NOTES ON A DRUM: Travel Sketches in Guatemala

Mexican Interlude told of the Jackson's visit to our southern neighbor, and I found it the most satisfactory of all the books on the subject, from the angle of one who has visited Mexico. Now Notes on a Drum given an opportunity to test a similar method and procedure dealing with a country unknown. Hats off to Joe Jackson -- it gets over, almost as vividly as the book on Mexico, creates not only an urge to visit Guatemala, but a sense of the country for the armchair traveler, and a stimulating series of travel hints for the prospective visitor. The method is intimate, personal, anecdotal, but informative at the same time. One senses an undercurrent of slight prejudice in favor of Mexico, there is less of the nostalgic quality that distinguished the other book, but that again may be due to the reader's own background on the subjects. A good job!