Posts Tagged ‘mexico’
The People’s Guide to Mexico (13th Ed., 2006)
Carl Franz and Lorena Havens’ long-lived (since 1972) travel guide offers nearly 600 pages of stories, data, philosophy, recipes, potions, bumper-sticker translations, and tips for maximizing your enjoyment as a traveler. I can recommend it highly, especially as an introduction to the many cultural differences one will encounter. However like Mexico itself, some items in this substantial smorgasbord will be more appealing and useful to you than others. The “Staying Healthy” chapter, for example, I found quite amusing, as it hawked everything from witch doctors to “Rescue Remedy”. Maybe it’s just because I went to medical school and am hence a biased jury, but I just don’t pack Dr. Bach’s flower waters in a first aid kit–I prefer Xifaxan 
Be sure to visit their web site at http://www.peoplesguide.com/
A Brief History of Mexico (2007)
Lynn V. Foster’s book condenses the centuries-long and amazingly complex history of Mexico into a crisp 256 pages. Very readable and quite interesting, a tribute to both Foster’s style and the inherent appeal of the material. For example, you’ve got to admire Santa Anna for his persistence–he grabbed (by force if necessary) the presidency 11 times between 1833 and 1855. And did you know that remittances home by U.S. immigrants is currently one of the largest sources of foreign revenues (13 billion in 2002), second only to oil exports?
Falling…in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security
A collection of letters home to friends written by Carol Schmidt after her move, with Norma Hair, to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The letters are from the early 2000’s although the copyright is 2006. Unfortunately, as a book, using the letters-home style quickly becomes repetitive and tedious–’we did this, we did that, we saw a parade, we heard lots of fireworks, we can’t speak Spanish, we don’t know what this means, we’re trying to sell our RV.’ What could have been a valuable resource never gets beyond being a very long postcard–the research is often paper thin, and many of the facts are wrong. For example, stating that Phoenix is in Mariposa county (it’s Maricopa, although I’m sure the people of Phoenix would love to have Yosemite).
If you are looking for a book with focused, accurate, well-researched information on retirement, social security, or moving to Mexico, this is not it. There isn’t even an index. On the other hand, if what you are looking for is a chatty travelogue that provides an impressionistic montage of what such a venture might feel like, this book may work for you if you are tolerant of the style.
