Mexico and Central America

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Harry A. Franck leads readers far beyond the usual tourist trail in this vivid travel book about Mexico and Central America, offering young audiences an authentic look at neighboring nations through firsthand observation, photographs, and carefully checked facts. The journey begins with a striking reminder that these countries are part of a shared human world, then unfolds into a lively exploration of landscapes, customs, history, and daily life. From the shallow, hard-to-police Rio Grande to the dusty streets of Nuevo Laredo, from crowded second-class trains to the bustling city of Monterrey, the book reveals a region of sharp contrasts, dramatic mountains, dry plains, and resilient people. Along the way, Franck explains Mexican society, manners, courtship, public life, and festive traditions, while also tracing the country's government, constitution, land reform, church-state separation, and postrevolutionary efforts to modernize agriculture. Central America appears as a varied corridor of nations linked by geography and repeated hopes for unity, with the Panama Canal standing as a major landmark of the broader story. Rich in adventure, education, and cultural insight, this is a panoramic portrait of a complex and fascinating region.