I purchased this cookbook because of a growing interest in the cooking of Latin America. The authors cover in depth cooking from the regions where the Maya, Aztec, and Inca kingdoms once reigned. Their knowledge of the history and food culture of each region is evident. I have made recipes from all three sections, and although all dishes have come out well, I think that this book's strength is in the recipes from Peru and Chile. Pastel de Choclo (sort of a casserole of beef and corn) and Papas a la Huancaina (potato salad with cheese and chili dressing) were particular standouts. I have tried these recipes from other cookbooks, and this book's versions were the best.

Some specialty ingredients are needed, but many recipes can be prepared with basic ingredients from the supermarket, and the authors give suggestions for substitutions when possible (which I have sometimes used with successful results). Very helpful instructions are included for preparing some of the ingredients on your own at home.

I bought this book because this summer I had the distinct pleasure of staying at the Laughing Horse Inn, the home of Spud Johnson. I just had to have the book and find out as much as I could about Mr. Johnson, and how he lived in Taos. The book was a huge success. I got an enormous kick thinking about staying in his old room, and reading the book again. The book is a treaure.

This book keeps you guessing all the way through. You never know whats going to happen next, but you always want to know. The characters are dynamic, and the New Mexico backdrop beautifully vivid. This is a book to enjoy over and over again!

This book is the definitive bible on the subject. There are very few works dealing with Mexico and the Second World War. Most books just mention Mexico's contributions to the Allied War effort through raw materials and its labor force but doesn't go into depth about its diplomacy or military contribution. This book covers all of that. You begin to learn how Axis countries had their espionage base designs on Mexico against the U.S. Furthermore, you begin to learn how important Mexico was as an Allied nation to the U.S. and how the U.S injected alot of money, effort, and time in order to insure Mexico would be an ally. WWII was an important watershed in Mexican history as it enabled Mexico to make itself visible in the international arena. A good insight and read, I recommend this book to people who are interested in the subject and particularly Chicanos. We also took up the cause of the Allies when we were called upon as a nation and as a people.

If you are nervous about the impending trip to Mexico and have heard many stories about the dangerous police or federales, you should delve into the subject matter here. John Stanley is a great advisor on such things as pay offs, bribes, and just how to deal with the people of Mexico. It may be a lesser known fact that Stanley was a fugitive for many years leading business in and around Mexico without a major problem. This book will calm your nerves and give you a tourist's edge. ¡Compralo ya!

This is the show book for a 1999 exhibition organized by the Museo Bello in Puebla, Mexico, and by The Americas Society and The Hispanic Society of America, both of New York City, in which the treasures of the former and those of Museo Franz Meyer of Mexico City were displayed. It's as academic as it is entertaining, and is in English and Spanish with superb photographs. For anyone who would be a collector, this is the book, for now --- a stipulation given only because of its brevity, and until the sine quo non is published. It's important because little authentic historic talavera is on the market; and because the vast majority of what is produced in Puebla these days is a sad imitation of this artisanal tradition --- whether you buy it in Puebla or attempt to find it on the web. The reader learns the technical terms and about techniques. As the book does not relate to practical buying tips, remember that it is an exhibition book, and not intended as a collector's guide. Then, if it's a bit spare on such historical details as the difference between the Puebla and Guanajuato schools, at least it does relate to talavera's oriental origins. I give it high marks for a show book. As a longtime talavera collector, I am overjoyed with it. Go buy it at Amazon, already, because it isn't available in the stores. And nada más is available in English!

This book was recommended to me by the owner of a well known Native American Arts gallery as possibly THE best book on the subject, and it completely lives up to the recommendation. Based on a series of interviews with prominent potters from each pueblo, it not only gives an overview of the history of the different potteries, it is filled with personal thoughts and views of the various artists about their work--not only the processes of creating pottery, but their feelings about how they as modern potters fit into the "history" as well. If you are at all interested in Southwest Pueblo Pottery, you MUST read this book. It's not a "picture book" like so many others, though it does have many great photos, but it's not a scholarly text book either. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I cannot thank my gallery owner friend enough for recommending it to me.

In Tarantula Woman, as in Babbylon, we are presented with a human document rather than a work of fiction. The inhabitants of the demimonde of Mariscal Street, the red-light quarter of Ciudad Juarez, Profunda, Sandra, Marina, Paulo, Angel Mike-these are real people, not imaginary characters. Donald O'Donovan is a very ordinary man, a common man-he comes from a line of railroad brakemen-and yet he is extraordinary in that he is a gifted writer, and moreover, he is extraordinary only in this respect. Here is what O'Donovan says in Tarantula Woman regarding his failed book, The Autobiography of Everybody: "I believe that the life of the commonest man or woman-the janitor, the waitress, the mechanic, the telephone operator, the truck driver, the prostitute, the barmaid-is worth recounting, if it is presented with verve and style and panache." And so, in Tarantula Woman, we see the common man with his heart laid bare, courtesy of O'Donovan's primitive honesty, surreal flights, torn rhetoric, and verbal pyrotechnics, which, in my view, are unequaled in contemporary American literature.

This book is a must read if you are interested in the history and cultures of Texas, Tejanos or the border region. Given that so few books address the Tejano perspective, Tejano Journey provides new insights and information to even the most avid regional history buffs and students. Poyo and the contributing authors illuminate the Tejano experience during this transitional period and leave you with a more complete picture of Texas' fascinating history.