Lake Chapala is no longer a paradise without a past. Join this award-winning author as he shares the fascinating history of the Lake Chapala region in Mexico, now one of the most popular retirement area for Americans and Canadians. This book explores the region's formative years from the arrival of conquistadors in the early 1500s to the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. A unique collection of extracts from more than fifty original sources, many never previously available in English, are enhanced by insightful, informative and entertaining commentary. Poets, friars, travellers, exiles and scientists overcome bandits and natural disasters to offer captivating tales of courage, greed, delight, unexpected triumphs and much, much more.