Customer Reviews

Mexico (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a US-based correspondent for a Mexican magazine who travels to Mexico often and has written for other publications there, I keep my bookcase well stocked with tour books that serve as reference guides. When I want accurate information, I open my trusty Rough Guide. I open the "Eyewitness" guide when I want to see some photos or pictures to illustrate the information in more reliable but text-heavy volumes. But under no circumstances would I ever rely on the information in this one. I've caught too many flaming mistakes that go beyond any possible realm of simple human error and into that of stuff that's just plain made up. My favorite is perhaps the translation of the name of the archaeological site Cacaxtla, which INAH (the Mexican government's National Institute of Anthropology and History) says means "the merchant's pack"...and yet somehow this, shall we say, *imaginative* guide tells us the word means "the place where the rain comes to die." And that's hardly an isolated occurrence in this book. Give it full marks for being a very good looking book with lots of pretty pictures and nicely executed street maps, both of which can be useful to have on hand. Just don't actually *read* it, except to cause much mirth and eye-rolling among your Mexican friends. Even if you know nothing about Mexico, you'll come away from this text more ignorant of the country and its culture than you were before you cracked it open.

This guide is a great book for daydreaming about going to all these amazing places or reminding yourself of them. It's not the most practical "on the road" traveller's companion though. There's too few hotel and restaurant recommendations and information on transportation options. Yet the illuminating pictures of historical sites and maps make it an adorably nice looking guide. If these are the things you mainly want from a guidebook, add one star to the rating.

I have trusted Eye Witness Travel Guides for many years and they never let me down. My one complaint about this particular guide is its heavy Protestant bias. Mexico is a country of predominately Catholic influence and practice, but the authors chose to down-play that aspect of the deeply beautiful Mexican culture. However, this book gets 4 stars because it shows you the big places and can lead you into the lesser-known treasures of the country. Great for the traveller and the tourist (there is a difference).