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First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century

by David Lida

First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A panoramic literary portrait of Mexico City— a vibrant, seductive, paradoxical city now commanding the worl‛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.

Review:

"According to author Lida, Mexico City is the archetypal city of the 21st century and a model for how cities are evolving. A sprawling immensity of more than 20 million people, many of them poor, Mexico City took shape with almost no planning and remains plagued by congestion, pollution and poor services. Yet for Lida, Mexico City provides excitement and spontaneity that has been lost in the big capital cities of the developed world. In discrete chapters, Lida covers sex, traffic, tacos, the routines of street vendors, the feared kidnappings and many other aspects of the city's culture. A longtime resident and working journalist in the city, Lida has a firsthand familiarity with its cantinas and crime, its markets and malls, and the daily life of its inhabitants, called chilangos. Lida also leavens his journalism with personal stories, such as a meeting with a tireless cab driver who eats onions for energy and his own experience of being kidnapped. Unfortunately, Lida's ambitious attempt to provide a panoramic view of the city is not served well by his prose, which rarely rises above standard-issue journalese. In the end, however, his book makes an excellent general guide to Mexico City. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Through the eyes of an American who has become an insider, this work takes a panoramic view of contemporary Mexico City. Lida expertly captures the life of a city defined by pleasure and anger, joy and tragedy, and in limbo between the developed and developing worlds. Illustrated.

About the Author

David Lida is an American who has lived in Mexico City for much of the last fifteen years. His journalism has been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Forward, Interview, Gourmet, and The Village Voice, among others. He is also the author of a book of short stories that take place in Mexico, Travel Advisory.

Product Details

ISBN:
9781594489891
Subtitle:
Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century
Author:
Lida, David
Publisher:
Riverhead Hardcover
Subject:
Mexico
Subject:
Sociology - Urban
Subject:
Latin America - Mexico
Subject:
Social life and customs
Subject:
Description and travel
Subject:
Mexico City (Mexico) Description and travel.
Subject:
Mexico city (mexico)
Copyright:
Publication Date:
20080612
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
352
Dimensions:
9.40x6.30x1.17 in. 1.20 lbs.

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First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century Used Hardcover
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Product details 352 pages Riverhead Hardcover - English 9781594489891 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "According to author Lida, Mexico City is the archetypal city of the 21st century and a model for how cities are evolving. A sprawling immensity of more than 20 million people, many of them poor, Mexico City took shape with almost no planning and remains plagued by congestion, pollution and poor services. Yet for Lida, Mexico City provides excitement and spontaneity that has been lost in the big capital cities of the developed world. In discrete chapters, Lida covers sex, traffic, tacos, the routines of street vendors, the feared kidnappings and many other aspects of the city's culture. A longtime resident and working journalist in the city, Lida has a firsthand familiarity with its cantinas and crime, its markets and malls, and the daily life of its inhabitants, called chilangos. Lida also leavens his journalism with personal stories, such as a meeting with a tireless cab driver who eats onions for energy and his own experience of being kidnapped. Unfortunately, Lida's ambitious attempt to provide a panoramic view of the city is not served well by his prose, which rarely rises above standard-issue journalese. In the end, however, his book makes an excellent general guide to Mexico City. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , Through the eyes of an American who has become an insider, this work takes a panoramic view of contemporary Mexico City. Lida expertly captures the life of a city defined by pleasure and anger, joy and tragedy, and in limbo between the developed and developing worlds. Illustrated.
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