Program 589: Paul Theroux's Mexico Journey; Ukraine for Tourists

One of the top American travel writers of our time, Paul Theroux, tells us about his recent road trip across Mexico to see for himself what the situation was like on the other side of the border. We'll also look at Ukraine as an up-and-coming Eastern European tourism destination with a lot to offer, at bargain prices.

• Paul Theroux, author of "On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Ben Curtis, author of "The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty" (Bloomsbury)
• Cameron Hewitt, co-author of the "Rick Steves' Eastern Europe" guidebook  (Avalon)

• The latest work by Paul Theroux is called "On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey."
• "On the Plain of Snakes" is reviewed by readers on the Goodreads website.
• You can listen to earlier Paul Theroux appearances on Travel with Rick Steves by looking in the show archives. Look in October 2017 for his discussion of traveling and writing about the "Deep South" of the USA on program #445A. He discusses his cross-Africa trip in "Dark Star Safari" on program #252A from August 2012. Paul's discussion with Rick on the "Tao of Travel" on program #259 from September 2011 and his early tenure in the Peace Corps on program #237 from March 2011 are available from the show's listing on iTunes/Apple Podcast.
• Paul Theroux mentions that hearing Mexican author Juan Villoro on Travel with Rick Steves stimulated his interest in examining Mexico.  You can also listen to Villoro's appearances on Travel with Rick Steves in the show archives from 2016.  Look for him in the third segment of program #456 from September 2016, and program #442 from April 2016.
• Ben Curtis has written "The Habsburgs: The History of a Dynasty."
• Cameron Hewitt co-authors the Rick Steves Eastern Europe guidebook.
• Thousand-year old frescoes are on view in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (Kyiv).
• Lviv, in western Ukraine, was part of Poland for many years.