Product Description
An introduction to the geography, history, government, people, and economy of the second largest South American country. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Needs to be Updated
Well organized, researched, and interesting to read.Keep in mind it was written in the 80s so alot of changes have been made in these areas since. ... Read more

Product Description
The land reform in Mexico that followed the Revolution of 1910-17 helped to reconstitute peasant communities in the lowland areas of Oaxaca as a complement to the peasantries that had persisted from early colonial times at the higher altitudes. This book examines the history, production systems, and life styles of these communities, focussing in particular on their structure, ethnic movements, and political participation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

disappointing and dull
Clarke's book should be an important contribution, but instead, the author rehashes old ideas and covers material that others have discussed in far more profound ways.If you want your vision of Oaxaca's peasants to more or less reflect theories of the 1950s and 60s--This is your book.If you want to understand how Oaxaca's peasantry have over time (and here we're talking about hundreds of years) coped and responded to the challenges of a changing world, you'll do better going to texts by John Chance, Beverly Chinas, Scott Cook, Lynn Stephen, Jeremy Baskes, Jeffrey Cohen and the many articles by these and others (particularly local Mexican scholars) that Clarke misses. ... Read more

Product Description
This title is intended for ages 7 to 10 years. Mexico is the southern neighbour of the United States. It is a country with a rich history and culture, a warm climate, diverse landscapes, and a variety of wildlife. From Mayan pyramids to busy cities to happy fiestas, "Spotlight on Mexico" offers a joyful experience to young readers. The book also includes recipes of some favourite Mexican foods that children will love to make! ... Read more

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A gateway at the U.S.-Mexico border, Tijuana is a complex urban centre with a sizeable population of sex workers. An in-depth case study of the trade, "Sex Work and the City" is the first major ethnographic publication on contemporary prostitution in this locale, providing a detailed analysis of how sex workers' experiences and practices are shaped by policing and regulation. Contextualizing her research within the realm of occupational risk, Yasmina Katsulis examines the experiences of a diverse range of sex workers in the region and explores the implications of prostitution, particularly regarding the spheres of class hierarchies, public health, and other broad social effects.Based on eighteen months of intensive fieldwork and nearly 400 interviews with sex workers, customers, city officials, police, local health providers, and advocates, "Sex Work and the City" describes the arenas of power and the potential for disenfranchisement created by municipal laws designed to regulate the trade.Providing a detailed analysis of this subculture's significance within Tijuana and its implications for debates over legalization of 'vice' elsewhere in the world, Katsulis draws on powerful narratives as workers describe the risks of their world, ranging from HIV/AIDS and rape (by police or customers) to depression, work-related stress, drug and alcohol addiction, and social stigma. Insightful and compelling, "Sex Work and the City" captures the lives (and deaths) of a population whose industry has broad implications for contemporary society at large. ... Read more

Product Description
"This book looks at the Sierra Mazateca and its inhabitants in a fresh, engaging, intelligent, and interesting way. . . . It will be useful to readers in various fields who are interested in ethnicity, identity, history, and/or ethnography."--Brian Stross, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas at AustinSince the 1950s, the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico, has drawn a strange assortment of visitors and pilgrims--schoolteachers and government workers, North American and European spelunkers exploring the region's vast cave system, and counterculturalists from hippies (John Lennon and other celebrities supposedly among them) to New Age seekers, all chasing a firsthand experience of transcendence and otherness through the ingestion of psychedelic mushrooms "in context" with a Mazatec shaman. Over time, this steady incursion of the outside world has significantly influenced the Mazatec sense of identity, giving rise to an ongoing discourse about what it means to be "us" and "them." In this highly original ethnography, Benjamin Feinberg investigates how different understandings of Mazatec identity and culture emerge through talk that circulates within and among various groups, including Mazatec-speaking businessmen, curers, peasants, intellectuals, anthropologists, bureaucrats, cavers, and mushroom-seeking tourists. Specifically, he traces how these groups express their sense of culture and identity through narratives about three nearby yet strange discursive "worlds"--the "magic world" of psychedelic mushrooms and shamanic practices, the underground world of caves and its associated folklore of supernatural beings and magical wealth, and the world of the past or the past/present relationship. Feinberg's research refutes the notion of a static Mazatec identity now changed by contact with the outside world, showing instead that identity forms at the intersection of multiple transnational discourses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The Devil's Book of Culture
I've been interested in the Sierra Mazateca for years-- after spending time there, I read the handful of books written about it, yet felt that there was much more to be said.I was thrilled to discover that last year, someone finally wrote a well-researched ethnography about it.Feinberg's book is packed with fascinating observations and reflections on the way people in the Sierra Mazateca understand and talk about their lives, history, and "culture."I would recommend this book to anyone with a background in anthropology or a similar field who is interested in cultural identity negotiation and "indigenous-ness," Oaxaca, sacred mushrooms, and folklore about devils and caves.

catch a second class bus from the terminal near the market
I know for a fact that Ben Feinberg has watched over one hundred hours of "I Dream of Jeanie."

But if that's not enough to convince you to buy his book, you might consider the actual subject matter. How do people in small places not overcome by the hegemony of time and space most people reading this website live with conceive of time and space? Feinberg looks at this, dealing with different categories of time and such from the perspective of the Sierra Mazteca. How do you get to Oaxaca de Juarez from Juatla? Where is the United States, and who are these weird tourists?

Read the book for the answers to these questions and more.

Dresses make me feel pretty!
His analysis is brilliant.If you are unsatisfied after reading through once, then I suggest you purchase another copy and read it over again.

I really like kittens!
I know for a fact that Ben Feinberg has eaten Armour(tm) Potted Meat Food Product. ... Read more

Product Description
A Traveller's History of Mexico offers a complete and expert history of the country from the earliest times right through to the present. It will be welcomed by all those who visit Mexico to see its stunning Aztec and other pre-conquest remains as well as by students studying the Spanish conquest and its effects.

Kenneth Pearce begins with life before the major civilizations of the area took hold then shows the growth of the first elite groups of the Olmecs and Mayans; their culture was finally subsumed into the mighty Aztec Empire which, in its turn, was tragically ended by the arrival of Cortes and might of Spain. The crushing burden of colonial rule driven by greed and oppression leads to further unrest for many centuries. The 19th-century War of Independence finally leads to the founding of the Mexican Republic. The author ends his survey with a portrait of the country facing the new millennium with a rising population and problems with drugs and corruption.

This is a rich and colorful story of a nation full of life and vigor with a many-layered cultural heritage.Illustrated with maps and line drawings, this handy paperback is fully indexed with a chronology of major events and a gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Concise and interesting history
This book has proven to be very interesting to our guests as they visit our new vacation home in Baja California, Mexico.They love browsing or reading it for insights into the country they are visiting.

An informative, engaging history
In A Traveller's History Of Mexico, historian Kenneth Pearce provides the reader with an informative, engaging history that begins the prehistoric life of the region, and continues with the coming of the Olmecs and the Mayans (1150-1000 BC), whose cultures were subsumed into the Aztec empire. The reader is treated to a vivid account of Aztec life and its ultimate demise with the arrival off the Spanish conquistadors. The consequent greed, corruption, and oppression of Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic Church are covered in detail. Pearce then moves on to the 19th Century War of Independence which led to the founding of the Mexican Republic, the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian and the Empress Carlotta, the dashing Santa Anna (who led the siege on the Alamo); revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, and other influential characters that were caught up in Mexico's' often violent power struggles. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community history collections, A Traveller's History Of Mexico concludes with the last 70 years of one-party political domination, recently ending with an election of the opposition, and the contemporary social issues of an expanding population, drugs, pollution, corruption, and an oppressed indigenous population. ... Read more

Product Description
Geo-Mexico provides a lively, up-to-date and comprehensive exploration of Mexico, from climates to culture, population to politics, ecosystems to economy, transport to tourism, and globalization to gated communities.

Key features: - assesses Mexico's success in meeting its demographic, economic and environmental challenges - traces the historical processes behind Mexico s modern landscapes - utilizes a variety of concepts, models and theories - engages the reader in contemporary issues, such as development, international migration, sustainability and global warming - explains Mexico s spatial patterns and its growing north-south divide * More than 100 original maps, graphs and diagrams * Over 50 text boxes highlight illustrative examples and case studies * Complete reference notes, bibliography and index. Geo-Mexico is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in Mexico. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A must-have for anyone who wants to understand Mexico
I keep coming back to this book since I first turned to it to understand Mexico's earthquake patterns earlier this year.

I keep learning more, and being startled by the correlations between Mexico's geography and its politics, religion, economics, commerce and even tourism patterns.

It's often said that biology is destiny, but possibly to an even greater extent, a country's geography shapes its destiny. Mexico is one of the most geographically diverse countries in the world, with vast deserts, rain forests, jungles, high plateaus, volcanic belts, and coastlines.

It's the 14th largest country in the world and ranks 11th in population and economy ($1.58 trillion USD a year). Three fourths of the country is higher than a thousand meters altitude (3,300 feet).

Some 85% of the population lives in these higher regions (half the population lives in a band across the middle of Mexico from Veracruz to Guadalajara), largely in a giant central plateau that could be called high desert.

Yet the country has 30 inches of rainfall a year overall, more than the averages for Canada and the US. Only 3% of that rainfall seeps down to replenish its aquifers. Some 44% of the country is severely water stressed.

Mexicans use 1,441 cubic meters of water a year for all purposes, while the US uses 2,483 cubic meters a person. Water shortages and patterns are one huge factor that has shaped Mexico, even to its reliance on corn as its main food product throughout history since corn requires less water than many other food sources.

It is a country which has major mountain ranges separating its peoples, some areas better suited to transportation by horse, then trains and cars, so that these populations became more assimilated into the world than the more remote areas, which stayed poorer and less exposed to new cultures and social forces.

In these remote areas, 16% of the women speak only an indigenous language, no Spanish. When the Conquistadors arrived the people throughout Mexico spoke 170 indigeous languages, and today there are 62, disappearing rapidly.

While overall the average level of education for Mexico is 8.4 years for men, 7.9 years for women, in indigenous areas for men it is 5.1 years of education, 3.9 for women.

There is no way of knowing the population of Mexico when Cortés arrived, but it fell at least 90% in the next hundred years, to 1.6 million, largely due to diseases. Now it is about 110 million.

The birth rate keeps falling, until it is expected that within a few decades, it will fall below the 2.1 children per female level required for its population to maintain itself. Its elderly population is expanding, causing the same kinds of problems as the US is alrady experiencing.

So many geographic factors shape Mexico. It ranks seventh in countries in the world according to known oil resources, producing 3.2 million barrels a day in 2008, exporting 44%, for about $50 billion USD income a year. But its known reserves will be exhausted in ten years at current rates of extraction.

More than a hundred maps, graphs, charts and text boxes show concretely how Mexico divides itself geographically, even in religion. A band across Zacatecas to Michoacan includes the highest percentage of Roman Catholics, some 95% of the population in that area, while less than 75% of the population in southeast mexico, from Chiapas to Quintana Roo, calls itself Roman Catholic.

To help develop agriculture in the more desert north, President Obregon gave tax concessions, freedom of worship and exemption from military service to some 3,000 Mennonite families of German and Russian descent.

They came down from Canada in 1922 and turned much of that region into workable dairy farms, producing in particular Mennonite cheese similar to the yellow cheddar they'd produced in Canada. (Most of Mexico's cheeses are white.)

Mormons were drawn to the Chihuahua area and today they make up more than a million people throughout Mexico, up from a quarter million in 1980. Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses are other fast-growing religions this book calls "Biblical, not evangelical" non-Catholics. The evangelical Protestant groups are making strongest headway in southern Mexico.

This book even examines the influences of geography with major cities, particularly Mexico City which was the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan built on an island. Spaniards imposed European ideas of how a city should be laid out upon colonial cities, while cities like Monterrey which were not so much Spanish influenced grew along their own natural geographic patterns.

The Spanish interfered with natural development in so many ways, including importing as many as 200,000 slaves from Africa during colonial times. They were heartier and lived a little longer working in the mines.

Blacks outnumbered Spaniards in Mexico until after 1810. Mexico outlawed slavery in 1829, while the US kept slavery legal until 1865. Some 4,000 escaped US slaves settled in Mexico, given land concessions to encourage development of some areas.

Every page of this thoroughly researched and documented book contains valuable information for anyone who seeks to understand Mexico, not just its political history but the even deeper geographic forces which have made it what it is today.

And the book is highly readable as well, bearing no resemblance to the geography textbooks that turned most of us off of the subject in school.

Richard Rhoda is a PhD geographer, university instructor and author who has headed international aid and environmental programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He has lived in Ajijic, Mexico since 1999.

Co-author Canadian Tony Burton, formerly of Ajijic, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and edited the Lloyd Mexican Economic Report for 12 years. He was chief Examiner in Geography for the International Baccalaureate Organization. He authored two previous books on Mexico and is a moderator on [...].

I recommend Geo-Mexico highly to anyone who wants to understand Mexico and move beyond the stereotypes and superficialities that have done it a grave disservice.

Carol Schmidt, [...]

Excellent Mexico Reference
If you love Mexico, this is the book for you! Current and up-to-date in all ways. Highly recommended.

Geo-Mexico: A Must Read for Everyone Interested in Mexico
Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico

"Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico"
Geo Mexico should be required reading for every visitor to Mexico, expat who relocates there, or anyone interested in this important but poorly understood country. With topics conveniently divided into easy-to-read chapters enhanced by maps and charts, you can learn about its climate, environment, population, economy and more.
If you didn't know that Mexico was the 11th largest country in the world, produces more goods and services than Canada, has almost twice the number of different species of flowering plants than the U.S., and has climates so varied that it supports tropical rain forests and deserts with cacti and agave, then you need to read Richard Rhoda and Tony Burton's book, Geo-Mexico.

Intrigues

This is not your typical Geography book.While it includes all the elements of Mexico's geography, the title:The Geography and Dynamics of Modern Mexico -
peaked my non-academic curiosity.Gender inequalities, slavery, HIV-AIDS, happiness, freedom, crime, quality of life, the Green Revolution, fertility rates, life expectancy - are just a few issues of interest presented, compared, and clearly illustrated with charts and graphs.Every time I pick it up I find something else intriguing to investigate.

A must-read for anyone remotely interested in Mexico
This is a genuinely wonderful effort!The book deals thoroughly with all the traditional aspects of Mexican Geography:physical, social, cultural, economic, political, demographic, spatial.It does so in a manner which is thoroughly readable for both lay and academic audiences.Mexico's importance in the world is clearly shadowed by its neighbor to the north, and this book positions the country properly in a global context.It is both popularly accessible as well as academically credible.It's factuality, comprehensiveness, and design are all impeccable.The many charts, maps and graphs clearly illustrate the information presented in the text.Anyone interested in Mexico, and especially the thousands of Gringos who live in the country would do well reading Geo-Mexico, and keeping it in a prominent place on their bookshelves for constant reference.Well indexed, it's easy to get answers to all those questions that are always coming up. ... Read more

Product Description
"No [other] book provides such a thorough and enjoyable history of the United States-Mexico boundary, which plays a significant role in peoples' lives every day."--Robert J. Czerniak, Professor and Chair of Geography, New Mexico State UniversityThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo, which officially ended the U.S.-Mexican War in 1848, cost Mexico half its territory, while the United States gained land that became California, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Because the new United States-Mexico border ran through territory that was still incompletely mapped, the treaty also called for government commissions from both nations to locate and mark the boundary on the ground.This book documents the accomplishments of both the U.S. and the Mexican Boundary Commissions that mapped the boundary between 1849 and 1857, as well as the fifty-four pairs of maps produced by their efforts and the ongoing importance of these historical maps in current boundary administration. Paula Rebert explores how, despite the efforts of both commissions to draw neutral, scientific maps, the actual maps that resulted from their efforts reflected the differing goals and outlooks of the two countries. She also traces how the differences between the U.S. and Mexican maps have had important consequences for the history of the boundary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Enjoying the Details
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo created the Border Commission to memorialize the line.This books tells the story of the Commission.And the story has lots of twists and turn.If you have an interest in maps or how borders came to be La Gran Linea is an excellent quick read. You learn how San Diego came to be in the US, and why the crossing at Nogales is located where it is. ... Read more

Product Description
This highly topical study of tropical deforestation reports on the first phase of a large, integrated, multi- institutional, and team-based study. Based in Mexico, it is designed to understand and project land changes in a development frontier that pits the rapidly growing needs of smallholder farmers to cut down forests for cultivation against federally sponsored initiatives committed to various international programs of forest preservation and complementary economic programs. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is suitable for ages 9 to 14 years. New information and colourful photos show how modern-day Mexico is able to maintain a foothold in its ancient Aztec and Mayan past in this newly revised book. It includes new information that highlights writers and publishing and an Aztec creation folktale. ... Read more

Product Description
The canyons of the southwestern United States andnorthern Mexico contain some of the most dramatic landscapes in theworld.John Annerino's pictorial celebration of this visually richregion is a handsome memento for those who have heard the windwhistling in these haunting canyons, and a beckoning invitation forthose who have not yet made the journey.

Annerino has spent much of his adult life exploring this territory--aswilderness runner, adventurer, and photojournalist--and combines hisfirsthand knowledge with his expertise as a nature photographer andauthor to create an intimate portrait of these timeless places.Accompanying the photographs are informative essays describing theregion's geological and human history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Compelling photographs.
Foremost are the photographs. I would call Annerino's canyon portraits the best of a really good lot, even over big-time large-format photographers. While the large-format works are stunning artistic studies of light andcolor shot with impossibly huge f-stops, Annerino's canyon photographs giveexpression to the phrase "wearing one's heart on the sleeve." Hisphotos have an active passion that others lack. Anyone who knows him willsay he is among the "hardmen' to tackle the Southwestern mountains andcanyons, but that he is definitely the most sincere in his passion forplace. Perhaps, because of this he lacks a calculated commercial view ofthe places he photographs. His images also record his own passion, creatingcompelling and unique photographs. More than any other contemporary outdoorphotographer, Annerino's photos mirror his love of the land's people. Inthe text, Annerino portrays canyonlands people as part of what makes theplaces special. He has a deep affection for past and present nativepeoples, but unlike some Anglo North Americans, Annerino isn't a lost 20thcentury soul. Rather, he seems to have a straightfoward and genuineadmiration for native people, and has learned a great deal about them. Hisresearch on each canyon's history is impressive. Annerino writes with animmensity commensurate with his subject. His style is old-fashioned,evoking an older, more grandiose era of writing of explorers like Powelland Pattie. While many modern writers seem bent on infusing themselves intoas much of the story as possible, Annerino's style is not so full ofhimself as full of the intensity of his canyon experiences...Annerino is athis best when he writes about Mexico, especially the Big Bend passage wherehe talks about the injustices served the Mexican across the river at thehands of our national park there. An optimist who sees great things in thecanyons, Annerino neither ignores nor dwells on the obvious problems facingthe West like pollution and development. And fortunately, CANYONS OF THESOUTHWEST is not a treasure map guidebook to these areas. -Desert Skies

Best read.
Best Read. John Annerino's CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST. -Tucson Weekl

Towering red rock and rushing waters.
CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST by John Annerino features the author's photographs of towering red rock and rushing waters. -Travel-Holiday Magazine

Stunning.
CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST by John Annerino. A stunning overview of the "inverted mountains." -Summit Magazine

Unbelievably beautiful pictures and stories.
For people who love the West, especially those who seldom leave the concrete road, this book provides unbelievably beautiful pictures and stories about gorgeous places in the wilderness. -Rocky Mountain News ... Read more

Product Description
Student book. ... Read more