After I bought Masako Takahasi and her husband Tony Cohen's book "Mexicolor", I thought no other book I purchased would EVER compare to that experience. When I discovered "Mexican Tiles", I opened it with fear and trepidation, hoping against all hope, yet hardly daring to believe that it could be even half as good as their first.

But this book is AWESOME!! I think I finally figured out why, after reading Tony Cohen's book "On Mexican Time": these people simply ADORE Mexico, and it comes through in everything they do. All of the wonder and breathless anticipation and teary-eyed beauty that I feel and am so hopelessly unqualified to express when I am either in Mexico or adding to my collection of artesania, Tony vividly portrays in his prose and Masako captures with her camera.

As for subject matter, I LOVE Talavera tiles, Talavera pottery, Talavera ANYTHING, because they are so INCREDIBLY Mexican, and this book is simply PAGE after GORGEOUS PAGE of Talavera-lined kitchens, bathrooms, stairs, floors...you name it, it's tiled. If you at all appreciate ethnic interior design or Mexican handicrafts, this is an AWESOME book!!!

I was (and still am) searching for books, information and pictures of mexican architecture and color. This book was helpful for me, and also brought back great memories of my two trips to Mexico. This country is amazingly beautiful and rich in cultural heritage, and in my search for rustic/mexican ideas that I can adapt to the design of my new hacienda-type home, I found that the book satisfied me with all the beautiful pictures portraing the real Mexico. A must have for mexican citizens living outside the country, and Mexico freaks (like me) as well.

I ADORE this book!!!! I have poured over it SO MUCH that the spine is cracked open on certain pages. Masako's love for Mexico, the people, the artesania, the "flavor" of Mexican life (well detailed in her husband's book "On Mexican Time") comes screaming through loud and clear on every page. I am an AVID collector/aficionado of all Mexican folk art, handicrafts and artesanias, and this book is virtually my decorating bible. Well worth every cent I spent on it and so much more!

The only flaws (for me)are the chapters on Modern Mexican Architecture and the artists' homes- WAY too modern, as far as I'm concerned, and they do NOT blend with the rest of the book!!!!! However, I have LONG ceased to let those chapter ruin my enjoyment of this simply INCREDIBLE book- I simply skip over them, refuse to look at them, and revel in everything else in the book. My only REAL regret is that she doesn't hurry and come out with MORE books, MORE often!!!!!

Having travelled through most of the states of Mexico, witnessing the enchanting colorful culture firsthand I can say this book captures the essence and beauty of Mexico lindo. It reminds the viewer of the places and people of Mexico in all their colorful splendor. What traveler through Mexico can forget the mercado (outdoor maketplace)experiece with the aromas and color blending for an intoxicating mixture that stays with you for a lifetime? It is all captured here in this brilliantly colored book. An inspirational book for the artist as well, the splashes of color jump from the pages into one's imagination for new ideas based on centuries old traditions. Although the fantastic color photographs are the highlight of this magnificnet book, the text is equally as good and highly informative. Little known tidbits abound. Take for example the centuies old technique of hanging cactus upside down to attract cochineal bugs. The bugs are then crushed to extract a wonderful red dye for wool rugs. Nothing is wasted, the bugs are sun dried or toasted on a griddle and mixed with lime after being crushed to a powder. The 21 chapters cover all aspects of Mexican life and each deserves the utmost attention since the detail given to each is exquisite. Nearly half of the chapters are dedicated to some aspect of the home, whether the garden, renovated haciendas or charming homes away from home for the traveler, the peeks into the places of rest are magnificent. The section featuring four artists homes is fabulous. There is one particular chapter that I love most, it is simply entitled wood. Here one will find marvelous wood creations, including masks and furniture as well as the famous wood carvers from Oaxaca, who create whimsical, colorful animals that defy conventional conceptions. There are other places to find wood creations as they are featured throughout the book in one form or another. This book demands to viewed over and over. This is one not to be shelved but to be kept handy for reference or inspiration. I would highly recommened this book to anyone who loves the old world culture that is Mexico. It is one of my favorite books that I cherish, a special gift that I view often, colorful memories rekindled and brought to life again and again.

Back in the mid 1980s, about the time Tony Cohan and his wife discovered San Miguel de Allende, my wife and I spent six weeks driving through Mexico, becoming enthralled with this land and it's cultures. Since then we have often thought of uprooting and heading south of the border.

Our trip didn't take us to San Miguel, though we spent lot of time in nearby Guanajuato and Queretero and other cities of the central highlands. It has never been hard for me to summon an imaginary San Miguel. So when I saw this book I snatched it up. The cover art looks like so many of my photographs from Mexico...

...And I was sucked into Tony Cohan's fabulous writing. I finished the book in three evenings, while nonetheless feeling as though I were languishing in the "sabor" of every paragraph. Cohan's book is not an artsy-fartsy travelogue about San Miguel de Allende. It is a wonderful journal of a life he and his wife have undertaken together.

While there is little doubt that the sounds, smells, flavors of classic Mexico richly permeate every page of this book, it is true, too, that the book could have been about a small town in Piedmont Virginia, or the south of France, or anywhere that the frantic and grasping and ultra-"productive" life has not yet conquered all.

This book is truly inspriring, and beautifully written. It is just what I needed to remind me to pay attention to life all around me, to love and sensation and contemplation and cockroaches and scorpions and dying vines...

Thanks, Mr. Cohan, for letting us into your sojourn. Don't worry...I won't run to St.Miguel and accelerate the gentrification. Instead, I'll look around my home and my yard and my neighbohood and be greatful for my own San Miguel...and for your fine book.

All in all, "On Mexican Time" is a pretty good read if you want to find out a little about living in Mexico and the people (both natives and imports) that you will encounter there.

In their fifteen years in San Miguel de Allende Tony and Masako gain a pretty good appreciation for the Mexican way of life. I'm not saying they adopted that way of life because, from beginning to end, they both remained very much norteamericanos (Spanish PC for gringo). I, too, have lived in Mexico and I believe that those of us born north of the border will never fully understand all the elements that make up the Mexican psyche, and visa versa. Who we are, as a culture, is a concatenation of centuries of historical, theological and sociological factors. It is unlikely that any of us can fully understand why another culture acts the way it does.

Nevertheless, Cohan aptly portrays the 'sabor' of 'la vida mexicana'. His descriptions of the joys and sorrows of the Mexican nationals and the quirky behavior of the expatriates bring clearly to mind many people I have known. While I haven't been to San Miguel de Allende his description of the city; its streets, shops, festivals and homes, is a very accurate portrayal of many other cities in Mexico.

On the down side, he could have done with a lot less about all their shopping. If I read the words 'plaid bolsa' one more time it will be too many. While some description of the differences between our two cultures is in order, I feel like I've just read his entire grocery list for the past 15 years.

Being the armchair traveler that I am, and the fact that my husband would rather visit Mexico more than any other spot on Earth, I picked up this book to read why we gringos north of the border are so fascinated with life south of the border. I was not disappointed. Mr. Cohan describes the good along with the not-so-good, the people, the culture, the climate, and the richness of life that one can enjoy when one steps out of the materialistic and secular rat race of life in the States. This book makes me want to learn Spanish, sell my house, and move to San Miguel de Allende!