Want To Visit The Legendary “Sierra Madre”?
Imagine a journey back in time to some of the most serene, secluded and untapped beauty in the world…a land that time forgot…
These mountains in northern Mexico are untouched by time…almost. Because not only will you see untouched landscapes, but you will see some of this as well:
Yes, one of the world’s most beautiful – and dangerous – places has plenty of spectacular scenery and AK-47’s as well…so the Wednesday Bookmobile locked the doors and bolts the windows for a trip down south…
The World’s Most Dangerous Travel!
Made famous by a movie, the Sierra Madre mountains are one of the world’s most unique areas…and also one of the most dangerous…but one great travel Writer took the journey and has captured it in all its dangerous beauty, with the provocative title “God’s Middle Finger”:
Want a fast opening for a book? How about this – the very first line on page one:
“So this is what it feels like to be hunted.”
Now that I have you hooked, let’s check out this terrific travel memoir…
The Sierra Madres are a rugged and majestic series of mountains, ridges and canyons, running through the spine of Northern Mexico, filled with incredible beauty…
“Treasure Of The Sierra Madre”, Indeed!
While it may be beautiful, it is also secluded, and therein lies the danger. It’s home to some of the largest marijuana and cocaine farms in the world, as well as rich drug lords and dirty Cops…but luckily, one intrepid reporter took a journey into the Sierra Madre to show us life there…
The book is called “God’s Middle Finger: Into The Lawless Heart Of The Sierra Madre” – and the Author is a terrific writer named Richard Grant.
Grant had been fascinated by Mexico’s famed “Sierra Madre” region, made famous by the classic film starring Humphrey Bogart:
This brilliant movie tells the story of gold prospectors who turn on each other once they are in the rugged and dangerous Sierra Madre region of Mexico…the movie includes the classic line:
“Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!”
You get the idea: this is a lawless territory that brings out the worst in men…and the book delves into the rich and lawless history of the region – you also meet a wide variety of fascinating characters – some good, many very very bad…
This IS an amazingly lawless region in northern Mexico, and writer Richard Grant decided he had to see it for himself – and what a wild and dangerous journey into the heart of darkness it is!
Grant’s a terrific writer who captures the sights, smells and sinister underbelly of one of the world’s most dangerous regions….as well as the region’s dangerous history – it was, after all, where Pancho Villa ruled his outlaw gang for decades…
Travel At Your Own Risk!
The Author was cautioned many times to NEVER travel the pot-hole filled mountain roads along – there were bandits everywhere. And for the most part he followed that rule, but even with a passenger in the car he runs into bad trouble.
Here is another short passage from the book, as the Author tries to dissuade a stranger, whose truck has broken down, from forcing him to tow that huge broken-down truck up a steep back road with the Author’s small Toyota truck…he tells the man, “my truck can’t pull your big truck up the mountain.”
He exhaled impatiently and his eyes turned steely. He pulled the gun out of his waistband and make a show of removing the clip and sliding it back in. He pointed it up at the sky, sighted along the barrel, stuck the gun back in his jeans, pointed to my Toyota with his chin, looked me dead in the eyes and said, “YES, IT CAN.”
The book is filled with many such dangerous encounters – and you also get a real sense of the history of the region, which makes its current level of violence all the more disturbing…and Grant is in the middle of it all…
The book ends as it began, with the Author being hunted at night through what is, during the day, one of the most beautiful grand canyons in the world…
At night, however, this is how the Author describe the scene:
“I come to a creek with a high undercut bank and wedge myself into a shallow cave under its lip. The earth is damp and cold. It feels like a good place to hide…”
If you want to know how our “hunted” Author survives, you have to read this book….
If you want to great thrill ride of a non-fiction book, this is the one for you!
And if you want more about the fascinating country of Mexico, then this is the book for you:
The legendary Writer Paul Theroux just published his trip along the US/Mexico border, then headed south to explore the country up close:
His journey is fascinating and torn from today’s headlines as well…read more about it here:
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Enjoy these terrific travel books, and let me know how many you’ve read!
Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, Politics, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
Thank you for the book and movie recommendation. Fantastic! Mexico is much like the Wild West long ago.
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It sure is!
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Great film, and a good update on that area too. Nice post, John. š
Best wishes, Pete.
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A very interesting book, John. Mexico is untamed when it comes to crime, a lot like South Africa.
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Wow! This sounds fascinating John!
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He’s a GREAT writer and the book is fascinating!
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