Bibliography for Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury

The regular print version of “Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury” (4th edition, Sombrero Books, 2013) contains a full bibliography, as below. (The ebook versions contain only a partial bibliography).

Alba-Vega, C. (editor) Chapala. Ecología y Planeación Regional. El Colegio de Jalisco, Guadalajara: 1990. The book has 49 interesting photographs, old and new.

Araña-Alvarez, R.M., and López-González, P. Mexcaltitán: Crónica de su Historia. INAH/Gobierno del Estado de Nayarit: 1989.

Arellano Ramírez, Javier. Los Aventureros de minas de Bolaños (Una empresa británica, 1826-1844). Universidad de Guadalajara.1982.

Arias-Ibarra, J.G. Jocotepec. Historia de un Pueblo. Guadalajara: 1988.

Artes de México. Zacatecas. New Series # 34. 1996. Includes an essay by Carlos Toro on the legend of the Bad Night and an interview with Federico Sescosse by Margarita de Orellana.

Bárcenas, A.R. “Geohistoria de una batalla.” pp. 77-82 in Geografía, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. INEGI. vol 1, No 1: 1986.

Barrett, S.C.H. “Waterweed Invasions.” Scientific American, October, 1989. pp. 66-73. Discusses biology of water hyacinth and the kariba weed.

Barrin, Kathleed (ed) Art of the Huichol Indians. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1978.

Bashford, G.M. Tourist Guide to Mexico. McGraw-Hill: 1954.

Benítez-Badillo, G. Arboles y Flores del Ajusco. Instituto de Ecología, Mexico DF: 1985. Clear color photographs, helpful identification drawings and brief descriptions of 122 flower and tree species found on Ajusco, a hill on the edge of Mexico City. Many of these species are common in Western Mexico. A well-produced but hard-to-find guide.

Bloomfield, K. “The age and significance of the Tenango basalt, Central Mexico” in Bulletin of Vulcanology No 37: 1975. pp 586-595.

Brading, David A. “La minera de plata en el siglo XVIII: el caso Bolaños”. Historia Mexicana. Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico. XVIII 3(71) 317-333. 1969

_________ Miners and Merchants in Bourbon Mexico, 1763–1810. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.

Bullard, F.M. “Resumen de la historia del volcán Paricutín, Michoacán, México.” Excursión A15 of the Congreso Internacional de Geología, Mexico DF: 1956.

Burton, Tony. Lake Chapala through the Ages: an anthology of travellers’ tales. Sombrero Books, Canada: 2008. History of the region, 1530–1910; insightful historical commentary accompanies brief extracts from fifty original sources.

Campbell, R. Campbell’s new revised complete guide and descriptive book of Mexico. Chicago: 1899. Almost as comprehensive as its title suggests. A delightful period piece.

Carlos, B. Tamazula de Gordiano ayer y hoy. 1990. The history of Tamazula.

Carrillo A., Rafael. Posada and Mexican Engraving. Panorama Editorial, Mexico D.F. 1980.

Clark, S. All the Best in Mexico. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York: 1944.

de Alba, Antonio. Chapala. Banco Industrial de Jalisco, Guadalajara: 1954. Diaz de León de Alba, Armando. Teatros de México. Banamex. 1992.

Escotto-Jiménez, J. Lago de Chapala. Gobierno de Jalisco: 1986. Short, summary account of basic facts and figures about Lake Chapala’s hydrological characteristics.

Evans, Sterling. Bound in Twine: The History and Ecology of the Henequen-Wheat Complex for Mexico and the American and Candian Plains, 1880-1950. Texas A&M University Press. 2007.

Fisher, C.T., Pollard, H.P., Israde-Alcántara, I, Garduño-Monroy, V.H., and Banerjee, S.K. 2003. A reexamination of human-induced environmental change within the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Michoacán, Mexico, in Proceedings National Academy of Science vol. 100 no. 8, 4957–4962

Flores-Diaz, J.A. Las erupciones del Volcán de Colima. Universidad de Guadalajara: 1987. A complete, concise and up to date account by one of Mexico’s new generation of vulcanologists.

Ford, N.D. Fabulous Mexico, Where Everything Costs Less. Harian Publications, New York: 1970. Includes details of relatively obscure but interesting places well off-the-beaten-track.

Franco, R. Calendario de festividades en Jalisco. 1985. 2 volumes. A month-by-month guide to the fiestas in Jalisco with historical background to many towns and villages.

Gallina, M.P. & Sangri, L. Las Bellezas Naturales de México. INCAFO, Madrid, Spain: 1979. A magnificently illustrated book covering seven National parks and ten areas of outstanding natural beauty in the country.

Garza T. de González, S. & Tommasi de Magrelli, W. “Arqueología”, in the Atlas Cultural de Mexico. SEP/INAH/Planeta, Mexico DF: 1987.

Gobierno de Jalisco. (various contributers) Historia de Jalisco. Guadalajara. 1981. Comprehensive four volume account of the history of Jalisco, beautifully illustrated and produced. Enormous bibliography. Indispensable reference work for any local historian, though unfortunately lacking a full index.

_________ Los Municipios de Jalisco. Sec. de Gobernación y Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco: 1988.

Gobierno de Michoacán. Los Municipios de Michoacán. Sec. de Gobernación y Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán: 1988..

_________ (numerous contributors). Historia General de Michoacán. 1989. Well illustrated and comprehensive 4 volume history.

Gobierno de Zacatecas. El Museo Pedro Coronel de Zacatecas. 1987.

Gulick, H.E. Nayarit, Mexico: A Traveler’s Guidebook. Arthur H. Clark, California: 1965.

Guzmán, R. Protección e investigación al habitat de Zea diploperennis. Universidad de Guadalajara, Documentos científicos: 1985. Describes discovery and importance of wild stands of perennial corn.

INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia). Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. 1990; Tingambato, Michoacán. 1991; San Felipe Los Alzati. 1992. Series of eight-page pamphlets describing archaeological sites.

Jackson, E.G. Burros and Paintbrushes. University of Texas Press: 1985. Jackson resided in Chapala for several years in the 1920s; this is his entertaining account of his artistic endeavours in Mexico.

Janzen, D.H. (editor). Costa Rican Natural History. University of Chicago Press: 1983. A compendium of tropical and subtropical natural history by 174 different contributors with excellent species accounts, both flora and fauna, many of them relevant to Mexico.

Jimenez Betts, Peter. “La Quemada” in Arqueología Mexicana Vol. 1 #6, pp 45-47. February-March 1994.

Kendrick, J. The Men With Wooden Feet. The Spanish Exploration of the Pacific Northwest. NC Press, Toronto: 1985.

Krasnopolsky de Grinberg, Dora M. Los señores del metal. Minería y metalurgia en Mesoamérica. Consejo nacional para la cultura y las artes, Pangea. 1990.

Lazcano-Sahagœn, C. Las cavernas de Cerro Grande, Estados de Colima y Jalisco. Universidad de Guadalajara: 1988. Well researched account of the first modern explorations of the extensive cave systems and landforms of Cerro Grande.

Lindley, R. Haciendas and Economic Development. University of Texas Press: 1983.

LNLJ (Laboratorio Natural Las Joyas de la Sierra de Manantlán). Plan operativo 1989-90, Reserva de la Biósfera, Sierra de Manantlán. Universidad de Guadalajara: 1989.

López-González, P. Recorrido por la Historia de Nayarit. INEA, Tepic, Nayarit: 1986.

Lumholtz, C. Unknown Mexico. Modern edition. Rio Grande Press, New Mexico: 1973. Two volumes, The Norwegian ethnologist’s classic work on Mexican native cultures, originally published in 1902.

Mason, C. T., and Mason, P. B. A Handbook of Mexican Roadside Flora. The University of Arizona Press: 1987. Line drawings supplement excellent descriptions of more than 200 common Mexican species. Includes identification key, bibliography and complete index.

Mata Torres, Ramón. La Vida de los Huicholes. Tomo I. 1980. Guadalajara, Jalisco.

_________ El Arte de los Huicholes. Tomo II. 1980. Guadalajara, Jalisco.

McGill, Jenny. Tales from the Sierra Madre, including the Woman in the Trunk. McGill Books. 2011.

México Desconocido. Excellent monthly news-stand magazine with color photographs describing all kinds of places in Mexico.

Monasterio, F.O. and Monasterio V.O. Mariposa Monarca, vuelo de papel. CIDCI, Mexico, DF: 1987. Attractively presented description of Monarch butterflies, written for children.

Norman, J. Terry’s Guide to Mexico. Doubleday & Company, New York: 1972. First published in 1909, this guide, encyclopaedic and thoroughly good reading, covers much ground that is hard to find elsewhere.

O’Hara, S. L. “Historic evidence of fluctuations in the level of Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México over the last 600 years.” The Geographical Journal, March 1993. pp. 51-62. This author’s research led to a reexamination of the Tarascans’ relationship with their environment.

Ochoa, A. Los insurgentes de Mezcala. The College of Michoacán and the Michoacán State Government: 1985. This book assigns the Mezcala defenders their rightful place in Mexican Independence history. The main source for Chapter 2.

Palafox, R. A. (coordinator). Transformaciones Mayores el en Occidente de México. Universidad de Guadalajara: 1994.

Paré, L. Los pescadores de Chapala y la defensa de su lago. ITESO, Guadalajara: 1989. Detailed, well written account of the physical and economic challenges faced by Lake Chapala fishermen. Excellent bibliography.

Perry, R. Blue Lakes and Silver Cities. Exploring Colonial West Mexico. Espadaña Press, Santa Barbara. 1997. The definitive account of early colonial religious architecture remaining in western Mexico.

Peters, H. La salud, la belleza y la perpetua juventud en el balneario misterioso de los Emperadores Tarascos. 1950. Privately printed.

Peterson, R.T., & Chalif, E.L. A Field Guide to Mexican Birds. Houghton Mifflin Co. US: 1973. The classic guide to Mexican birds though species also common in the US are not illustrated in the color plates. The Spanish version, Aves de México. Guía de Campo, same authors, published by Editorial Diana, Mexico City, 1989, does illustrate all birds in Mexico in its 474 pages but many of the Spanish bird names quoted are not in common use in Mexico.

Piña-Chan, R. Exploraciones Arqueológicas en Tingambato, Michoacán. INAH, Mexico DF: 1982. One of the country’s foremost research archaeologists explains his excavations at Tinganio.

Pint, John and Suzy Pint. Outdoors in Western Mexico. Guadalajara: Quadrimag. 2011

Reyes, J.C. “Cuyutlán: Una Laguna con historia” in Estudios Jaliscienses No 2, Nov. 1990. Beautifully written account of the history of the salt industry of Cuyutlán, the main source for Chapter 26.

Rhoda, R and Tony Burton. Geo-Mexico, the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Sombrero Books. 2010.

Rulfo, J. The Burning Plain and Other Stories. University of Texas: 1967. Translated by G.D. Schade.

Rzedowski, J. Vegetación de México. Limusa, Mexico D.F. 1978. Excellent general introduction to a vast subject.

Rzedowski, J. & Equihua, M. Atlas Cultural de Mexico. Flora. INAH, SEP & Editorial Planeta, Mexico DF: 1987. Brief descriptions and color photos of 621 species of Mexican flora divided by ecological zone. Inadequately indexed, but the best non-specialist Mexican flora available.

Sandoval, F. de P. Obras, sucesos y fantasías en el lago Chapala. Gobierno de Jalisco, Guadalajara: 1981. The changes wrought by engineering projects to the Lerma-Chapala-Santiago system with a healthy discussion of some of the more outrageous proposals which have been suggested.

SEP/Salvat. (Various authors). El Arte Mexicano. 1986. Richly illustrated authoritative 16 volume work covering every aspect of Mexican art from pre-Hispanic to contemporary times.

Stirling, M.W. “Solving the Mystery of Mexico’s Great Stone Spheres”, in National Geographic, 1969, pp. 294-300. The Piedras Bola explained.

Talavera-Salgado, F. Lago Chapala. Turismo Residencial y Campesinado. INAH, Mexico, DF: 1982. Well researched, illustrated, and critical account of the effects of the large non-Mexican community resident in the Ajijic area on land ownership. Interesting bibliography.

Todd, A.C. The Search for Silver; Cornish Miners in Mexico 1824-1947. Lodenek Press: 1977. A valuable and original contribution to research into Mexican silver production post-Independence and its links to Engand.

Toor, F. A Treasury of Mexican Folkways. Crown, New York: 1947. Reprinted in 1985 by Bonanza Books, New York. Classic but dated work on all kinds of customs and fiestas.

t’Serstevens, A. Mexico -Three-Storeyed Land. Hutchinson: 1959. English edition of work originally published in French. A highly idiosyncratic but revealing travelogue of both joys and nightmares.

Tuck, Jim. The Holy War in Los Altos: A Regional Analysis of Mexico’s Cristero Rebellion. University of Arizona Press. 1982.

Turner, J.K. Barbarous Mexico. C.H. Kerr. 1910.

Tweedie, A. Mexico as I Saw It. Macmillan, New York: 1901. A delightful account of one woman’s exhaustive travels through Mexico just before the Revolution.

UNAM/INEGI Geología de la República Mexicana. 1984.

Urquhart, F.A. “Found at last: The Monarch’s winter home”. National Geographic, August 1976. pp. 160-173. The first popular publication of the Monarch’s Mexican habitat.

Valdes Huerta, Nicolas. Bolaños, ciudad colonial. Ediciones Espiral. Guadalajara. 1978.

Velázquez Jimenez, Patricia. “Jerez. Cantera de la Patria” in Mexico Desconocido # 190, pp 32-36. December 1992.

Villagran Reyes, Manuel. Zacatecas. La ciudad laberinto. 2nd edition. 1996.

Walton, N.K. “Tequila.” British Chamber of Commerce Magazine, Mexico City. 1977. First published in Américas, magazine of the Organization of American States.

Weigand, Phil C and Rodrigo Esparza López. Guia del sitio arqueológico de Los Guachimontones. Gobierno de Jalisco. 2004.

Wright, N.P. Mexican Kaleidoscope. Heinemann: 1947.

_________ A Mexican Medley for the Curious. Tolteca Editions, Mexico: 1961. Fun to read miscellanies of the many and varied aspects of the country which appealed to this former British Military Attache and great lover of Mexico.

Yarza de la Torre, E. Volcanes de México. UAEM, Mexico: 1983. Covers all aspects of vulcanicity in Mexico with an extensive bibliography.