Review of First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century (Hardcover)

Ever motivated by his affection for Mexico City, David Lida presents First Stop in the New World, about the people and places that have shaped his own conclusion on what it means to live in the labyrinth that is el Distrito Federal. First Stop is written in the style you would expect from someone with years of experience in journalism, with a witty and authentic voice that can inform us about Mexico City like any lifelong capitalino, and still remain refreshingly apolitical.He is not afraid of clarifying the truth behind the "Wal-mart next door to the Pyramids" rumor, or the exaggeration of the frequency of kidnappings. Want to know the truth behind these two sensational stories? Read this book to find out.

Lida's literary style comes through his investigative narrative, (and evokes his other career as a short story writer), filled with characters that are fodder for stories in their own right, as he admits. He recounts details as varied as Mexico City herself - how the the culture drives the sexuality of the inhabitants; how the city inspires ingenious ways for people to become entrepreneurs; and how the urban landscape even affects what people eat and how they eat. Lida is clearly in love with the city he calls home, and like a passionate lover, the City can sometimes hurt the one who loves her: readers will be jarred by Lida's composed, calm testimony about his ordeal as a victim of an "express kidnapping". It would have been easy for anyone to write about this with certain bitterness, but Lida did not let this experience keep him away from el D.F.

As a chilangofile myself, I am happy to find that as joyously overwhelming as Mexico City is, Lida's book is not improvised like the very lives and urban sprawl he writes about; it is carefully composed with ringside accounts of someone who has been there, and stayed to tell the stories, without the insular judgment of an infrequent tourist "surviving among the natives." The book reads less like generic publications on Mexico and closer to literary journalism, which makes First Stop in the New World a book worth reading multiple times, both for its smooth prose and the startling metropolis it chronicles.


Product Description
A panoramic literary portrait of Mexico City- a vibrant, seductive, paradoxical city now commanding the world's attention and showing us the way to the future of urban life.

David Lida moved to Mexico City fifteen years ago in search of a kind of culture, energy, and spontaneity that he thought had been lost in his native New York City. What he found was a thriving, miraculous urban center comprising centuries of living history, even as its rapid development was making it a prominent force on the world stage. Through the eyes of an American who has become an insider, First Stop in the New World is a street-level panorama of contemporary Mexico City-from the high arts to the sex industry; from the dense jungle of urban politics to the interactions of everyday commerce; from one end of this five-hundred-square-mile city to the other. Lida expertly captures the kaleidoscopic nature of life in a city defined by pleasure and danger, justice and lawlessness, ecstatic joy and appalling tragedy-in limbo between the developed and developing worlds.

While London and Paris have become more homogenous, less captivating, and less surprising since the days when Dickens and Balzac wrote about them, Mexico City points to our urban future-if Manhattan was, as posited by Rem Koolhaas, the urban 'Rosetta Stone of the twentieth century,' Mexico City will play that same role in the twenty-first. And with his personal, literary-journalistic account, David Lida will serve as the ultimate chronicler of this exciting city at a vital moment in its history.

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Review of Bowling Across America: 50 States in Rented Shoes (Hardcover)

This is the true story of a man who does what many in their late 20's always dream about, wander with a purpose.The author is a man in his late 20s, several years into the grind of life, who experiences the death of his father.This leads him to analyze his own life and is the catalyst for an adventure his father first started but was interrupted by life (work, family etc.)Walsh's dry wit and insights keeps the narrative moving along and is what separates this from a standard tale of a "quarter life crisis."I laughed out loud on a dozen different occasions.

"Bowling..." does a wonderful job capturing the angst, dilemmas and sources of happiness that is so typical of that segment of life.Walsh does a masterful job weaving in past experiences into the present that paints a wonderful self-portrait and offers the reader ample opportunity to relate.Scattered throughout are some wonderful insights on bowling, life, family and relationships.This is a great read.




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Review of Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar (Hardcover)

I assume everyone reading this is familiar with Theroux's latest premise, to retrace the trail he took over thirty years ago when he wrote "The Great Railway Bazaar."

His latest is classic Theroux - observant, infinitely inquisitive (almost nosy), insatiably curious. Few can afford the time, money or emotional strain it would take to complete a journey like this. Consequently, it's wonderful to have a traveler (the author's familiar reference to himself) of this caliber to do it for us. Mostly by land from London, through Eastern Europe, the Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Japan and home across Russia. I, for one, don't know how he manages to leave his loving wife for that long.

Some have called the author a misanthrope. I don't think that at all. One particular act, which I won't spoil by revealing, distinguishes the man from your average humanity-hater. I appreciated how he usually searched out the oldest rickshaw-wallahs and taxi drivers, people his age who haven't been as fortunate.

I take his observations of annoying people as part of the landscape of a trip of this magnitude. It was inevitable that he'd come across slovenly, boorish, clueless tourists that deservedly reaped the wrath of his rapier wit. I particularly enjoy Theroux's slicing and dicing of holier-than-thou missionaries. When he begins a description of someone he runs into with sly, almost vicious adjectives, look out. You know the game is about to begin.

I share a lot of the author's opinions, especially when he compares lawyers to prostitutes and expresses nothing but disdain for weak-handed politicians and substance-less celebrities. He seems to explore an inordinate number of sex trade sites around the world, shining the light of day on the cockroaches that reap profits from the suffering of others. As a single Western man, I suppose he's bound to be a target for the profiteers trying to separate him from his money. For those of us curious about how such things work in these far-off places, thankfully we have Theroux to describe them for us. Look out, Japan! Your weird fascination with school girls and French maids has been captured in print by one of the best travel writers in the biz!

Theroux seems to reserve special animosity for Singapore. Despite the city-state's facade of prosperity and glamor, wrapped in a mantle of super-security, the author manages to delve below the surface and reveal that here too there is an underworld, seedy sex trade and community of low-life individuals who deal in flesh, including that of the very young. It seems that Theroux is accomplishing a bit of payback here - as he was sacked from a teaching job there way back in the 1960s. From what I can tell, the despotic prime minister and all the mealy-mouthed underlings deserve everything they get.

Paul doesn't seem to hold back on descriptions of people he meets, including some famous writers. I often wonder what they think when they read what he has written about them. He is a bit of a name dropper, managing to rub elbows and spend time with some of today's most famous authors, including Orhan Pamuk, Sir Arthur Clarke and Murakami Haruki, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla. Oh, well. At least we get a bit of insight as to what they're like. I'll never get to talk to them so I'm glad he did. I admit that some I'd never heard of before reading the book so the author has provided another service - to broaden horizons.

I've been to many of the places Theroux describes (Eastern Europe, India,Burma, Southeast Asia, Russia) and it's interesting to read his take on things. He has a habit of looking at places differently, describing and visiting little known sights that, though I was there, never got to. I suppose that's another of his differences between tourists and travelers.

In summary, I'd very highly recommend "Ghost Train." It reveals more of the author than anything he's written thus far; mulling regrets about past mistakes and the inevitable disasters we are all confronted with at some point in life. His sentimental journey, like "Dark Star Safari," allows the reader to understand a lot about why he is the way he is - and where he's coming from.



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Review of Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story (Paperback)

I'm not a person who generally reads armchair travel books. For the most part, I stick to fiction. But when my sister handed me this book and I started reading it (on the train, I was *really* bored), I just couldn't put it down!
Unlikely Destinations is more than just a travel story, although the places the Wheelers have been, how they got where they were going and what they've seen & experienced are incredibly thrilling in and of themselves. But this is also a love story between two people and between a married couple and travel, and eventually, a family of four and travel. It's a business adventure and cautionary tale, about starting your own business from nothing and turning it into a multi-million dollar company, despite or perhaps because of the many bumps encountered along the way. This is not a story about an overnight phenomenon, but rather it's about how much dedication, hard work, sacrifice and yes, love, it takes to follow the road less traveled.
I had a few minor gripes with the book, but nothing too serious. I would really have liked to have more of the story told by Maureen, and there were a few sections I felt like Tony was glossing over too much, but over all, this book just grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go until I finished the last page. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!



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Review of In a Sunburned Country (Paperback)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Bill.As a proud Australian, it has been a never-ending source of irritation that Australia is forever portrayed as a land of beer-swilling "yobbos" who say "cobber" and"fair dinkum" rather a lot.For instance, 'The Simpsons' -usually such a witty, clever and insightful show - completely missed thepoint in their Australian episode.Finally, someone has managed to capturea bit of the character of this great country.He releases it from theshackles of the Paul Hogan stereotype.

This is a terrific read.Brysonhas, mercifully, gone well and truly off the beaten track to explore manydifferent parts of Australia - the cities, the outback, the tropics, andeverything else in between.But as ever with a Bill Bryson book, more thanthe destination itself, the pleasure is in getting there.Laugh-out-loudmoments abound, though perhaps more in the restrained way of "A Walkin the Woods", as opposed to the guffaw-fest that is "NeitherHere Nor There".

You don't have to be at all familiar with Australiato appreciate and enjoy this book.I am, sadly, one of those Australiansto which Bryson refers that has never seen Ayers Rock / Uluru myself.Infact, I have never been to the majority of places Bryson visits.It was arevelation for me, too.

Bryson once again recounts numerous historicaland trivial anecdotes which, together with his unique view of the world,elevate this book well above the mere travel genre.This is insightful,this is informative, this is FUNNY.

Perversely, my only criticism isperhaps that he likes Australia a little too much.God knows, I'm sopleased that he does.However, he is, I believe, at his best whendistressed.Dull and drab places, and stupid, mindless people bring outthe devil in Bill Bryson, and have always proven to be useful comic fair. There are elements of that here - his body boarding experience, his viewson Canberra, and his trials and tribulations with hotel receptionists inDarwin - but at the end of the day, opportunities to vent his sarcastic witare somewhat limited.

Being an enthusiastic and devoted fan of the greatStephen Katz, I would also have loved to have seen him deal with thehardships of outback Australia.He would have absolutely LOATHEDit.

Read this book.It is a treat.



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