Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler [Paperback]

Jim Johnston (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best of the lot. Evoke(s) the colors, sounds and smells (of the) world's second-largest metropolitan area." -- San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Jim Johnston was born in New York City and grew up in the woods of New Hampshire. After studying architecture at the University of Virginia and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts, he worked as a professional artist and potter in New York City for 27 years before moving full-time to Mexico in 1997, where he continues working as a printmaker. He currently resides in Mexico City with his partner Nicholas Gilman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (November 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595418414
• ISBN-13: 978-0595418411
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely essential book, November 4, 2007

By 

Easy Does It - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler (Paperback)

My wife and I just returned from a five night stay in Mexico City.

Along with An Opinionated Guide, we used Fodors.

For me, the great value of An Opinionated Guide was the walks it lead me and my wife on. These walks were through both the historical center and some of the wealthy and artistic neighborhoods.

I feel that the walks gave me as good a sense of Mexico City as a non-Spanish speaking tourist is likely to get in a few days.

I agree with another reviewer that sometimes it was helpful to carry along a thicker guidebook which gives longer descriptions of specific sites.

One way in which this criticism does not seem fair, however, is that many of the sites that the walks cover are not so much historically or culturally important (a famous painting or a building by an important architect)as they are important in showing an aspect of Mexican life: transvestite hair dressers in a flower market and how this reveals the tolerance of Mexican society or a uniform shop where the mannequins are posed like famous sculptures such as the Pieta and how this shows the presence of a folk art tradition.

I think this is an essential book for anyone traveling for pleasure to Mexico City.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide, February 23, 2007

By 

C. Schimming (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler (Paperback)

My wife and I just returned from Mexico City and found this guide to be invaluable. If you're an independent traveler, with a particular interest in architecture, this is the book for you. We loved the walking tour suggestions (particularly the one in Coyocan), as well as "Top 10" lists (taquerias etc.). This is really the only guide a first-time visitor to D.F. needs!

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good prep reading for a trip to Mexico City, but not a stand-alone, January 12, 2007

By 

Julie V. Daves "Daughter-Making-Diva" (Apex, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler (Paperback)

Why won't someone write a new, good, comprehensive book about Mexico City? Well, probably because it's the biggest city in the world and no one has time. Look, when an American goes to Mexico City, you are probably going there for business or some specific reason. And you are probably wondering what it's gonna be like after hearing, "Don't drink the water" a million times.

This book is a good crash course on Mexico City from a guy with a nice writing style. But, the book dances between being a "tell it like it is" reality check (which I really enjoyed) to a random laundry list of stuff to see. Plus it's really thin. Not a lot there.

I think the best use of this book is a primer for mentally preparing yourself to go. Read it in bed a few nights before you pack, especially the first chapter. It'll hit the high points and give you a "Cliffs Notes" version of the city.

When you get there, in the insanity, best bet is to hire a trustworthy local to give you the tour. This is not a city for novices to try to navigate, although I wish you many moments of beauty, like dilapidated houses with beautiful pink flowers in the window, and kids with holes in their shoes looking at you with big beautiful brown soulful eyes and chasing pigeons around the park, happier than I've been in years. Good luck!