This book is the most comprehensive guide to exhibitions and is, therefore, a must have for the traveler. The most important aspect of the book is its listings of the various touring exhibitions, both by state and by country. The book contains useful information including: addresses (both street and web site), telephone numbers, hours of operation, and cost of admissions. I buy a copy for myself every year, as well as, give a few as Christmas presents to my art-loving friends. What other travel book can you buy and be able to use it EVERYWHERE? Just this one!

I found this book excessively dry and too detailed. This is typical of British authors. Quite frankly, I simply cannot understand how any modern commentator on the mexican scene can do anything but condemn in the fullest manner the long, tremendously destructive rule of the PRI. The only thing you can give them credit for is the stability of the country during their rule. And the gains they claim to have made reminds me of the same claims you heard from communists a few years ago eg. Fidel Castro. The author nowhere in here condemns the rule of the PRI. Finding the bottom line to most chapters is difficult. It is , however , a good read for someone who is quite interested in the travails of modern mexico. But, you must have an eye for detail and a general sympathy with quasi-marxist-socialist third world governments to get through it. Mr. Riding was bureau chief of the NYT for six years in mexico and worked for the now Labour supporting Financial Times of London. In this book this shows.

I had to read this book as part of a foreign study program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It is a brilliant social history of the perception on the Mexican people. Our educational system is built around a brief New World history on top of an extensive European tradition; unfortunately the lands south of our borders generally aren't a part of our perception of history.

Alan Riding makes this very plain early on in the book; in the first paragraph, he states, "..nowhere in the world do two neighbors understand each other so little. More than by levels of development, [these] two countries are separated by language, religion, race, philosophy and history."

Perhaps Riding can summarize his own purpose best when he wrote that "the purpose of this book is to make Mexico more accessible to non-Mexicans. It is inspired not by a desire to expose the country's vulnerabilities, but by the belief that Mexico would be served if better understood by its northern neighbor."

If you're interested in putting Mexico in a perspective complimentary to your boiler-plate knowledge of world history, read this book. After you read it, your mind will begin to "look south" when examining issues close to home (especially if you live near the US-Mexican border).

I am surprised that people seem to be critical of Alan Riding's excellent work. The key here is an objectivity that is so seldom seen in this type of work. This is not a travel guide...it is a guide to understanding the differences that are real, profound, and do exist between two cultures. I was able to enjoy Riding's book as I purchased it shortly after moving to Mexico to work in 1993. It helped me so much that I have loaned copies (yes I have purchased more than one copy) and given them to visitors and other ex-pats working in Mexico. I am a Canadian citizen who is married to a Mexican citizen. This book has not only helped me understand Mexicans it has helped my marriage too! It is not Mr. Riding's place to critique or spew contempt for the PRI party, he merely provides the truth and lets the reader make up their mind. As far as Mexican people enjoying this book, I have passed it for review and commentary to Mexicans of all social classes and they all enjoyed the book and offered little in the way of unfavorable reviews. I have read Octavio Paz and the Labyrinth of Solitude and it is very introspective but very subjective. Riding may not be a poet, but he is also not a Mexican author who is subjectively speaking for an entire population. Alan Riding is a keen observer and he presents the facts! Read it and make up your own mind!