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mcat's review
4.0
Brilliant. Though it was published back in 1969, much of what is in the book is still relevant. It was alternately light-humored and emotionally draining. This book taught me a lot about where I came from and made me curious as to where I - and the other Latinos in the US - are going.
The book starts by discussing the Spanish land grants and it touches on the huelgas of the farm workers, the fights in and about the school system, and the unchecked racism and brutality - including murder - against and of Mexicans over the years. Though to say that is *all* the book touches on would be a gross understatement. As a law student, I found particularly interesting the glimpses of the role the judicial system played in much of this story.
The book is as much an oral history as it is thoroughly researched [an extensive discussion of sources comes at the end]. This makes the tone very pleasant to read. It is not a lecture and not a history book as much as it is a conversation, the telling of a story.
A good read for anyone interested in the history of the Mexican-Americans.
The book starts by discussing the Spanish land grants and it touches on the huelgas of the farm workers, the fights in and about the school system, and the unchecked racism and brutality - including murder - against and of Mexicans over the years. Though to say that is *all* the book touches on would be a gross understatement. As a law student, I found particularly interesting the glimpses of the role the judicial system played in much of this story.
The book is as much an oral history as it is thoroughly researched [an extensive discussion of sources comes at the end]. This makes the tone very pleasant to read. It is not a lecture and not a history book as much as it is a conversation, the telling of a story.
A good read for anyone interested in the history of the Mexican-Americans.
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