This is a fine book on the history of the FAT -- Mexico's oldest independent union federation. The book is well researched with interesting insights into how a truly movement-oriented unionism functions on the ground, definitely worth reading.

This study of Ricardo Magon is a fabulous addition to any library's collection on the Revolution. It is thoughtful, well-researched and entertaining.

I found myself devouring each word and picture in this book while flying home from Madrid to my home, Tucson, Arizona, recently. It is beautifully written and eye-openingly informative for any reader. The descriptions are also accurate, about which I can attest as an active inhabitant of this fronterra, living in nearby Tucson and often working in Nogales areas. The pictures (a big difference from photographs) draw you into the experience of the subject in tender ways, while also being technically excellent quality. This is perhaps the best writing and photography to date by the increasingly infamous Hickey-Taylor team. bravo!!
Kathleen Williamson, J.D., Ph.D, CD - prose and song writer, musician, anthropologist, lawyer, etc.,

José E. Limón explores what he calls the "conflicted yet enamoured" relations between Greater Mexico and the United States through a series of encounters - real and imagined - between Mexicans, including Mexican Americans, and Anglos.

Limón sets the scene with a surprising, original comparison of Mexico and the U.S. South. Both were based on agricultural economies, slow to industrialize, poor, and defeated in major wars. The winners stigmatized the losers as culturally inferior. But the artists and intellectuals of both the U.S. South and Greater Mexico reversed the negative stereotypes assigned them. The "losers" didn't see themselves as degraded, but rather "projected a profoundly eroticized and affirming vision of their cultures as more bodily intense, inherently 'artistic,' and sensuously spiritual." How these images change over time, who is doing the changing and for what purposes, are themes of this complicated, rewarding book.

Going to the movies with Dr. Limón suggests that, at least on the big screen, we've come a long way. In 1953, High Noon presented a strong, ethical and morally superior Helen Ramirez, a woman loved and desired by the sheriff Will Kane, but to whom he lacks the moral courage to commit himself. Helen Ramirez, as town madam, is politically and economically a step above the sexy "señoritas" Anglo cowboys lusted after in popular culture, but still marginalized, stigmatized, and relegated to what we now call "the sex industry." The 1956 movie Giant gave us the serious Juana, who is not defined by her sexuality, but by her work and seriousness of purpose. Juana does not suffer from forbidden love, but marries Jordy Benedict, son of the wealthy ranchowners Leslie and Bick Benedict. Juana and Jordy have a son who will be a leader in the emerging, more equal Texas. By 1995, Lone Star showed the smart, well-educated and sexy schoolteacher Pilar and her Mexican-American community politically ascendant in their community. Pilar romantically encounters her old flame, Sam, the soon-to-be-former Anglo sheriff, as his complete equal.

"We do our best political work," asserts writer Anne Finger, "at the place where hurt and questioning come together." We could hardly find better proof than in Limón's discussion of Katherine Anne Porter's short story "Noon Wine." Porter, a writer who Limón clearly admires, grew up in Central Texas and was drawn throughout her life to Mexico and Mexicans. But in her fiction set in Central Texas, she completely ignored her Mexican American neighbors. Why?

The easiest answer is that Katherine Anne Porter, while a great writer, was poisoned by the racism of her time and place. Limón takes this possibility seriously, but is not a man who ever settles for the obvious. Pushing beyond the surface, he wrestles to find another solution to Porter's painful omission. Limón's struggle, while poignant, yields an answer that may or may not convince you. What is admirable is Limón's almost overwhelming generosity of spirit. He wants to give Porter every benefit of the doubt. Applying the same quality of devotion with which he restored the unpublished fiction of Jovita Gonzalez, Limón now attempts to restore Porter's actual, but unrealized (perhaps unconscious) intentions to portray Mexican Americans sympathetically and respectfully. The world would be a much different place if we gave one another a thimbleful of such attention: listening for the best, trying to understand (though not to excuse) even the most hurtful failings.

Gustavo Perez Firmat (on the book's back cover) promises that "Limón writes with passion and precision." That promise is more than fulfilled in Limón's discussion of Manuel Gamio. Limón defends Gamio, a Mexican anthropologist, intellectual and activist, against recent rather blunt charges of "racism," charges which are either thinly substantiated or not substantiated at all, depending on whom you believe. With great care, Limón insists on getting the facts right, particularly since someone else's moral and intellectual reputation -- someone else's honor -- is at stake.

So what are we Texas Mexicans and Anglos to each other? Family? Partners? Enemies? Friends? John Sayles, whose film Lone Star Limón so much appreciates, mixes metaphors: we are family, at least half-siblings, but we are also once-thwarted lovers who are going to try to make things work out this time, in a landscape of political and cultural equality.

Limón, through most of the book, tends towards the metaphor of marriage, or at least romantic or sexual pairings. He undercuts the marriage metaphor in his last chapter, however, pointing towards a wider range of possibilities for equal, creative, formative, non-repressive and erotically charged relationships. It is not only particular individual Anglos and Mexicans, but our cultures and nations, that Limón hopes will "encounter" one another in equality, respect and pleasure.

Reading American Encounters, I often felt like an inexperienced trailrider following a skilled horseman. The beginning was rough. Our guide seemed to have forgotten that not every rider can make her way through thickets (of literary criticism, psychoanalytic theory and cultural studies) that he negotiates gracefully. My head almost got lopped off a few times by low-hanging branches with names like Russell Jacoby, Herbert Marcuse, and Raymond Williams. Other moments provided a lovely, comfortable gallop across familiar territory made intriguingly new by Limón's observations. Then he picked up speed again. Irrationally, I crouched lower; dangerously, I dropped the reins. All I could do was hang on for dear life, grabbing fistfulls of mane. I yelled to our guide -- Slow down! Come back, Dr. Limón! Help! -- but he was much too far ahead to hear. I survived. Exhilarated by the end of the ride, which took me further and faster than I would have dared go on my own, I'm left with plenty of questions. The most pressing is: When can we ride again?

Like many worthy relationships, this book is complicated and a tad on the high-maintenance side. But it's worth the effort. Limón is never predictable and always provocative. This eloquent, vulnerable, passionate and brilliant book is a delight even when (perhaps especially when) you find yourself arguing with its author. Enjoy.

For some 20 years since I discovered that the book I had is a 1st draft with a cover page addressed to Augustus H.Harvemeyer(?) and Peter F. Lorillard, have endevored to get much past the first 5 chapters.The woodcut or tin prints are incredibly detailed, each with a world of information to those willing to take the time to study them. Although Mr.Charnay occasionally wonders from his original train of thought, the book is an incredible piece of work, for its time and the effort that went into researching the subject covered. The significance of the signed cover page is the two names mentioned funded his expiditions to Central America.

wow, every aspect of life in ancient mesoamerica is dealt with here, with great classic articles. Its good for the student, researcher and teacher, and it even contains editorial comments to bring it up to date. Also, it has one of the most useful and largest bibliographies on the topic. Great value for money as well, this book is a must.

Wow! An amazing resource for teachers who are teaching about the ancient Maya. After seeing some films about the history of the Maya my class made this pyramid and ball court. It was an amazing experience that they will never forget. The projects require students to follow directions and to problem solve as they piece the models together. When constructed properly they both stand up in amazingly realistic shape and form. They came out so well that we even put the replicas in our school library. Kudos to Mr. Savage for his replicas and informational packet.

ANCIENT MEXICO:CULTURAL TRADITIONS IN THE LAND OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT provides a clear and concise description of cultural growth in Mexico and Central America in ancient times. Archaeological sites, early religious traditions and beliefs, mathmatical and calendrical accomplishments, and many other aspects of the ancient cultures are discussed. The book begins with the earliest migrations to the Western Hemisphere at least 25,000 years ago. The arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century, and a fascinating comparison of Spanish and Indian beliefs and personalities completes this informative and well-written book.

Last week I bought a few books from Amazon and needed to spend a few dollars more to get free shipping. I did a quick search and came up with this book, Angling Baja, and bought it because it was about saltwater fly-fishing and because it was cheap.
I got the book in the mail yesterday and started reading snippets of it, and immediately, I was hooked.
Tonight I turned off the TV and spent the past three hours or so reading this little marvel. And a real gem it is too. Over the years I have occasionally found some damn fine writing that centered on sports, usually on boxing or fishing, or occasionally even on baseball. This book, this writer, Scott Sadil, is totally impressive.
I am a writer myself ( Birthday Boy, Happy Hour, Allergy-Free Gardening, Safe Sex in the Garden ) and like Sadil I've had a life of ups and plenty of downs, and like him I appreciate a good story, a full glass of whiskey, a nice fly rod, surfing, any kind of fish caught on a fly, and all sorts of other things...but read his book for that.
As soon as I finished reading tonight I decided I would get right on the computer and write a review of it. I'm hoping to write one that will compel you who happens to read this, to order this book. I used to believe that a truly fine writer would automatically become successful as soon as he (or she) was published...but that isn't true at all. Genius isn't always recognized by any means, and I speak of Sadil's writing here, not mine. (I'm recognized now, just not a genius I'm afraid). I Googled Scott Sadil, hoping to come up with thousands of hits but found a mere 312 references to him. I was hoping too, to discover that he'd published a novel, and was disappointed to see that he hadn't, yet.
I did see that Sadil does have a second, newer book, Cast from the Edge: Tales of an Uncommon Fly Fisher. I'm going to buy that book too, and am almost certain that it will be terrific. But I really do want to see a novel from this writer. He has a writer's eye for things, a writer's ear that picks up the best tidbits of dialog, he has that novelist's sense of where the meat is, and he's got plenty of heart. Unless I miss my mark, expect a superb novel (maybe several?) from this fellow some day, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
Okay, in case you just like to fish and don't give a hoot about really great writing, there are many very good surf-fishing tips here. I underlined a lot of pages and will be using them too. Scott Sadil takes his fishing seriously and has done plenty of it. For those of you, like me, who love fishing, nature, and good writing, 'come on, get a copy of this book and read it! I swear I don't know Scott Sadil and no one asked me to write this review. But his writing is that good, uncommonly so, and he deserves a far wider audience. ... this book is a steal!

A fascinating book for those interested in Mexican-American relationships. Anita's active role in the rich cultural life of Mexico in the twenties, and her friendship with such figures as Diego Rivera, Frida Khalo and Tina Modotti, provide a valuable insight into an also fascinating country. Her bright intelligence proved to be well ahead of times. A true and sincere fighter against stereotypes of Mexico in American minds, she was one of the very few to challenge them, contributing with her work to a better understanding among both countries. Such conscious research by Ms. Glusker deserves much praise. One wishes that she had included a much more deep insight into Anita's persona and emotions, as well as her work in the family's farm in her late years. Anita's wide variety of interests seemed to have no limits.But maybe that is material for another book.