Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje Al Corazon de Mixico

Through a series of remarkable images and sometimes overly romantic observations, award-winning photographer Menuez reveals the labor and love inherent in Tequila production, from harvesting and processing blue agave to distilling the liquor that here takes on a near mythic stature. Menuez spends a significant amount of time in Jalisco state, near the town of Tequila, where he and a friend visit agave fields, tequila distilleries and a bar where bull fighters hang out. Along the way, Menuez rediscovers the beauty of Mexico, a place he had visited but never truly known, ""an enduring, ancient place, where 500 years after the European conquest, the spirit, pride, and passion of the people continue undiminished."" His photographs are stunning: agave harvesters, for instance, silhouetted against a golden sky; haunting: men engaged in back-breaking (and for readers, eye-opening) work in the distilleries; celebratory: men and women drinking, laughing and dancing. The spare text, which includes an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-nominated novelist Victor Villasenor (Burro Genius) and a tequila guide by Ian Chadwick, wavers between truncated observation and sentimental yearnings, but this book's greatest-and most plentiful-rewards are its photos. 70 b&w and color photos.