza

Oct 10, 2008, 3:15 PM

Post #3 of 61 (16433 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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In Reply To

Fanny Calderón de la Barca......Life in Mexico (1843)
Earl Shorris..........The Life and Times of Mexico (2004)
David Lida............First Stop in the New World (2008)

And Alan Riding, as Ed said.

However: if you only have time to read one, make it Shorris.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Linda in Morelia

Oct 10, 2008, 3:54 PM

Post #4 of 61 (16424 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I highly recommend Mexicans and Americans: Cracking the Cultural Code by Ned Crouch. I found the author's insights very informative about the differences between the two cultures. For example, he includes a fascinating discussion of how the language differences of English and Spanish are reflected in the cultural differences. I can't do justice to his theories, so I will simply encourage you to read this book.

Linda

tashby

Oct 14, 2008, 8:24 PM

Post #5 of 61 (16337 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Thanks for the reading list, kids! I was pretty thrilled to see that, along with a more-than-solid selection of works by Tom Clancy and Barbara Cartland, the above-mentioned books are available at the local library here. How swell is that?

Georgia

Oct 15, 2008, 11:08 AM

Post #6 of 61 (16286 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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A bit off the needs you express, but in order to understand the blend of Catholicism with pre-Columbian religions in Mexico, I highly recommend Malinche by Laura Esquivel. It's a good read, plus it gives an insight into the intrinsic nature of the indigenous philosophy and its blend with European philosophy.

jwander

Oct 15, 2008, 7:55 PM

Post #7 of 61 (16225 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Crouch's book is great. I read it about a year ago and it has me think a bit more like the hosts of the country I so enjoy visiting and hope to relaocate to in the near future.

kathleengam

Oct 20, 2008, 5:16 PM

Post #8 of 61 (16115 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I personally loved The Bear and the Porcupine by Jeffrey Davidow (former US Ambassador to Mexico).

Kathleen O'Donnell
Queretaro

julietl

Oct 26, 2008, 5:05 PM

Post #9 of 61 (16051 views)

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Re: [kathleengam] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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This one is fabulous if you want to understand the political situation up to Fox:

Opening Mexico: The Making of a Democracy
Julia Preston & Samuel Dillon

I second the recommendation of David Lida's Book, especially if you are interested in what is going on in Mexico City. "First Stop in the New World" He is my neighbor and friend. My book club read his book last month and he was gracious enough to come and talk to us about it. Very interesting to be able to pick his brain about it.

He also wrote "Las Llaves de la Cuidad", which is great, but it's in Spanish so that may be an issue for some.
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tashby

Jan 12, 2009, 10:54 AM

Post #10 of 61 (15949 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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*bump*

...and okay, if I'm being honest....

*pimp*

Enjoyed the book by Ed Crouch very much. It even helped me understand how to better approach some real-life situations so as to give myself a decent chance at success. Picked up Distant Neighbors today.

BajaGringo

Jan 12, 2009, 9:22 PM

Post #11 of 61 (15907 views)

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God and Mr. Gomez
Author: Jack Smith

Gives great insight into the cultural differences a Gringo encounters in Mexico and the process of learning and adapting. Written by the famous columnist who built a home in Baja California, it provides great insight while interlaced with a lot of humor and honest introspection...

Our House Building Project in Mexico...
Lomas de San Martin
Loving Life on the Baja Peninsula

Carron

Jan 13, 2009, 5:59 AM

Post #12 of 61 (15886 views)

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Re: [Georgia] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I love Gary Jennings' Aztec and its sequel Aztec Autumn for similar reasons. Mexicans are a very unique and interesting blend of cultures and Jennings captures that and then some.

I also like James Michener's Mexico and Caribbean for reflecting again on the depth and breadth of history which has resulted in modern-day Mexico as we experience it now.

bournemouth

Jan 13, 2009, 6:38 AM

Post #13 of 61 (15881 views)

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Re: [BajaGringo] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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That's one of my favorite books - everyone in the coastal area we were in prior to this time had a copy - it helped in the building/remodeling process - you'd reread it and find something that applied to your situation.

Juan1975

Feb 3, 2009, 7:46 PM

Post #14 of 61 (15765 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I haven't read the other recommended books and will try to, but I recommend "The Guaymas Chronicles" by David E. Stuart. He has a second book about Guaymas that is also great. Both books are very interesting chronicles of the author's life as a young American living in Sonora in the 1970s.

Grieger-Lods

Feb 16, 2009, 1:21 PM

Post #15 of 61 (15642 views)

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Re: [BajaGringo] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I loved this book. Read it twice. Will keep it to read again someday.

Gay

Scottm

Mar 5, 2009, 9:50 AM

Post #16 of 61 (15432 views)

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Re: [Carron] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Agree with the 'Aztec' and 'Aztec Autumn' choices. The same author also came along with a rather lame 'Aztec Blood' that is pretty draggy.
One of the very best reads I've found is: "There's a Word For It In Mexico"...An invaluable guide to understanding day to day Mexican
culture and why Mexicans do things that drive we expats nuts. Absolutely an essential book for long-timers and anyone trying to do business
here.

stellaf

Mar 6, 2009, 10:19 PM

Post #17 of 61 (15326 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Hi,

I was reading that book and I really like the content of this book. Thanks for sharing.

Stella

Great Auto Insurance

MazDee

Mar 8, 2009, 6:53 PM

Post #18 of 61 (15226 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I would like to recommend a new book to you. It is a Mexican history, written in an entirely UNacademic style (as in, fun to read), but very well researched. The book is Gods, Gachupines and Gringos, by Richard Grabman. It is offered on Amazon, and you can read some reviews there. http://www.amazon.com/...236561250&sr=1-1 It is, or will be, offered at a number of bookstores in México which sell books in English.

Richard is presently living in Mazatlán and travelling around the country selling the book. Hopefully, it will be in a bookstore near you! I hope you get the chance to read it, it is my favorite Méxican history up to now and would like to hear what others think.

Rolly

Mar 8, 2009, 8:06 PM

Post #19 of 61 (15215 views)

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Re: [MazDee] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I agree. Excellent writing, readable and fun,

Rolly Pirate

Jane.Wilkinson

Mar 27, 2009, 8:06 PM

Post #20 of 61 (14648 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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In addition to the previous great suggestions posted above, I liked these:

The Reader’s Companion to Mexico, Alan Ryan, editor - a collection of essays on Mexico by such well known authors as Katherine Anne Porter, Graham Greene, Witter Brynner, D.H. Lawrence, John Steinbeck, and Langston Hughes

Journalist Sam Quinones' two books
True Tales from Another Mexico - wonderful nuggets on Mexican life, such as what's (or this case, who) is behind all those Michoacan ice cream places
Antonio's Gun And Delfino's Dream: Truer Tales of Mexican Migration
I liked both books, but the first one slightly better.

Jane Wilkinson

Merry Born

Mar 28, 2009, 5:13 PM

Post #21 of 61 (14594 views)

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Re: [tashby] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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Mexico -- Biography of Power by Enrique Krauz. Subtitled A History of Modern Mexico. It´s fascinating. Though it is politics and history, it is completely gripping, and you will be hard-pressed to understand the country without reading it. It´s an excellent English combined translation of a number of smaller books in Spanish that Krauz wrote.

Alan Riding´s book is very dated.

Rolly

Mar 28, 2009, 7:14 PM

Post #22 of 61 (14579 views)

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Re:Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I haven't read this, but the review in the Washington Post is very enticing.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE GIANT
The Americanization Of Modern Mexico
By Joseph Contreras
Rutgers Univ. 276 pp. $24.95

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2009032700964.html

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Mar 29, 2009, 10:30 AM)

stina

Apr 2, 2009, 6:04 AM

Post #23 of 61 (14422 views)

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Re: [MazDee] Your Three Mexico "Must Read" Books

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I just got Gods, Gapuchines and Gringos (at Sandi's in Guad) and it's fun.

Also, the author has a good blog on Mexico called the Mex Files. Worth checking out for thoughts on current events. http://mexfiles.net/

BajaGringo

May 11, 2009, 12:40 AM

Post #24 of 61 (13742 views)

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Re: God and Mr. Gomez by Jack Smith

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Did a little research and discovered that Jack Smith's famous "God and Mr. Gomez" beach house is just a ways up the coast from where we our building our new beach digs. I put up a short review of the book online along with pictures of Jack Smith, his wife Denny and a photo of the house that inspired the book, as it looks today.

I also included a copy of Jack Smith's column from the LA Times where he announced the construction of the house along with a Google Earth Link to its actual location today...

God & Mr. Gomez House in Baja California, Mexico

Our House Building Project in Mexico...
Lomas de San Martin
Loving Life on the Baja Peninsula

bournemouth

May 11, 2009, 7:16 AM

Post #25 of 61 (13714 views)

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Re: [BajaGringo] God and Mr. Gomez by Jack Smith

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That book has got to be a favorite for all people with houses at the beach. I always remember the bit where Denny wanted one color tile in a bathroom or the kitchen, Mr. Gomez wanted another and that's what she ended up with - the one Mr. Gomez wanted.

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