pt. 1: The urban core. City of life, city of death -- Where the past is not forgotten. -- pt. 2: All roads lead north. Elusive dreams -- The Baja aberration -- Down the mountains to the sea. -- pt. 3: The tortured south. Where trees once grew -- Too soon for some, too late for many -- A complicated dream -- Land of the Mayas.

Today's Mexico is presented through the experiences, opinions and adventures of hundreds of Mexicans from all walks of life: not politics, nor statistics, but the personality of a nation grafted onto deep, indigenous roots by a European invader that still was entwined in feudal customs and superstitions. This narration takes readers through Mexico City, through its suburbs rich and poor, into its ceremonies--Christian and pre-Christian--and on journeys with reformers, rebels, manipulators, workers. It unravels "The Imaginary State of Petroleo," explores the landed estates of northeastern Mexico and the deserts where ancient cave paintings mark lost cultures and where drug dealers have hidden landing strips. From Tarahumara villages in the northwest through Tijuana and life on the US-Mexican border, and from Baja and the cultivated coastal plains to the changing rhythms of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Yucatan, Stout brings Mexico to life.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.