I hate most poets, but I love out-of-whack word juxtapositioning and eerie language. This nugget of a book transported me into the movie "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" as it might have been directed by Luis Bunuel -- starring Neal Cassidy, and with additional dialogue by Jorge Luis Borges.

Tia Rosa had a very special friend name Carmela who lived next door. Carmela went by Tia every afternoon, when she came from school to help Tia make a special scarf for Carmela's dad. When Tia got sick Carmela was very sad that she began making a scarf for Tia. When Tia got home from the hospital Carmela was very happy she gave Tia the scarfs and they had fun that day.

This book offers a timely and compelling explanation that will allow the reader to understand why Mexico, a country that became the darling of the international financial community after following orthodox liberalization policies, ended up in 1995 with the most dramatic recession in its modern history and cuased the Tequila Effect, which threatened the stability of the world's financial system.

The author shows how political considerations played a key role in the direction of the liberalization process of Mexico's financial system. The author argues that liberalization led to inconsistent and unsustainable patterns of financial policy, which contributed to Mexico's 1995 deep recession and the consequent bank bailout. The author argues that although market reform has been promoted in developing countries to improve economic efficiency and stimulate growth, in Mexico financial liberalization provided rent-seeking opportunities for privileged groups and increased the states' ability to finance politically inspired obligations.

The book examines four periods: the populist administrations of Presidents Luis Echeverria (1970-1976) and José Lopez Portillo (1976-1982), during which the foundations of modern financial markets were paradoxically laid; the debt-crisis years of Miguel de la Madrid's adminsitration (1982-1988), who reversed his party's political strategy by favoring the business class with financial opportunities; the economic transformation undertaken by Carlos Salinas (1988-1994), who mixed genuine reform with destabilizing anti-market measures; and the political watershed of the Zedillo administration (1994-2000), whose unpopular bank rescue gave opposition parties unprecedented power within Mexico's policy making process.

The author also offers a comparative perspective of financial liberalization in two other emerging markets, South Korea and Russia, which also underwent financial crisis in the late 90s, and examines the political roots of crisis in both countries. By providing a comparative analysis the author derives some lessons from financial liberalization in developing countries. He concludes by suggesting how greater attention to questions of power, social organization, and challenges to state authority can help the policy-making community avoid giving well-meaning advice that is unlikely to be implemented in a sustainable way.

The book should be read by those interested in development and economic policy reform as well as those following policy making processes. This book is certainly a contribution to understanding a period of profound changes in Mexico's history and its process of economic reforms.

It is difficult to find books that discuss what to do when one becomes disillusioned with religion. While I have met many people who have abandoned organized religion, I have not met many who have suggestions as to how to fill the gap that remains - the longing for the safety of the past, unquestioning belief, especially in times of trouble. Ms. Wicker's book offers illuminating insights in dealing with that loss and with those with whom one might relate who hope to bring you back to the "fold." Perhaps the best part is that she doesn't end up with "The Answers," just her experience. Most of us who gave up organized religion did so because we did not want to be given "The Answers." I am hoping to read more by this author.

Former Virginia slave Gabe is searching for his white aristocrat half-brother, a missing family fortune, romance, and a new identity as a free man in Michael Haley's riveting western novel The Gold Of El Negro. Gabe experiences the cultures of the American Southwest and encounters constant challenges in the post-civil war New Mexico Territory of the 1880s....

Well-written account of real New Mexico gold mining. This book made me want to head out into the back country and pan for gold nuggets. Informative and fascinating!

Es interesante porque tiene muchos ejercicios con sus respuestas

A must read for those interested in the history of the American Southwest or Northwest Mexico. Together with other recent books about this area there is developing understanding of the dramatic events in the southwest (Chaco, etc.) and their link to the original Aztlan.

If you are looking for a tasty sampling of writings about the Grand Canyon this may be your book. In its 253+ pages you get the flavor of writings by dozens of authors, and enough of each flavor for you to decide whether you've had enough with that one taste, or if you need to digest that author's entire work. The writings range from serious to the silly, from inspirational to scary, and from experiential to philosophical. There's probably something here for everyone - a vast variety of perspectives and experiences from canyon rim to beyond the river's edge. None of the selections are over 16 pages (and many far shorter) so even if you're less than delighted with any of them you're quickly on to the next. This is a surprisingly quick and delightful read, and you'll probably get to the end wishing for more.

This book is designed to give you enough interest in the Grand Canyon from an armchair perspective to induce you to actually go there. Accordingly there are 14 pages of information devoted to The Next Step - what you need to know to visit and safely enjoy the real Grand Canyon.

Read the book and then go!

For a considerable period of time the Mexican colonial period was viewed as a wasteland in the arts, a barren stretch awaiting the arrival of the Spaniards. Recent scholarship reveals that this was not the case. In fact, just the opposite was true as is showcased in this magnificently illustrated bilingual volume.

Displayed between these pages are eye-popping decorative and fine arts from the Mexican viceregal period (1521 - 1821). Included among the collection are paintings, sculptures, furniture, ceramics, metals, textiles, featherwork, lacquer, and books.

Five informative essays by Mexican and American scholars provide a backdrop for the arts of colonial Mexico, and extensive commentaries allow further exploration of individual pieces.

"The Grandeur of Viceregal Mexico" is an extraordinary volume shedding light on a previously little known segment of art history.

- Gail Cooke