Product Description
Explores the ceramic traditions of the largest pre-Columbian civilization in northern Mexico (near present-day Chihuahua) with one of the most accomplished ceramic traditions in the Southwest. Leading archaeologists discuss the bold geometric polychrome vessels, representational and effigy pots that collectively display a spectacular ceramic artistry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Just what I was looking for
The book has enough background info to put the pottery and ruins in perspective.It is a perfect travelling companion if you are going to Mata Ortiz or Casas Grandes.The book arrived promptly and in great shape.Good book, great service. ... Read more

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More than half of all Americans believe UFOs and aliensexist. How did extraterrestrials come to be so real for so many? TobySmith tracks down our fascination with extraterrestrials, showing howRoswell became the fiber out of which all flying saucer and alienstories were woven in science fiction films and television programs,especially in the late 1940s and the 1950s.It all began outsideRoswell on a July night in 1947. A nearby military bases officialannouncement of the recovery of a crashed flying saucer went out toradio stations and newspapers nationwideincluding The New YorkTimes. The militarys quick retraction came too late. Thegovernment had already said extraterrestrials existed.

Today visitors are taken to the crash site in a vehicle with licenseplates reading Believe. And believe people do. But why?Statements ofbelief in extraterrestrials from such diverse and noteworthy people asGeneral Douglas MacArthur, Carl Jung, and Elvis Presley firmly fixedthe place of aliens in modern American culture.

Smith not only examines movies and the media to understand theprominence of aliens in our contemporary culture, he also shows howNew Mexico and Wright Field in Ohio, where the bodies of the alienswere reportedly taken, remain particularly fertile spawning groundsfor UFO stories. Once extraterrestrial visitors landed (or didntland) in Roswell, the notion were not alone in the universequickly became part of American popular culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Rushton is Wrong
I'm afraid Teddy Rushton is a little misleading with his review. He either doesn't read much, saying this was one of the most disappointing books he's read, or the author ran over his dog. I don't get it. To say that this book was pasted from internet information is absurd. This book is original from beginning to end. Little Gray Men isn't a history lesson about the Roswell incident, it is a look at the Alien culture that came after the supposed landing. I don't think Rushton got it. I'm not sure what Rushton has against New Mexico either. I've been there as well and think it is a very pretty state. I wasn't robbled or held up. Did he get a hangnail, a nosebleed? We don't know, but his personal attact on this author is not justified nor is the grade he gives this book. I found Little Gray Men comical and highly entertaining. Smith's look at the pop culture that has been created from the alien invasion of America is observant. I'd like to know when Rushton will be back in New Mexico, so I can meet him there and show him to a bookstore.

Ros-well Done
Believe, baby. Believe that the key event in all history happened on July 4 (or maybe July 5; sources disagree), 1947, and that most homo sapiens still don't know about it. Screaming from night skies outside of Roswell fell ... something. A UFO, stated an early radio report, man's first contact with extra-terrestrials. And our own government has stashed the bodies, deduced Those Who Believe.

So began Roswell's auspicious ascent to synonymy with a UFO obsession that would color conspiracies and entertainment for the remainder of the century. From the so-called Roswell Incident, too, Toby Smith's Little Gray Men takes off (hee hee) on a frequently funny pastiche of New Mexico's oddest socio-phenomenon.

Smith displays a Roswell known and unknown -- how many of the attendees at 50th Anniversary bash Encounter '97 had ever heard of formerly neighboring town Blackdom? -- on his tour through a pop culture mecca's half-century. Personalities haunt these pages with rocketeer Robert Goddard, sci-fi scribe Jack Williamson and golfer Nancy Lopez rubbing shoulders with nonplussed, bumper sticker-hawking locals. And even Governor "Toke" Johnson makes a cameo to state he knows what happened, but ain't tellin'.

Mr. Smith amuses throughout, admirably tracing public consciousness of Roswell from New Yorker cartoons to incessant "X-Files" subplots (subtract a few points, though, for omitting mention of a certain Chevy Malibu in the classic flick Repo Man). Over-embellishment is sometimes problematic, but wackiness definitely predominates.

And the Incident? That's easy: experimental military technology; nothing more, nothing less. Obviously.

A dull gray book
This is one of the most disappointing books I have read in years;Smith's problem seems to be that he was fascinated by space movies as a 10-year-old and has never gotten beyond that stage.

The book reads as if it wasa cut-and-paste Internet collection of everything imaginable that mightrelate to the so-called "Roswell Incident"--supposedly the crash of aflying saucer near Roswell in 1947--compiled with a studious avoidanceof anything serious, plus at least an occasional inexactitude with facts. One of the simplest facts he ignores is the US Air Force funding of "flyingsaucer" research in the 1950's;think of it, a 199-page book that totallyignores the only known research done on the feasibility of building andflying a genuine flying saucer.

Let's face it.New Mexico is one ofthe poorest states (I lived there off and on since 1967, as recently as1996), with some of the lowest education standards in the nation. Albuquerque, where Smith is based, has one of the nation's highest crimerates--the city has declined precipitously since the 1960's.You don'tsee states at the top of the economic and social scale claiming to see"flying saucers" that are driven by kind-hearted ambassadors who willrescue us earthlings from our folly.Like the `cargo cults' in the SouthPacific after World War II, such miraculous interventions are the productof a superstitious culture without much hope for improvement.

Roswell is in "Little Texas," not quite in the oil-patch but close enoughto be infected.Except for the political boundary, it's more Texas inattitude than New Mexico.Smith misses this primary element of the Roswellarea, and in general ignores the mystical "New Age" atmosphere of NewMexico.It's his major fault--the book doesn't have a specific focus. It wanders from topic to topic like a bored TV viewer with 500 channels towatch, never stopping long enough to understand anything.

It's ashame.Smith tackled one of the most interesting situations in New Mexico,and turned it into utter boredom.Roswell, the `little gray men," flyingsaucers and the nature of government coverups deserve much better. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Very Interesting Read on Pawnshops
This book gives the reader great insight into Mexico, and specifically how pawnshops and pawnbrokers allowed for woman and families to have credit.I would recommend this book to anyone studying Latin America. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on May 23, 2001. The length of the article is 932 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: La ventana indiscreta: Cultura y Política con Humor.(México)(TT: Indiscrete window: culture and politics with humor.)(TA: Mexico)
Author: René Avilés Fabila
Publication: Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: May 23, 2001
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: 47Issue: 2501Page: 68

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Learn what you need to know to conduct successful business in Mexico!

This book is a primer on all aspects of doing business in Mexico, with practical examples that illustrate the risks and benefits of Mexican business operations. It provides the basic knowledge that all prospective investors and entrepreneurs in Mexico need, especially in the light of NAFTA. One of the authors is the former CEO and chairman of a multinational, multi-billion dollar company headquartered in Mexico City; the other is a CPA and consultant with small-to-medium-sized firms.

Doing Business in Mexico: A Practical Guide provides you with comprehensive, basic knowledge of the pros and cons of establishing a business in Mexico, NAFTA and its implications for businesses, and much more.

This single volume gives you what you need to know about:

• the maquila industry--what it is and how NAFTA affects it
  
• information about taxes, labor law, and accounting differences between Mexico and the United States
  
• basic considerations in beginning a Mexican operation
  
• import/export requirements
  
• foreign currency exposure
  
• United States tax laws applicable to citizens living abroad

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The changing practices and meanings of Catholicism in Bourbon Mexico are the subject of this study, based on research in the last wills and testaments of the faithful of Mexico City as well as contemporary devotional literature and ecclesiastical documentation. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, baroque Catholicism, with its exuberant ornamentation of sacred space and lavish rituals, dominated both ecclesiastical and lay religious practice in New Spain. During the second half of the eighteenth century, a group of reforming bishops attempted to remake religious culture, to move the faithful away from baroque Catholicism to a simpler, and in their minds, more interior piety. The reform movement distanced God from the physical world as reformers sought to redefine the balance in Catholic religious practice to emphasize pious contemplation over ritual action.

Larkin examines baroque Catholicism, the project to reform religious culture in Mexico, and the new pious practices that reformers and the faithful negotiated as the colonial period moved toward a close. He argues that baroque and reformed Catholicism rested on different understandings of the very nature of God. Baroque Catholicism privileged a corporeal conception of God; whereas reformed piety promoted a more spiritual one. Religious reform, he argues, coincided with secular reforming projects, all of which participated in and influenced new forms of epistemology and subjectivity that established the conditions for the contested beginnings of the modern era in eighteenth-century Mexico. ... Read more

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Children discover and explore the rich heritage of ancient cultures around the world through fascinating myths, legends, festivals, and stories of the culture. Detailed maps and vivid illustrations show how various people lived and what they accomplished. Each book in this popular series contains five easy-to-do art projects- complete with unique punch-out stencils for making many of the traditional arts and crafts still produced today. Ages 8+ ... Read more

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The Ute tribes whose arts and culture are the focus of this handsome book are mountain people centered in Colorado with territory extending into New Mexico and Utah. The essays collected here are contributed by Ute cultural leaders and by other scholars. They reveal the richness of Ute material culture, heretofore almost unknown, in groundbreaking studies of Ute prehistory, history, world view, culture, and art. The book is illustrated with color photographs of 139 historic artifacts and over 40 contemporary works, as well as numerous historic photographs of Ute life.

Ute Indian Arts & Culture accompanies an exhibition that is the culmination of a seven-year project that included an inventory of approximately 2,000 objects of Ute origin or attribution found in more than twenty museums around the United States. The project goal is to make Ute Indian history and culture better known to the public at large and to take a first step toward identifying Ute art forms, which have not previously been clearly distinguished in the literature or in museum collections. Another goal has been to make available to a younger generation of Utes visual and written information about their heritage. ... Read more

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Tradiciones Nuevomexicanas is the first comprehensive overview of the folk arts of New Mexico from the sixteenth century to the present. Both religious and secular art are covered, and the author discusses festivals, music, and dance; theater, poetry, and storytelling; and foodways and the healing arts. The book begins with a useful overview of New Mexico’s history and includes specialized chronologies, glossaries, bibliographies, videographies, discographies, and a list of recommended readings. Drawing on the expertise of dozens of noted scholars, recognized experts, and living artists, it distills the scholarly works and detailed studies found in monographs and single-subject books to create a narrative that is accessible to the general reader.

In a state where the Nuevomexicano culture is under pressure to survive, especially in urban areas, readers will find this book critical in promoting pride and understanding in one’s heritage among Nuevomexicano readers, and in promoting intercultural understanding and tolerance among non-Hispano readers. No student, scholar, or collector of the folk art for which New Mexico is known can do without this essential book. ... Read more

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Is popular culture merely a process of creating, marketing, and consuming a final product, or is it an expression of the artist's surroundings and an attempt to alter them? Noted Argentine/Mexican anthropologist Néstor García Canclini addresses these questions and more in Transforming Modernity, a translation of Las culturas populares en el capitalismo. Based on fieldwork among the Purépecha of Michoacán, Mexico, some of the most talented artisans of the New World, the book is not so much a work of ethnography as of philosophy--a cultural critique of modernism. García Canclini delineates three interpretations of popular culture: spontaneous creation, which posits that artistic expression is the realization of beauty and knowledge; "memory for sale," which holds that original products are created for sale in the imposed capitalist system; and the tourist outlook, whereby collectibles are created to justify development and to provide insight into what capitalism has achieved. Transforming Modernity argues strongly for popular culture as an instrument of understanding, reproducing, and transforming the social system in order to elaborate and construct class hegemony and to reflect the unequal appropriation and distribution of cultural capital. With its wide scope, this book should appeal to readers within and well beyond anthropology--those interested in cultural theory, social thought, and Mesoamerican culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Utterly Fascinating
"Transfoming Modernity" tells the story of the popularization of Mexican culture and crafts.He shows how the desires and tastes of tourists have homogenized traditional Mexican crafts into the few forms favored by tourists (like those associated with death and skulls).He also talks of the folklorization of festivals.Festivals ostensibly in honor of saints have become huge tourist attractions, which have lead to their mutation into little more than a market to sell goods.Very, very interesting and theoretical look at how the global affects the local, and at culture change...something people often talk about but never demonstrate this effectively. ... Read more

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"Ancient Mexico" traces the development of the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mayas, and Aztecs who left testimony to their remarkable cultures in the form of great architectural complexes, sculptures, ceramics, and jewelry, as well as complex written records that have only recently begun to reveal their secrets. 415 color illustrations. 2 gatefolds. 14 color archaeological reconstructions.Amazon.com Review
First-rate color photography makes this look at the culturesof pre-Columbian Mesoamerica a valuable addition to any art lover'slibrary collection. Among the civilizations represented in nearly 450illustrations are the Maya, the Aztecs, and the Toltecs. Readers willlearn not only about the mighty pyramids of Tenochtitlan and Cacaxtla,the Temple of the Paintings at Bonampak, and the ball courts of ElTajin, but about smaller ceramic vessels, jade figurines, and otherceremonial objects. Although the text does acknowledge thenear-complete destruction of these vibrant cultures by Spanishconquistadors, the majority of its contents are devoted to celebratingwhat the Mesoamericans did accomplish--and what has been preserved forus to remember those accomplishments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Nice oversize catalog of Mesoamerican art and culture, with problems: 3.7 stars
This oversize coffee-table book has beautifully reproduced, well-chosen photographs, but significant drawbacks.

Pluses:
* Excellent photos of iconic objects
* Good cross-section of prehispanic Mesoamerican artwork/artifacts
* Nice feature articles on many major archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras

Neutral:
* Average-quality text (translated from Italian)

Negatives:
* No decent overall map of the area
* Maps of cultures are so general as to be almost useless

So, this shouldn't be your only guide to prehispanic Mesoamerican history. But the high quality of the photos makes it worthwhile if you find an inexpensive copy. I haven't seen the recent B&N reprint.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

An exhaustive pictoral tour of the areas mesoamerican ruins
BEAUTIFUL enormous glossy full-color photos that do more justice to the Mexican ruins than any other book I have EVER SEEN!!I love this book SO MUCH that, since I couldn't afford to BUY it, I went in to the bookstore about once every month or 2 for a YEAR AND A HALF to visit it, pore over it and covet it until a friend took pity on me and bought it for me as a gift!I have BEEN to several of the ruins pictured here, and they are MASTERFULLY captured in the photographs.The author even includes some of the little, lesser-known sites, such as Dzibilchaltun, especially dear to me as my Mexican host family took me there on a family day outing!!This book is just AWESOME!!!

A gorgeous book of ancient cultures
This book is packed with information and color photographs of the ancient cultures of Mexico, from the Olmecs to the Zapotecs to the Mayas to the Aztecs. The author even includes sections on the lesser known and understood cultures of Western Mexico.With a fold-out time line and detailed maps of the most famous archaeological sites, this book gives a good overview of the history of these cultures - and then hones in on specifics such as dress, burial customs, religion, war, and games.Extensive attention is also given to the major cities representing these peoples.With color photographs on nearly every page, this is a gorgeous addition to any library. As a reference book, or even as a coffee table book to browse through occasionally, ANCIENT MEXICO can't be beat.

Not for archaeology buffs only!
This book takes the reader thorough the history of pre-columbian mesoamerica, the daily life of the people and then tours a number of important archaeological sites in Mexico and nearby countries.It includes wonderful photos of amazing artifacts decorative pieces, ceramics and jeewlry and the archaeological sites.It is a stunning book and serves to emphasize the colossal loss the Americas sustained with the conquest.If you've been to Mexico and love it, this book is a nice memento.If you havn't, this will make you want to go. ... Read more

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Known today for colourful, decorative yarn paintings renowned in the global art market, the indigenous Huichols of western Mexico have retained their unique culture and arts, creating traditional art and practising ancient rituals that predate Spanish contact. The origins of modern Huichol art are found in the early religious arts that form the outstanding collection of Robert M Zingg, the first American anthropologist to conduct extended fieldwork among the Huichol (1934-1935). Drawing from the Zingg collection housed at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, this extensive volume features a vast array of Huichol art including textiles, prayer arrows, richly decorated votive gourd bowls, featherwork, and beaded jewellery. Accompanying essays by noted Huichol scholars including C Jill Grady, Peter T Furst and Hope MacLean, explore the anthropological history of the Huichol and the themes of their unique cultural arts. Also included are rare field photographs taken by Zingg, documenting the annual ceremonial and agricultural cycles and many of the collected objects in use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A great anthropology and art book
This is a really good coffee table type book for those interested in the natives of Mexico. The photos are amazing. The book is based upon the work of Robert Zingg in the 1930s and does an excellent job of showing aspects of the culture and art of the Huichols. I was particularly impressed with the side-by-side photos showing Zingg's black and white photos matched with current full color photos of approximatelythe same subject. The text is very well written and highly informative. I strongly recommend this book.

A beautiful full color collection of images and studies of Huichol art and culture
"Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World" is a beautiful full color collection of images and studies of Huichol art and culture from the extensive Zingg collection housed at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe. Including views of yarn paintings, textiles, prayer arrows, votive gourd bowls, feather work and beaded jewelry, as well as many sepia and black and white vintage field photographs of Huichol AmerIndians taken by Zingg and others, "Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World" is being released to coincide with a special exhibition to open at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on April 11, 2010. Both the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Laboratory of Anthropology, a related, older research institute, have collaborated to produce this beautiful volume documenting a remarkable collection. In addition to the editors, contributors include, Peter T. Furst, Stacy B. Schaefer, Hope MacLean, and Susanah Eger Valadez. A lengthy section of Notes, Glossary, Bibliography and Credits and Collection Information are accumulated at the end of the book along with further acknowledgments. Documented by stunning studio photography of the vast collection, "Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World" presents a fascinating window into the religious views and seasonal cycle celebrations of the Huichol, or Wixaritari AmerIndians of western Mexico.
... Read more

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From NAFTA to narcotics, from immigration to energy, the ties that bind our nation and Mexico are varied and strong. Mexico uncovers the real Mexico that lies behind the stereotypes of tacos, tequila, and tourist hotels. Compiled by leading scholars of Mexican history and society, its more than 150 entries examine the nation in all its fascinating contradictions and complexity. This concise yet thorough study, covering the last 100 years of Mexican history, is the only one volume, A–Z reference work available to students, scholars, and readers curious about one of the world's most diverse and dynamic societies.

What was the Mexican Revolution all about?Who are the Zapatistas?And why do Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Mexicans are America's largest immigrant group and Mexico is America's favorite tourist destination. Yet we need to learn more and understand better our fascinating neighbor to the south. Mexico—comprehensive and accessible—is the best place to start.

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In the aftermath of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, Mexican and U.S. political leaders, business executives, and ordinary citizens shaped modern Mexico by making industrial capitalism the key to upward mobility into the middle class, material prosperity, and a new form of democracy-consumer democracy. Julio Moreno describes how Mexico's industrial capitalism between 1920 and 1950 shaped the country's national identity, contributed to Mexico's emergence as a modern nation-state, and transformed U.S.-Mexican relations.

According to Moreno, government programs and incentives were central to legitimizing the postrevolutionary government as well as encouraging commercial growth. Moreover, Mexican nationalism and revolutionary rhetoric gave Mexicans the leverage to set the terms for U.S. businesses and diplomats anxious to court Mexico in the midst of the dual crises of the Great Depression and World War II. Diplomats like Nelson Rockefeller and corporations like Sears Roebuck achieved success by embracing Mexican culture in their marketing and diplomatic pitches, while those who disregarded Mexican traditions were slow to earn profits.

Moreno also reveals how the rapid growth of industrial capitalism, urban economic displacement, and unease caused by World War II and its aftermath unleashed feelings of spiritual and moral decay among Mexicans that led to an antimodernist backlash by the end of the 1940s. ... Read more

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In this political ethnography of the "marginalized" population of Netzahuacoyotl Izcalli, the fourth largest city in Mexico, Carlos Vlez-Ibaez shows that although marginalized groups seldom emerge the clear winners of political struggles, they gain a sense of autonomy and social power that can never be erased. ... Read more