MEXICO: PLEASURES AND PLACES

Unlike any other travel book on Mexico- and there have been many- this one is a skillful blend of personal experience with sufficient historical, biographical and ethnological background to give one a sense of personal participation along with widening of horizons. One sees- hears- smells the places, the streets, the markets; one shares the incidents that add color and flavor. And yet at the same time, there is sufficient detachment to make this an informed approach to various aspects of the Mexican scene; to give one a sense of choice -- do this, or that; see this, or that -which results in a feeling that more time must be allotted than the ordinary tourist would give, but that one still need not do everything. Seeing this in galley proof, one feels a crying need for maps which the finished book will carry; for pictures, to fix the multitudinous impressions in mind. Facts about hotels, restaurants, food to eat, things to see, entertainment offered are here, too, but with only indications as to classification (de luxe or the reverse) but not actual prices. For anyone who has done the routine round in a ten day stay here is incentive to go back and really get acquainted with Mexico; for those who have never been across the border, here is an invitation to travel in a very foreign country on our doorstep. For the general reader with a passion for travel books, there are unusual bits, such as the ""magic mushroom"" eating in a remote village; the carnival in Vera Cruz, the alligator hunt, etc.