New York: Villard, 2004. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. 399 pages Some cover wear. Sticker residue on front cover. Includes Author's Note; Prologue: Red Star over South Texas. Section One covers Moscow; Section Two covers Beijing; Section Three covers Havana. Inscribed by the author on the half title page. Epilogue: Seeing Red. Notes. Acknowledgments. Index. Inscription reads: For my beautiful Ned, A Rumba Dancin' Queen, without whom these stories could never have been told. You've been my backbone these past 3 years--muchisimes gracias for your incredible support & friendship. All my [heart symbol] and Begos, Stephanie [star symbol]. Stephanie Elizondo Griest (born June 6, 1974) is a Chicana author and activist from South Texas. Her books include Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana, 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, and Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines. She has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and others. She earned a degree in journalism. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Griest began speaking about wanting to travel in her high school years. She traveled to Moscow while learning Russian, creating a rulebook for traveling across Russia. She has added to Chicano studies by her form of travel writing, exploring how Mexican culture can be affected in a border region. She has made relevant contributions as she grew up in American culture in Texas, resulting in being heavily influenced by Mexican culture. Specifically, this influence came from family and friends who resisted assimilation of the Mexican culture. Over her career, Griest has explored 29 countries. On one occasion, she spent a year driving 45,000 miles across the United States, documenting its history for a youth-oriented website called The Odyssey. A 2005 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, she is currently a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute and a Board Member of the National Coalition Against Censorship. She won the 2007 Richard Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting for her work on Mexico. More