No comments about Audubon's Western Journal, 1849-1850.

4 comments about Living in Mexico (Travel).

1. Living in Mexico provides a lot of information for retirees. They also have a lot of interesting history and cultural info. I found the section on visas, money, and services to be helpful but rather brief. Also includes a brief review of several cities.



2. Zamba's information is too brief to provide much guidance to anyone serious about relocating. But even more important to note is that this book was published in 1991, so all statistics and facts are nine years out of date. There are far better books at Amazon than this.



3. Never judge a book by its cover! While this book has a good title, it's also misleading. The information is either scant or simply obsolete. There are better books about living in Mexico written by better writers.



4. Although Mr. Zamba's book was written more than 10 years ago, the general information is still useful. Prices change (devaluations and inflation) and communities grow (like Chapala and San Miguel). For me, that is not as important. Instead, the writer seems to have an excellent understanding of Mexico and its people -- both of which are very valuable. Moving from the United States to Mexico is a big decision, and this book helps guide a person (particularly beginners) through that process.

2 comments about A Traveller's History of Mexico (Traveller's History Series).

1. In A Traveller's History Of Mexico, historian Kenneth Pearce provides the reader with an informative, engaging history that begins the prehistoric life of the region, and continues with the coming of the Olmecs and the Mayans (1150-1000 BC), whose cultures were subsumed into the Aztec empire. The reader is treated to a vivid account of Aztec life and its ultimate demise with the arrival off the Spanish conquistadors. The consequent greed, corruption, and oppression of Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic Church are covered in detail. Pearce then moves on to the 19th Century War of Independence which led to the founding of the Mexican Republic, the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian and the Empress Carlotta, the dashing Santa Anna (who led the siege on the Alamo); revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, and other influential characters that were caught up in Mexico's' often violent power struggles. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community history collections, A Traveller's History Of Mexico concludes with the last 70 years of one-party political domination, recently ending with an election of the opposition, and the contemporary social issues of an expanding population, drugs, pollution, corruption, and an oppressed indigenous population.



2. This book has proven to be very interesting to our guests as they visit our new vacation home in Baja California, Mexico. They love browsing or reading it for insights into the country they are visiting.

1 comments about Mexico Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map).

1. This map lacks details and minor roads. For travelers exploring the back roads of Mexico, it's virtually useless. Also lacks city maps for some of the major cities. Not worth buying.

No comments about From Basin to Peak: An Explorer's Companion to the Colorado-New Mexico San Juan Basin.

5 comments about Mediterranean Color: Italy, France , Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece.

1. Jeffrey's migration from architecht to painter now photographer has imbued his work with a unique sensibility. As a Becom collector Ihave come to appreciate the quality of his eye and the intensity of the Cibrachrome process of printing. I was quite delighted with Jeffrey's ability to write as well; though readers should know that this is primarily a photography book written by a photographer and his wife. He has several galleries around the world that show his work, and though expensive, his work is worth the price! I expectantly await his next book on similar topic, but location of South America. Long Live Jeffrey Becom



2. This book is about Architecture, Color, and how we see the world. It's not about how to be a tourist in the Mediterranean. Unless, of course, you would like to be a tourist who really "sees" what is in front of your eyes when you walk down that picturesque village street. Jeffrey Becom has a killer eye. His camera isolates a detail from our normal panoramic vision of a building or a street scene. When we contemplate this detail our sense of beauty, aesthetic organization, and how the world works is expanded. His capability to see these details while wandering the countries bordering the Mediterranean allows us normal humans a greater appreciation of the sensibilities of work-a-day Mediterannean peoples. The contemplation of Jeffrey Becom's work also inevitably causes us to look at our own world differently. I see things now when I walk down the street that I didn't see before I looked at Becom's work.



3. Wonderful book and great writing. Beautiful images of architecture, color and life. I highly reccomend. A must have for anyone who has traveled there or for anyone who dreams of doing so. Jeffrey Becom's photographs are a feast for the eyes and his tales are engrossing. One must also look at his other book Maya Color - stunning as well!



4. I bought this book looking for a lush picture book of inspiring photos of mediterranean homes. It is not. Although the photography is nice, it is primarily of colourful buildings abroad.



5. I was expecting a beautiful book of photos full of inspiring mediterranean colours. This book had a lot of text and wasn't what I expected. Might be interesting but haven't got the time to read it.

1 comments about Westwater Lost and Found.

1. This book is written by a rafting guide who was captivated by Westwater Canyon, on the Colorado River, close to the Colorado border. This canyon has a treacherous section called Skull rapids, where my own cousin drowned in a rafting accident. The author, after guiding for 5 years, took his mother on a trip through Westwater Canyon, and lost her when their raft overturned (yes, she drowned). At that point his relationship with the canyon became more complicated. During an exodus from the area after that accident, he continued to be obcessed with the subject, and continued working on his book about it. This is not just a book on rafting the canyon. It starts with the early history of the region, from Native Americans, to the little town of Westwater that sprung up as a railroad town. In addition to the history of pioneer rafters, it covers farmers, outlaws, miners, cattlemen and sheepmen. As a native of the eastern Colorado, western Utah region this story takes place in, and a local history buff, I would give this book a good rating on all counts. Having also lost a relative in Westwater canyon, my bond with the author may be stronger than the normal reader.

5 comments about The Law of Love.

1. Reading all of these reviews many people compare this book to her first one. Had this been a sequel for the her first novel, then go ahead and compare it. But this is an entirely different book with different characters. Many authors go through different stages in their lifes and many times it shows through in their writing. I enjoyed this book because I had no high expectations for it. I was dissapointed with the CD because I felt that it didn't fit the book as well as it could have. I did enjoy the past lives, but I did also feel that 'magical' things appeard to help the characters out of a tight spot. (Which actually, helps the story move along quite rapidly if you just accept things as they are and not question them.) Enjoyed the book, didn't enjoy the CD so much, loved the pictures and the general idea behind it. Good bathroom reading.



2. Since you read the title, you must guess it is not a realistic book (Can anybody really mention A Law of Love??) Yet, it is really entertaining. What the author mentions in her story is the idea that people reincarnate several times until they settle any conflicts existing in previous lives, and to do so, it is necessary that in the following lives the people who you had these conflicts with, reincarnate close to you. I think this was really a fun book not only for the plot itself that is quite creative, but also because it as a multimedia book. It includes an audio CD and lively illustrations to make you feel as part of the book. For instance, if the person in the book is listening to some music that makes her dream of something, you can also listen to that same music with the aid of the CD while you see the illustrations and share her dreams. Isn't this innovative enough to be worthwhile reading it?



3. Fortunately I have not read Like Water For Chocolate, and so I didn't have particularly high expectations concerning the quality of prose in this book, and reading the jacket prepared me for a rather sappy story. Nevertheless, this was both the most poorly written and poorly conceived book I've read in a long time (if ever!). The writing style reminded me of that of an overstimulated teenager, and the characters were all but empty of substance. What I found most appalling, however, were the ridiculous new-age pseudophilosophies, and the horrendous misinterpretations of karma and reincarnation. Honestly, the whole thing was so bad it was just embarrassing. So glad it was a loaner, not a purchase!



4. After all the hype regarding Like Water for Chocolate, and in view of my deep interest in reincarnation in fiction, I had greatly anticipated this book. It had a compelling start, in detailing the karmic events set into motion with Rodrigo and Citlala, but the switch to the futuristic setting, with all its fantastical and foreign new technologies and philosophies, was too much far, far too soon.
   
   Problems I identified were: poor, scanty characterization; almost total lack of blocking (description of setting); and comprehensive, almost omnipresent 'telling' instead of 'showing'. We are never allowed to draw our own conclusions about the characters from their actions and words-- Esquivel informs us, either through her narration or that of a guardian or demon, exactly what we are to think of everyone. And both the preachiness and massive breadth of the metaphysical 'stuff' was intrusive and annoying, giving the impression she's telling us what to believe, as well.
   
   The ending is, as with so many novels nowadays, rushed and insufficient, a mere wrap-up chapter telling us what happened to all the main characters after the fact, the lazy man's (woman's?) way of getting the damned thing over with. We aren't shown how any of these things occurred, though it would have been both interesting and satisfying to see how these people came to their rewards or punishments.
   
   And worst of all is the pat and ludicrous resolution of the distance between Azucena and Rodrigo. After their initial meeting at the start of the book, they are separated, and the story basically details (with many flourishes) Azucena's travails in finding him again. But when they do find each other, he doesn't remember her any more, and only has eyes for the reincarnation of Citlala, of whom his violation in a prior life was so lovingly recounted in the first chapter.
   
   Azucena, then, finds love with Teo, and enthusiastically copulates with him at every opportunity. This is explained away with a few convenient sentences by Esquivel, who gives Azucena's reunion with Rodrigo the same treatment in her rushed ending. "Oh, Rodrigo remembers Azucena and leaves Citlala and now only has eyes for his soul mate." Just that easy, was it?
   
   I guess a scene of such power and emotion wasn't important enough for her to render for her readers, but I was left wondering if he felt shame for forgetting Azucena was his soul mate and taking up with Citlala, if Azucena harbored resentment for it. Of course, knowing how Esquivel prefers to tell us what to think, she'd have just informed us with a sole paragraph how it all went down, so I suppose that we're not missing anything by her leaving it out.
   
   Also ludicrous is how easily Azucena forgives Isabel's transgressions against her and the others-- again solved with a convenient telling instead of showing. Esquivel proves how poor her grasp of human nature, and how inadequate she is at rendering it in words for her readers, if she thinks that being murdered and abandoned repeatedly by the same person over multiple lifeties can be erased with a sentence or two.
   
   The multimedia aspect of the book feels gimmicky. The music is redundant in style and theme, and the graphic novel parts feel more like Esquivel couldn't be arsed to describe the scene herself, so got someone else to draw it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, she saved herself about 25,000 of them with the artwork. Convenient for her, but ultimately dissatisfying for us.
   
   In general, this book felt like a wacky sci-fi concept that Esquivel wanted "out there" but didn't feel like bothering to put any effort into. Her heavy-handed treatment of both the story and philosophical issues too many 'WTF' moments, where we have to stop and thing hard about what in the world is happening, gives her an overlooming presence that prevents the reader from becoming absorbed in the book; we're too aware it's written, rather than unfolding before us.



5. I bought it in its spanish version. I loved the way that Laura Esquivel wrote "Like Water for Chocolate" all this funny situations and romantic inspirations not to mention the recipes. So, I decided to look a work besides that one. I have the theory that, if you get in love with a book, is pretty uncommon to find a writer that could make a new book surpass its predecessor. This is one of this cases. I got it and started to read, it just got me involved in all this reincarnation theme and how much does it cost find love. Is a book you'r definitvely will get involved and enjoy.

No comments about A Travel Guide to the Plains Indian Wars.

No comments about Insight Pocket Guide Santa Fe: Taos, Albuqerque (Insight Pocket Guides).