No comments about ROMANTIC MEXICO!--The Images & the Realities [For Playboys & Playgirls].

No comments about Built of Earth and Song: Churches of Northern New Mexico.

5 comments about Knopf Guide: Route Of The Mayas: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (Knopf Guides).

1. Lots of informative text and splendid pictures make this portable guide well worth its relatively modest price. The book deals with almost every aspect of both ancient and modern-day Maya life, as well as with practical travel information. I have been through La Ruta Maya on five different trips and am a fan of travel literature on Central America, but I still learned many new things from this book, especially about present-day Maya practices. There are a few typos, but still, it's perfect for actual or armchair travel to La Ruta Maya.



2. This wonderfully illustrated portable guide is a wealth of information not normally seen in the regular travel guides. Such information as the geography, animals, different ethnic groups within the Maya, how the commuinities are structrured, festivals, musical instruments, furniture, food, and alot more. The format for the guide is 2 or more pages on each topic, lots of drawings, or paintings, or photos (new and old). The book uses lots of colour, is fascinating to go through even after you have read it. It has some helpful tourist information as to hotels, shops, restaurants, but is not a primary source for booking reservations information. If you have any interest in this area or these people, this is a great book to have for a really good price. It is a treat to look at.



3. This is one of the most user friendly information packed guides on the Maya Route I have found! the 3D style maps give a good indication of the kind of territory and the transport networks in the region.

   I coupled this with Footprint's Central America and Mexico Handbook and lonely Planet's Guatemala, Belize and Yukatan guide and I reckon I am set! The other 10 or so guides will be relegated to the bookshelf or garbage!!




4. I used this guide in 1998 while touring the Yucatan and its fantastic pyramids. While preparing for a spring trip to Guatemala, I re-discovered this guide and will use it throughout the Maya Highland areas of Guatemala. In addition, I use portions of this guide to teach my freshman-level anthropology students about Maya Traje. If you are a traveler and not a tourist, this is the guide for you! Of all of the guides I have used for Southern Mexico and Guatemala, this is the best.



5. I love this book. Lots of wonderful pictures, history, and explanations of the Maya, their culture, the ruins, etc. Even if you don't plan a trip to the area, it is a beautiful book to look at.

2 comments about North America's Greatest Bird Hunting Lodges and Preserves: More Than 200 Prime Destinations in the United States, Canada & Mexico (Willow Creek Guides Series).

1. This is undoubtedly the best book on bird hunting in a very,very long time.It has given the reader the "Who,what,when, and where",in specific and pleasant language, with some inviting photos of the lodges.The author has skillfully gone from areas to hunt that are either almost free, to the quite expensive, using the same exacting detail about what kind of birds,their source,seasons,lodging availability,rates,directions to get there,...even down to tipping. A few paragraphs about each place makes you wish you were able to hunt them all.



2. I am disapointed in this book. The first fault is that it fell apart the first time I opened it. It is very cheaply made and the pages keep falling out of it! Secondly, the info is not that useful and one would be much better served researching places to hunt on the net.

4 comments about Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California.

1. I would truly like to honor the authors effort by giving this book five stars, but can unfortunately not do so, due to inaccuracies that I find significant.
   This book is written by a dedicated author and obviously designed for anyone who would like to visit the remains of the Baja Missions. In order to do so Mr. Vernon provides GPS data, which would be great if they would be accurate.
   I have not yet visited any of the described sites, but noticed during the lecture of the book that some GPS data are far from where the Missions are placed on the books map. Mission San Francisco de Borja for example is according to the coordinates in the book located on the Mexican mainland and not on the Baja Peninsula. Visita de la Presentacion, too is marked on the books map far from the given longitude and latitude. This of course makes me wonder how many other coordinates are faulty. Minor errors may be undetectable on the map, but can be quite aggravating on site I suppose.
   Still I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Missions of Baja California. Just don't rely on it when you want to go there.



2. A beautiful 300-page book on the missions of Baja California. Scores of color photographs make it delight to peruse. The historical anecdotes, and the great maps and plans, and older black-and-white pictures enhance the reading experience and help convey how the missions grew, flourished, and in some cases returned to the rocks and soil from which they came. This is such a detailed and impressive labor of love and such a sincere work of scholarship, I have no trouble forgiving the author his few typos or locational inaccuracies. The book will long grace my coffee table and delight and inspire my Baja aficionado friends. I have visited many of these Baja missions and look forward now to visiting the rest



3. This is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Baja California Sur, giving you a window onto what life was like for the indians and missionaries in those wild deserts and mountains long before the age of the resorts.



4. A very good guide to the missions of Baja. Have had very little problem finding the missions from the coordinates given in the book. Excellent photography.

2 comments about Mexican Churches.

1. Contiene una amplia colección de fotografías que muestran la gran variedad y riqueza arquitectónica de las iglesias de México, algunas de las cuales son poco conocidas, y que en cierta medida deben su esplendor al sincretismo cultural hispano-indígena. Las fotografías fueron tomadas alrededor de 1956, por el excelente fotógrafo, sobre todo de paisajes, Eliot Porter (quién abandonó la fotografía por la medicina).

   It contains a large colection of photos that shows the great variety and arquitectonic richness of Mexican churches, some of them are not well know, and their splendor is in certain way product of the cultural hispano-indian sincretism. The photos were taken around 1956 by the excelent photographer, landscape specialist, Eliot Porter (who quit medicine for photography).




2. This is a book of photographs of the interiors of Churches in Mexico, and their shrines and alters, and saints which adorn them.
   
   Porter's photographs capture a religious grace which is direct, simple, beautiful, and moving. Seeing these pictures gives an outsider into a window on a world in which life may be difficult, but heart and faith are celebrated and strong.

4 comments about Hooked on Baja: Where & How to Fish Mexico's Legendary Waters.

1. I pre-ordered this book months before it was published; the title sounded too good to pass up for a fisherman like me that travels to the baja to fish. HA! I returned the book a day after receiving it. It is insipid, written to "cover" all subjects in the table of contents in the minimum of pages. Unfortunately, it does not cover anything usefully. It is so simple it reads as if it was published by a government agency to drum up tourism.
   
   The author may (or may not) know fishing, but he did not display fishing knowledge in this book. Pages 30-80 are a reference, a list of descriptions of the fish in the waters around Baja; this should have been an appendix or deleted. It is not until page 80 that you come across a chapter with a title that sounds like it will be of use, "Terminal tackle and Fishing Suggestions", but this chapter is brief compared to the pedantic ramblings about each of the fish species along the baja and it does not deliver on its title. After that it just continues downhill. It includes fishing maps, marginally useful and less detailed than free ones on line. Follow this up with fish recipes, that is correct, fish recipes from the book with the subtitle, "Where and How to Fish Mexico's Legendary Waters". Then the author has the gaul to describe the personalities of Baja fishing--let me see did the title indicate I would get to read about the people? Let's recap, recipes, fish descriptions, resorts descriptions, descriptions of the fishermen of the baja, and 5 pages on suggested tackle that don't deliver. Thank goodness, Amazon allows returns.



2. Author Tom Gatch's insights into fishing have been published in columns and articles for issues of "The Log, Southern California's #1 Boating & Fishing Newspaper" and "Baja Times". Hooked on Baja: Where & How To Fish Mexico's Legendary Waters distills Gatch's lifetime of experience into a handy and readily accessible guide for would-be Baja fishermen of all backgrounds. Chapters extend beyond the limits of a typical fishing handbook, discussing tips on how to purchase and legally secure real estate property on the Baja California peninsula, authentic south-of-the-border recipes, and true-life tales from Baja's well-known outdoors personalities as well as the basics about a wide variety of Baja fish species, Baja fishing maps, terminal tackle and fishing suggestions, and more. Black-and-white illustrations plus a handful of color photographs enhance this premier "must-have" for anyone seeking to enjoy catching fish south of the Mexican border.



3. I am so glad to have found this book. I love to travel in Baja and this is a great resource. I actually don't fish but the descriptions of the area are very useful to me.



4. Tom loves fishing and Baja! His passion about the area shows in this informative book about Mexico's abundant Baja fisheries.
   
   With a folksy style that everyone can enjoy he shares his knowledge freely about the Baja its fish to great recipes for their preparation.
   
   Worth the read! Irene
   
   Hooked on Baja: Where & How to Fish Mexico's Legendary Waters

2 comments about Baja California Road & Recreation Atlas.

1. I was expecting a full-sized atlas like the "Rand McNally" Road atlas. What I got was a rather small book, 8.5 inches high by 6.5 inches wide. The maps are moderately detailed. The book probably has somewhat better detail, and at a somewhat larger scale, than a folding roadmap. The color graphics are fairly nice. But this book hardly has the detail that one would expect from a truly comprehensive atlas. The indexing system is slightly non-intuitive. Finding the right map to use is slightly difficult, but not really hard. I was also annoyed to see advertising within the book; however this might be helpful to some looking for a place to stay at. In my opinion, this book is not worth the price.
   
   However, this book probably OK for someone sticking strictly to the paved roads in Baja. One advantage is that the book format makes it easy to store; and easier to use, than unfolding a conventional road map.
   
   For people wanting to do more off-the-beaten-path exploring of the Baja Peninsula, who need more detailed maps; the options are currently limited. If you can find it, you may want to get the atlas by Landon. This book is currently out of print, and the cost can be exorbitant. I don't have one, so I can't personally vouch for its quality. I understand it may come back into print.
   
   You might also find an old copy of the "Topographics International" Atlas. (Which I do have.) These offer highly detailed maps with topographic information, almost like our United States Geological Survey maps, but less colorful graphics. For the cities, it may be out of date. But out in the unpopulated areas, it still should be valid for most areas.



2. I didn't get this in time for my trip, but when I was in Baja I saw many copies down there for $10. I'm glad I didn't buy this one as the pages are very small and you have to flip through a number of them to get a good feel for longer distances. Also, the atlas is full of advertising and I found this to be distractive. I saw someone's AAA map and it looked great!

No comments about San Juan: Ciudad Sonada (THE AMERICAS).

2 comments about New Mexico's Best Ghost Towns: A Practical Guide.

1. I loved this book. I went on a trip recently to New Mexico and followed one of the paths listed in the book and tried to see if I could find all the places listed. The pictures helped in locating some sites. Some buildings in some of the pictures are gone but it turned out to be a fun and adventurous day trip. I recommend this book if you can get it.



2. Of all of the ghost towns books I own or have read by Phillip Varney, this is probably the worst. But that being said, this book is not that bad. It was written in 1981, so many of the sites are not there any more. It is a black and white photos, which is a drawback once you have seen his newer books. The maps are not really laid out very well. Also the chapters are a little confusing as to their organization. I think he has leaned how to write a perfect ghost town book since (his CO and AZ book are great). But the sites in the book are the best sites to see in NM, he didn't leave anything out. I have been to many of the sites and have taken fantastic pictures myself (in color and B&W). Therefore, I know how good the pictures in the book can look. But if you haven't been to any ghost towns before and you want a New Mexico ghost town book, then it is still one of the best ones out there.