WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO TRAVEL WRITING 2020 The master of contemporary travel writing Paul Theroux immerses himself in the beautiful and troubled heart of modern MexicoNogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A fortyfoot steel fence runs through its centre separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension now more than ever as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Paul Theroux will begin his journey into the culturally rich but troubled heart of modern Mexico.Moving through the deserts just south of the Arizona border Theroux finds a place brimming with charm yet visibly marked by both the US border patrol looming to the north and mounting discord from within. Attending local language and culinary schools driving through the country and meeting its people Paul Theroux gets under the skin of Mexico.From the writer praised for his curiosity and affection for humanity in all its forms New York Times Book Review On The Plain of Snakes is an urgent and mesmerising exploration of a region in conflict. Praise for Paul TherouxAs cool as Maugham... as observant intuitive wry inventive and eloquent as Graham Greene Sunday TimesTherouxs work remains the standard by which other travel writing must be judged ObserverThe worlds most perceptive travel writer Daily MailOne of the most accomplished and worldlywise writers of his generation The Times