Travel, live, and retire in Mexico!

with
Rosana Hart

Head for Mexico, by Don Adams: A Review

In my list of general books about Mexico, I put Head for Mexico right up there, just after the classic People's Guide to Mexico. That's an indication of how useful I find this book to be. Click on the image to go to Amazon.

Head for Mexico has a subtitle, The Renegade Guide, which gives you more an idea of Don Adam's approach than a description of the contents. Basically it covers in detail all sorts of things you will want to know if you are considering living in Mexico as more than a tourist. Don Adam's style is hilarious, in-your-face, over-the-top, politically incorrect, and great fun. At times, his descriptive prose is downright poetic. He's worked with an impressive array of contributors, and gives them credit. The block print illustrations by William Gentes add an elegant touch.

The book's chapters are:

1. Living in Mexico
2. Money Honey
3. Am I right for Mexico?
4. The Day to Day Nitty Gritty
5. Housing
6. Moving Your Stuff
7. Head for the Border
8. Driving and Other Daring Pursuits
9. Insurance
10. Su Casa es Mi Casa
11. What Do You Reckon Manna Really Is?
12. Household Help
13. Communications
14. Buying a Whole New Enchilada
15. How Much is that Perrito in the Window?
16. Is That a Stethoscope in My Pocket, or am I Just Glad to See You?
17. Habla Like the Locals
18. Gittin' Your Ashes Hauled: Guys, Gals, and Gays
19. You're Not in Kansas Anymore

And there are some appendices:

• Of Course I Know What I am Talking About, but You need to Hear from These Folks Too
• Some Traffic Laws and Regulations
• Here's Some Advice and a Few Resources for U.S. and Canadian Veterans
• Boats, Guns and Huntin', Fishin' Poles
• The Author, the Contributors, and the Credits

One thing I particularly like about Head for Mexico is that after reading it, you should really understand how very differently things operate south of the border. His flights of fancy about how things can unfold at a border crossing had me in stitches. And tears. Luckily, we don't have such good stories to tell!

I also like that the book is crammed with useful and enjoyable links to Mexico-related websites.

If you buy the book from Amazon, at least at the time of this writing,they will warn you that you need to pay a surcharge and they will predict that the book will take an outrageously long time to arrive . This is because the book is published on demand, using excellent new technology that I have also used. Amazon makes very long estimates of timing so you won't be disappointed.

In the case of Head for Mexico, the company that prints the book after you order it, Trafford, is listed on the Amazon site. I suggest you use them. They say the book will ship in one or two days, and that it ships from Canada. I got my copy from Trafford, and I don't really know if it shipped that quickly at their end, because Canadian shipping does tend to be rather slow. I didn't keep track of how long it took me to get the book in Colorado, but it was some time after some things I ordered the same day had arrived directly from Amazon.

If anyone happens to be selling a used copy when you go to Amazon, likely that will be the fastest.

Okay, off my librarian's lecture podium. (I used to be a librarian.) If you have any thoughts of heading for Mexico for more than a vacation, Head for Mexico can be a huge help! I've learned a lot from my copy.

Click on the image to go to Amazon...