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Title: First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century
ISBN: 1594489890
Author:
David Lida
Publicate Date: 2008-06-12
Publish: 2008-06-12
List Price: $25.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.30
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $8.23
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.13
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A Candid Portrayal of the U.S.'s Neighbor to the South
I hope David Lida's book is the beginning of a new genre of literature about Mexico and other Latin American countries. For too long, the perception of Mexico in the U.S. has been shaped by news reports of crime and corruption. While conceding that these and other problems exist, Lida argues that the U.S. media's depiction of the country is sometimes "exaggerated and poorly researched."
Lida's main message is that the rich cultural elements of Mexico City make it a rewarding place to live for those who are willing to brave its many complications. In making his case, Lida does not down play the city's problems. Rather, he brings them into sharp focus. In doing so, he effectively conveys why Mexico City would be an interesting place to live or visit.
More than a "travel book", First Stop in the New World offers insights into the very character of Mexico City residents.
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2: viva la vida
If you want to know how a city of 26 million people and 600 square miles functions and how the people deal with all the excitment and craziness this is the book for you. Mr. Lida makes no apologies for and tells it like it is for a city that cannot be ignored.
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3: Want to know the real Mexico City?
Then you'll want to read this book
Mr. Lida describes the traditional tourist spots but he also shows us a Mexico City that few of us will ever visit. He introduces us to some intersting people we would never meet otherwise.
He describes different sections of the city, and in doing so took me back to some of the wonderful times I have spent there in the past.
And for those of us who are planning to visit this amazing city soon, Lida provides us with plenty of places to visit. I am looking forward to seeing the bakery first.
He may not be the first person to move to a different country, but I applaud his courage to live in such a complicated city and show us all, with great style and respect, what it is really like.
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4: A mix of great articles and tedious fluff
The book is a must read for anyone interested in Mexico City. There are indeed a number of great articles which not only present colorful vignettes of Mexico City but also provide a context that presents them in their historical and cultural place. (e.g. the Moneda street markets in the context of the tianguis tradition and how it's succumb to he mega stores). But there are also quite a few chapters that seem half-written and aimless. The book is good but it could have used an editor, a few more good articles, or both.
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5: Read this book, join the 16th to the 21st centuries
Like other reviewers I love Mexico City and I am constantly asked, by friends trembling in fear, why I am going to the DF "again" and why I'm not terrified to go there.
From now on, I'm going to make them buy Lida's book and read it. He can say it better than I ever will. Then if they want to talk to me about Mexico City, we'll have some reality to talk about. Reading this book, I was deliriously happy. Lida gets it about Mexico City. His writing is clear, straight-ahead, and evocative. He offers a sense that rings true of life in the great, enlivening and fabulously weird and wonderful metropolis and especially the citizens of a city where you can find pyramids in someone's yard, and where my neighbors greet my xoloitzcuintli dog and then whisper to me (so the dog can't hear) "We used to eat them."
There is so much bad writing about Mexico, way too many misconceptions, and far too much narrow reporting of events and people who are at the extremes - movie stars, assassins, cartels, and Mexicans crossing the line into the lost (stolen?) provinces of California and Arizona. Lida tells us what the vast majority of defe??os do and think and say. And eat.
Get this book, read it and join Lida in the 21st century.
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