Rating: 
Summary: My sampling of Oaxacan tamales was at a local Mexican booth
Review: These tamales were delicious with lots of chili-laden pork wrapped with a specially coarse ground masa mixture and wrapped with banana leaves and finally wrapped in Al foil and steamed. While not done in the same mole variation as Trilling shows on p261, they were called the same on the menu board. They had a homemade creamy red salsa available on request too. I've had these cheap, savory, and filling lunches a few times, and taken them home and reheating them in a microwave for a nice snack.
This is a wonderfully illustrated cookbook has many black & white pix of people & illustrations and also 16 pages of color plates of people and food. While this unusually organized cookbook is separated into microclimates of Oaxaca, a small state south of Mexico City, I found the chap 7 on Tuxtepec as having the most savory sounding recipes.Be aware that this cookbook is quite vegetarian and fish oriented, for example, in chap 6 for the mountainous region of the state, there were 16 recipes with only one with meat. There were no menudo recipes or any recipes with variety meats, such as calves' foot, tongue, and tripe in the entire book. I found her book at a local library along with Diane Kennedy and Rick Bayless. Kennedy's classic Cuisines cookbook was my first introduction in Mexican cooking many years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Authentic, memorable Mexican dining.
Review: This companion to the national TV series provides a culinary focus on the Oaxaca, Mexico region, providing culinary and cultural insights and plenty of recipes from Oaxaca family roots. Add black and white and a peppering of color photos and chapters which open with local flavor and insights and you have an outstanding presentation which stands apart in the world of Mexican cookbooks.
Rating:
Summary: Great recipes complemented with insights into the culture
Review: This cookbook is as fun to read from as it is to cook from. Susana does a great job of trying to give you insight into the culture and the regions of Oaxaca while providing excellent recipes. It even gives you insight into substitute ingredients if you can't find the real Mexican ingredient. My wife and I actually took a cooking class from Susana while in Oaxaca where we cooked an appetizer, a corn soup, a green mole with chicken, and coconut flan in the class. They were all fabulous. All the recipes from the class are in the book.
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