Tramping Through Mexico; Guatemala and Honduras: Being the Random Notes of an Incurable Vagabond [Paperback]

Harry Alverson Franck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 2007

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: BiblioBazaar (November 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434676226
• ISBN-13: 978-1434676221
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,361,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Honduras

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars tramping through mexico......, September 21, 2010

By 

Shirley (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tramping Through Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras - Being the Random Notes of an Incurable Vagabond (Kindle Edition)

interesting travel book. however, it was written in 1916 so some of the lodging and wi fi connections may not be up to current traveler's expectations.,

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful slice of a world that is no more, October 15, 2008

By 

Danielle L. Parker "Bewildering Babe" (Spokane, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Tramping Through Mexico; Guatemala and Honduras: Being the Random Notes of an Incurable Vagabond (Paperback)

There's no travel writer like Harry Franck. Only Paul Theroux and a few others come close in the modern day. This book, like all the Franck series (Look for "Vagabonding Down the Andes" as one of his best) is a beautifully written journey through a world that is no longer here. It's time travel in a way, but it helps the thoughtful reader look both backward and forward with more understanding.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking back at an old Mexico, June 27, 2011

By 

CGScammell (Cochise County, AZ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Tramping Through Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras - Being the Random Notes of an Incurable Vagabond (Kindle Edition)

Harry Franck was quite the traveler in the 1910s, and this journey down the length of Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras back in 1916 shows the country as it was during the Mexican Revolution when most men south of the border carried weapons in self defense and where the American wasn't always respected. He tramps down there on foot, via mule, train or carriage and gives very descriptive narratives of the towns and people along the way.

Despite the often distant descriptions Franck writes about--he gets close to no one and the narrative lacks dialogue--this is a well-written travelogue of Franck's observations, replete with often racist descriptions when seen with a contemporary eye. Peasants are "peons" and Mexicans are usually classified as either European, Indian or Aztecan bloodlines, who often drink too much and are prone to argue. He writes of a Mexico that has all but disappeared from the bigger cities, cities such as Monterrey (which he spelled with just one /r/), Potosi and other towns that have now seen drug wars take place in its streets.

Franck describes working conditions in a mine, lodging experiences along the way, indigenous villages and even other foreigners such as a German that he described as "garrulous, self-complacent, ungraceful" (1310-25). Many of the trails south of Mexico are mere faint game trails. Remember the time in which he writes about this country, during which the US has tensions with both Mexico and Germany just before and during WWI.

Seventy percent of this story is about Mexico, another ten percent is about Guatemala, and the rest is about Honduras. He seems to have enjoyed the two smaller countries more, but he never loses his air of superiority over the native peoples; they are always dirty and sleep in too late, and he seems to always expect them to wait on him hand and foot.

It may be outdated now, but this little travelougue brings one back to a time that was slower and more agricultural, where racial tensions still rang high between the US and Mexico (and growing with Germany). Anyone who enjoys these old travelogues will enjoy this one, as the language is not too outdated, but the language is well-sprinkled with racial epithets of the time.

Since I read this via the Kindle version, I must add that the Kindle version often did not correctly copy the Spanish spellings of words, which created a few hiccups but didn't ruin the enjoyment of this book too much. Franck does not translate his foreign phrases, so if the reader knows no Spanish, some of the little dialogue may be lost.

Anyone who enjoys travelogues and old historical memoirs will enjoy this little read.