Following the border formed by the Rio Grande and moving cross-country to the Pacific Ocean, Frontera is a lavishly illustrated book that offers an unusually comprehensive examination of the nearly two-thousand-mile border shared by the United States and Mexico. The region has a reputation for being a dangerous place, with US Border Patrol and Mexican police playing cat and mouse with smugglers and undocumented migrants, and with drug cartels visiting unspeakable violence on the region. Frontera takes an unblinking look at those dangers, but it goes beyond the stereotypes and offers the reader a glimpse into the beauty and complexity of the region: its history, its contemporary attractions, its rich cultural life. At once an educational guidebook and a frank look at the politics that have shaped the region, Frontera is illustrated with hundreds of colorful photographs and maps that invite skeptics to explore the drama and charm of our southernmost border. Despite the negative political rhetoric, the US-Mexico border is a beautiful place, home of welcoming and warm people. It is also a land of contrasts--austere landscapes and lush oases; thunderstorms and rainbows in the desert; robust industry and ghost towns; great wealth and aching poverty. Beginning at the Gulf of Mexico and ending at the Pacific Ocean, Frontera is organized by municipalities on the Mexican side and counties on the US side. Each of the thirty-eight Mexican border municipalities and the twenty-four US border counties has a chapter that includes their official seal, locator map, and photos. Population, key cities, border crossings, local festivals, regional cuisines, parks, points of interest and history are included. When possible, we also offer a brief analysis of the political context and security situation in the border municipality or county.