The production line of books on Mexico seems to get longer with each passing year. Dozens of tomes were published in 2014, the best selling titles of which appear below (guide books excluded) in no particular order. Only one of the books in this list was self-published, which goes to disprove the myth that editorial houses are not interested in Mexican-themed works. Go online at Amazon.com to check out prices and availability.
The Beast: Riding The Rails & Dodging Narcos On The Migrant Trail
One of the first books to shed light on the harsh new reality of the migrant trail in the age of drug-traffickers, The Beast tells the stories of the immigrants who cling to the tops of trains and find respite and work in Mexican shelters and brothels along the way. Author Oscar Martinez spent two years traveling up and down the trail, collecting stories from some of the quarter of a million Central Americans who make the increasingly dangerous journey each year. According to some statistics, as many as 20,000 of the migrants are kidnapped as they make their way north.
Becoming an Expat Mexico: Your guide to moving abroad
Becoming an Expat Mexico will teach you how to transition into your new life in Mexico and save money and time in the process. Shannon Enete and Noah Steinberg-Di Stefano explain all you need to know about immigration, international healthcare, retirement, earning an income abroad, moving with kids and more. Written by experienced expats who are not in the business of selling real estate or dreams, this book is a practical guide to a new life abroad.
The Return of Comrade Ricardo Flores Magon
In this long-awaited book, Claudio Lomnitz tells a groundbreaking story about the experiences and ideology of the Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magon. Drawing on extensive research in Mexico and the United States, Lomnitz explores the rich, complicated, and virtually unknown lives of Flores Magon and his comrades devoted to the “Mexican Cause.” This anthropological history of anarchy, cooperation and betrayal seeks to capture the experience of dedicated militants who struggled to understand their role and place in society.
Travels with a Mexican Circus
Katie Hickman went to Mexico looking for magic. She found it in the circus: Big Top, clowns, elephants and all. Gradually adjusting to the harsh ways of the circus’s nomadic lifestyle, she soon became absorbed into this hypnotic world, at first as a foreigner but later as a performer in her own right. Travels with a Mexican Circus is her unforgettable account of a year-long journey through an extraordinary and beautiful country.
Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness
In a country where the powerful are rarely scrutinized, noted Mexican-American journalist Alfredo Corchado reports on government corruption and the ruthless cartels of Mexico. One night, Corchado was told that he could be the Zetas next target and that he had 24 hours to find out if the threat was true. Midnight in Mexico is the story of his quest to report the truth as he races to save his own life.
¡Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico
Italy has grappa, Russia has vodka, Jamaica has rum. Around the world, certain drinks, especially those of the intoxicating kind, are synonymous with their peoples and cultures. For Mexico, this drink is tequila, and author Marie Sarita Gaytan traces its history. Starting in Mexico’s colonial era and tracing the drink’s rise through the revolutionary era until the present day, Sarita Gaytan reveals how and why tequila became and remains Mexico’s national drink and symbol.
Mexicans in the Making of America
According to census projections, by 2050 nearly one in three U.S. residents will be Latino, and the overwhelming majority of these will be of Mexican descent. This dramatic demographic shift is reshaping politics, culture, and fundamental ideas about American identity. Neil Foley, a leading Mexican American historian, offers a sweeping view of the evolution of Mexican America, from a colonial outpost on Mexico’s northern frontier to a 21st-century people integral to the nation they have helped build.
The Interior Circuit: A Mexico City Chronicle
This powerful memoir is Francisco’s Goldman’s story of his emergence from grief five years after his wife’s death, symbolized by his attempt to overcome his fear of driving in the city. Embracing Mexico City as his home, Goldman explores and celebrates the life of the capital. In the summer of 2013, when Mexican organized crime violence and death erupts in the city in an unprecedented way, Goldman sets out to try to understand the menacing challenges it now faces.
Maximilian and Carlota: Europe’s Last Empire in Mexico
The installation of Maximilian von Habsburg and his wife, Carlota of Belgium, as the emperor and empress of Mexico had tragic consequences for the royal couple. In this sweeping account of their ill-fated reign, M. M. McAllen explains how their arrival in Mexico in 1861 was marked by extravagance and ambition but ended six years later with the execution of Maximilian by firing squad and with Carlota on the brink of madness.
In the Shadow of Saint Death: The Gulf Cartel And The Price Of America’s Drug War In Mexico
In the context of the war between the Mexican state and armed criminals that has claimed 70,000 lives since 2006, author Michael Deibert examines the Gulf Cartel, which has a political reach stretching across the country and is locked into a dea
dly conflict with its former allies the Zetas. Combining dozens of interviews with hitmen, police, politicians, teachers and children, the book gives readers the story of the vicious war being waged along the border.
The Great Salsa Book
This sparkling full-color cookbook features 100 widely varied recipes with a range of ingredients: tomato and tomatillo, chili peppers, tropical fruit, corn, beans, nuts, seeds, and herbs. The book gives detailed hints on handling volatile peppers, suggested accompaniments, and, of course, a heat scale. Author John Harrison has been growing food for his family for over 30 years. He is the author of a series of bestselling cookery guides, including Vegetables Growing Month by Month and Low-Cost Living.
Mexican Flavors: Contemporary Recipes from Camp San Miguel
Master cookery teacher, Hugh Carpenter, leads readers on a delicious adventure through Mexican cuisine with 115 recipes centered around the beautiful colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. Hundreds of North Americans have traveled to San Miguel to cook with Hugh during the six-day seminars that he runs with his wife. Mexican Flavors includes classic recipes such as guacamole, tortilla soup and mole sauce but there are also surprises such as banana salsa and fallen Kahlua chocolate cake.
Prayers for the Stolen
Being a girl is a dangerous thing in Guerrero, Mexico. Ladydi’s mother disguises her as a boy, or “makes her ugly”, by cropping her hair and blackening her teeth, anything to protect her from the grasp of the drug cartels. Ladydi is lucky to find work for a wealthy family. Yet when a local murder implicates a friend, her future takes a dark turn. An illuminating and affecting portrait of women in rural Mexico by Jennifer Clement.