Our Favorite Mexico Books

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As a wannabe writer, one of the first tips I got on career planning was a succinct, “Whatever you do, don’t write about Mexico. Nobody cares.” This warning from a successful writer who had lived in Mexico for decades was based on the New York publishing industry's historical lack of interest in anything south of the border. There are exceptions, of course — especially in guidebooks and academic titles — but if we look at the tens of thousands of new books released each year, Mexico-related publications are definitely scarce.

As for why so many publishers ignore or avoid Mexico, I really don’t have a clue. In fact, given the strong affection so many of us have for Mexico, I would expect readers to jump on books about the country.

Putting aside a possible conspiracy theory for the moment, I want to bring your attention some interesting and some undeservedly obscure titles on Mexico....Carl Franz

Guidebooks

•The People's Guide to Mexico

•Mexico Insight Guide by Kal Muller
•Mexico: Places and Pleasures by Kate Simon
•Terry’s Guide by T. Philip Terry...
•Spas & Hot Springs of Mexico by "Mexico" Mike Nelson

Guidebooks to the whole country

•Lonely Planet Mexico (12th), by John Noble and several more
•Mexico (Eyewitness), by Marlena Spieler
•Fodor's Mexico 2010 (Review by David "El Codo Eidell)
•The Rough Guide to Mexico John Fisher, Daniel Jacobs, Zora O'Neill, Stephen Keeling
•Frommer's Mexico 2010 by David Baird, Shane Christensen, Joy Hepp
•Moon Handbook: Mexico by Joe Cummings, Chicki Mallan...
•The People's Guide to Mexico by Carl Franz, Lorena Havens & Steve Rogers

•Mexico City by Andrew Coe
•Explorer's Guide Mexico City, Puebla & Cuernavaca: A Great Destination by Zain Deane
•Moon Mexico City by Chris Humphrey
•Lonely Planet Mexico City by Daniel Schechter, Josephine Quintero
•Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler by Jim Johnston
•First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century by David Lida
•Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Food Stalls, Fondas and Fine Dining by Nicholas Gilman
•Streetwise Mexico City Map, Laminated City Center Street Map by Streetwise Maps
•El Monstruo: Dread and Redemption in Mexico City by John Ross
•The Mexico City Reader by Ruben Gallo

The Copper Canyon & Northern Mexico

•Northern Mexico Handbook: Including the Copper Canyon by Joe Cummings
•Mexico's Copper Canyon Country: A Hiking & Backpacking Guide by M. John Fayhee...
•The Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico: Tierra de Encuentro by Richard D. Fisher
•Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre: Survivors on the Canyon's Edge by John Kennedy
•Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre: Beer, Ecology, and the Social Organization, John G. Kennedy
•Life Through the Eyes of a Tarahumara by Romayne Wheeler
•Trails of the Sierra Madre by Eugene H. Boudreau
•Unknown Mexico: Explorations in the Sierra Madre and Other Regions 1890-1898 Vol. 1 by Carl Lumholtz...
•God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, Richard Grant
•Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon, Bernard Fontana
•The Apache Diaries: A Father-son Journey, Goodwin & Goodwin
•Trail of Feathers: Searching for Phillip True, Robert Rivard
•In the Sierra Madre, Jeff Biggers
•Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopheer McDougall
•The Life and Times of Pancho Villa, Freidrich Katz

••Oaxaca (Moon Handbook) by Bruce Whipperman
•Oaxaca Crafts and Sightseeing by Barbara Hopkins

•Adventure Guide to the Yucatan by Bruce & June Conord
•Guatemala: A Natural Destination
•The Lost World of Quintana Roo by Michel Peissel

•Sacred Monkey River: A Canoe Trip with the Gods
•Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan by John L. Stephens
•The Last Lords of Palenque: The Lacandon Mayas of the Mexican Rain Forest by Robert D Bruce and Victor Perera
•Place of Mirrors by Jeenie Criscenzo
•The Heart of the Sky: Travels Among the Maya by Peter Canby
•Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico by Wright, Weidenfeld and Nicolson
•A Forest of Kings by Linda Schele and David Freidel
•The Maya by Michael Coe
•The Caste War of the Yucatan by Nelson Reed

•Carl's Favorite Guidebooks to Guatemala
•Guatemala Guide by Paul Glassman
•The Rough Guide to Guatemala by Mark Whatmore and Peter Eltringham
•Guatemala, Belize & Yucatán: La Ruta Maya by Tom Brosnahan & Nancy Keller
•Henry’s Hint$ On Guatemala by Henry Gall
•Guatemala: A Natural Destination
•I...Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Menchu
•Sweet Waist of America: Journeys around Guatemala by Anthony Daniels
•Guatemalan Journey by Stephen Connely Benz

•Lonely Planet Belize, by Mara Vorhees & Joshua Samuel Brown
•Rough Guide Belize by Peter Eltringham, Iain Stewart, Dominique Young
•Belize: A Natural Destination by Richard Mahler, Steele Wotkyns, Kevin Schafer (Photographer)
•Moon Belize, by Joshua Berman
•Fodor's Belize: with El Petén
•Belize Islands Guide: Guide to Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker and the Offshore Cayes and Atolls of Belize, by Lan Sluder [Kindle]
•Easy Belize: How to Live, Retire, Work and Buy Property in Belize, the English Speaking Frost Free Paradise on the Caribbean Coast, by Lan Sluder, Rose Emory Lambert-Sluder (Photographer)
•Belize Retirement Guide by Bill & Claire Gray
•Open Road's Belize Guide by Paul Glassman & Carolyn Graham
•Belize First is now an online newsletter

Central America

••Mexico & Central American Handbook edited by Peter Hutchison

Cuba

•Moon Handbooks: Cuba by Christopher P. Baker
•Lonely Planet Cuba (Travel Guides) by David Stanley
•The Reader's Companion to Cuba Alan Ryan(Editor), Christa Malone (Editor)
•Trading With the Enemy : A Yankee Travels Through Castro's Cuba Tom Miller
•Cuba Pocket Guide;
•Cuba Traveler's Companion by Kirsten Ellis
•Fodor's Cuba
•Fodor's Exploring Cuba
•Insight Guides Cuba
•Moon Handbooks: Havana by Christopher P. Baker
•Waiting for Fidel by Christopher Hunt
•Ay, Cuba! : A Socio-Erotic Journey by Andrei Codrescu, David Graham (Photographer)

Live and Retire in Mexico

Driving

•Traveler's Guide To Mexican Camping, by Mike & Terry Church
•Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja: Explore Baja and Puerto Penasco with Your RV or Tent, by Mike & Terry Church
•The People’s Guide to Camping, Backpacking & Boating in Mexico, by Carl Franz & Lorena Havens
•The People's Guide to RV Camping, by Carl Franz, Steve Rogers & Lorena Havens
•RVing in Mexico, Central America and Panama, by John S Plaxton, Elizabeth A Plaxton (Photographer)

Adventures

•Mexico Trails: Your Adventure Guide to 43 Short Hikes and Walking Trails in Mexico, by Gerry Recksiedler...
•Bicycling Mexico by Ericka Weisbroth & Eric Ellman
•Backcountry Mexico: A Traveler's Guide and Phrase Book by Bob Burleson, David H. Riskind (Photographer)
•A Hiker’s Guide to Mexico’s Natural History
•Mexico: Adventures in Nature by Ron Mader...

Natural Mexico

•A Desert Country Near the Sea: A Natural History of the Cape Region of Baja California by Ann Zwinger
•On the Road to Tetlama: Mexican Adventures of a Wandering Naturalist by Jim Conrad
Plants
•A Handbook of Mexican Roadside Flora by Charles T. Mason Jr. and Patricia B. Mason...
•Gathering the Desert by Gary Nabhan...
•Handbook of Indian Foods and Fibers of Arid America, by Ebeling
•A Flower Lover's Guide to Mexico, by Phil Clark
•Mexican Flowering Trees and Plants, by Helen O'Gorman
•Exotic Plants, by Julia F Morton
•Tropical Blossoms of the Caribbean, by Dorothy & Bob Hargreaves
•Tropical Trees and Tropical Blossoms of the Caribbean, by Dorothy & Bob Hargreaves
•Baja California Plant Field Guide, by Norman Roberts
Birds
•Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Central America by L. Irby Davis...

Birds of Belize, (The Corrie Herring Hooks Series), by Dana Gardner...
Fish & Sealife
•Fishes of the Pacific Coast: Alaska to Peru, Including the Gulf of California
•Fishes of the Atlantic Coast: Canada to Brazil, Including the Gulf of Mexico
•Reef Fish Identification: Baja to Panama, by Ned DeLoach
•Whales and Other Marine Mammals of California and Baja, by Tamara Eder
•Sea of Cortez Marine Animals: A Guide to the Common Fishes and Invertebrates Baja California to Panama, by Daniell W. Gotshall
Other Creatures
•Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California
•Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatan, and Belize, by Jonathan A. Campbell
•A Guide to the Reptiles of Belize, by Peter J. Stafford & John R. Meyer

Healthy Living in Mexico

•Staying Healthy In Asia, Africa, and Latin America by Dirk G. Schroeder...
•Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner, Carol Thuman, Jane Maxwell...
•Spas & Hot Springs of Mexico By "Mexico" Mike Nelson...

Shopping

•Oaxaca Crafts and Sightseeing by Barbara Hopkins
•The Shoppers Guide to Mexico by Steve Rogers & Tina Rosa

Speaking Spanishß

History

•The Life and Times of Pancho Villa, Freidrich Katz
•Judas at the Jockey Club and Other Episodes of Porfirian Mexico by William H. Beezley...
•The Conquest of Mexico by Hugh Thomas
•Many Mexicos by Lesly Byrd Simpson

•Quest For The Lost City by Dana and Ginger Lamb
•Enchanted Vagabonds by Lamb and Cleveland
•A Vagabond in Mexico by S. Guzmán-C
•A Small Mexican World by Spratling
•Viva Mexico! a Traveller’s Account of Life in Mexico by Charles Flandrau
•The Mexicans: A Personal Portrait of a People by Patrick Oster
•The Volcanoes from Puebla by Kenneth Gangemi
•Travelers’ Tales: Mexico by James O’Reilly and Larry Habegger
•Face to Face with the Mexicans by Fancis Gardiner Gooch
•The Man Who Likes Mexico by Wallace Gillpatrick
•The Three Pigs: Los Tres Cerdos by Bobbi Salinas
•Where the Strange Roads Go Down by Mary Del Villar, Fred Del Villar, Mary Del Villar & Susan Hardy Aiken
•The Bakery of the Three Whores (poetry) by James
•Old Mother Mexico by Harry Carr
•God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, Richard Grant
•The Apache Diaries: A Father-son Journey, Goodwin & Goodwin
•Trail of Feathers: Searching for Phillip True, Robert Rivard
•In the Sierra Madre, Jeff Biggers
•Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopheer McDougall

•The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C. M. Mayo...
•King of The Moon
•Rain of Gold by Victor E. Villasenor
•Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr
•Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
•Gringos by Charles Portis
•The Long Night of White Chickens by Francisco Goldman
•Aztec by Gary Jennings
•The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by Bruno Traven

Would you like to write a book review and send it to us? Email: Carl & Lorena

Found any good websites on Mexico that we ought to include? Send us an email so we can check it out!