The problem with the first part of the book is that it describes a typical village's everyday life as of 1954. I have never been to Oaxaca, so I do not know how true that first part is anymore. Another problem, at least from an historian's point of view, is that the author is obviously biased. She describes Oaxaca as the most beautiful place in all Mexico and says that the Zapotec are the most beautiful people in Mexico. Not that this is all bad. After all, it does make one feel better about reading about such people.
Although the historian may have problems with the author's bias in the first part of the book, he would appreciate the way she intersperses bits of history and language into it. The first part is written as though the author is talking to a good friend about her most recent excursion to Oaxaca. This makes the book highly readable. The author also includes bits of the Zapotec vocabulary, allowing one to familiarize themselves a little with the Zapotec language. The bits of history and culture the author includes makes the first part not only enjoyable, but informative.
The second part of the book was, to me, the better part of the book. While the first part of the book hinted at the history and culture of the Zapotecs through small sentences hidden in chapters, the second part is nothing but this kind of information. It is through the second part of the book that we learn of Zapotec gods, of chaneque, or "curious little dwarfs," and of the nawal, a "human vampire...sometimes in the form of a were-jaguar in direct service of the devil."
Overall, the book is very good. While the first part may be out of date describing the "modern" Zapotec, it still shows how he deals with the Industrial Age. It also offers tidbits of Zapotec history and culture which is expounded upon in the second part.