The Other Game: Lessons from How Life Is Played in Mexican Villages

by Philip Dahl-bredine, Stephen Hicken

Book by Dahl-Bredine, Phillip, Hicken, Stephen

191 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2008

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, written with great compassion. The authors make solid points on the liabilities of our obsession with growth. Part economic and social commentary, part spiritual book. A wonderfully balanced read. My only wish is that they had included more history of the region and more biographies that evoke life in the Mixteca Alta.

I found this book in a Oaxaca bookstore during a weeklong visit of the area two years ago, and I sorely regret not having read this book before my visit. To the author’s point, on the shelves surrounding this book were dozens of books concerning Polk and American foreign economic policy.

[Donna Kubiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning about how the campesinos who live in the rural third world country of Mexico are much more progressive than may be assumed! They have learned the importance of good farming methods, saving seeds, rooting out Monsanto and other like companies, and spiritual values. They make up for what they may lack in material things with so much care for the earth and love of their human brothers. I am impressed with how the author and his wife have devoted many years of living in the Mixteca community and now want to educate the rest of the world about what they have learned!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great idea, and one I agree heartily with (Western capitalist civilization is not sustainable, and there are cultures out there that have better solutions for human civilization), but the book itself wasn't that great. I was particularly against a lot of quoted passages that were questionable as to who they were attributed to. As a book written by a lay missionary (a profession I happen to associate with white saviors and colonizers), I had lower expectations, but I would have rather read a deeper, better composed story with more documented relationships with the Mixteca people.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you are coming to the Mixteca.