This is the ultimate authentic Mexican food cookbook. Not only are the recipes easy to follow they also have wonderful, enticing pictures and a rich history of which part of Mexico the recipe comes from and how many dishes originated. It has recipes from sauces and snacks to drinks, deserts, and holiday specialties. This cookbook has wonderful hard to find recipes and includes many basic recipes in addition to the many specialty dishes. If you can only afford one Mexican cookbook or only have space for one - this is the cookbook to choose. I use it all year round and it is my favorite cookbook.

Forget the Beautiful Cookbooks... this (much too-)short series from Thunder Bay publishers -- one Mexican, one Italian, and one Chinese book -- is the best of the genre. It is at least as attractive as the Beautiful Cookbook series, and comprises a far more serious study of ethnic cooking. It concedes not one inch to Western kitchens at the expense of its authenticity (and for that reason may not alway be practical, but I don't care), and includes many abundant and enlightening discussions of the customary use of ingredients and traditional recipes. I like cookbooks -- I own a lot, and I read them a lot. These three are my most prized. I suppose this is partially because they are now out of print, which is a great shame; the series ended after only three entries. It would have been great to see what they could do with some other venerable cuisines like, say, French and Indian. The ones that do exist, however, are real food-lovers books.

This is one of the very best cookbooks I have ever discovered! It is as much an enclycopedia as a cookbook - offering much information on unfamiliar ingredients, utensils and techniques. I have learned more about Mexican cooking with this book than with any other. The recipes are authentic - some seem exactly as I have tasted in Mexico. The photos and layout are very attractive and easy to read. Would recommend this cook book to anyone who really wants to learn about Mexican cooking.

A major portion of this volume is "Sketches and Verses" - 16 sketches pair with a verse and a final poem. These sketches are primarily of childhood as remembered by an adult. The author has an excellent sense of detail; however, the sketches show the sensibility of a short-story author more than of a poet. The verses have only a loose relationship to the sketch they accompany. Unfortunately most of them are mediocre e.g. "My bits of grief hide themselves / in the depths of my soul. / They are so numerous, so small, / they hardly bother me." Here and there one finds a delight "The rain prayed/ its prayer of dawn" / shelling / the tiny beads / from the white rosary. / And I gathered them up / in my hands, / and also prayer / with the rain / my prayer of dawn." But even these enjoyable gems are at best semi-precious stones.

This is worth reading to improve your Spanish as it is reasonably easy reading. It is worth reading if you are interested in the generation of 1927. It's worth reading if you are interested in poetry written by Spanish females. Otherwise, it's a matter of taste. It is clear that the translator likes the poetry more than I; you may too.