Latino Books

Being that my family imgrated to Minnesota from Mexico, I found that the book gave me good overview of the Latio community growth in Minnesota. Great book for my children and grandchildern.

The upper-Midwest American state of Minnesota is principally noted for its waves of immigrants from Norway, Sweden, and Germany. What is not so well known are the waves of Spanish speaking immigrants that came north from Mexico, Central and South America to settle in the 'land of a thousand lakes'. Minnesota historian Leigh Roethke has traced Minnesota's vibrant, diverse, and growing Latino communities which, since around 1910, have provided the principal and core labor group for Minnesota's agricultural, food processing, manufacturing, and service industries. Profusely illustrated throughout and highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library American History reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "Latino Minnesota" is the story of individual and collective Latino accomplishments and contributions to Minnesota's increasingly diverse popular and popular culture. Here is the story of Latino settlement, cultural and political injustices, and the strength that arises from community, history, and hard work.

Latino CEOs and executives reveal career secrets that helped them overcome obstacles. The book is available in Spanish with the title Exito Latino.
My public library catalog decribes it this way: "The candid, inspiring stories in this book reveal the secrets that have helped Latinos make it to the top in a variety of businesses and industries. Readers will discover how to manage people, prepare and set goals, and deal with racism or sexism in the workplace."

A great book that shows one does not have to negate who they are in order to be successful. In fact, it even helps understand how to proudly embrace a Latino background as part of one's identity. I would recommend this book for Latinos looking to enter the business world in the US, anyone interested in the Latino experience in the US, and anyone that has experienced the embarrasing moment of standing in front of a large group of clients having said something that sounded "dirty" because of accent inflections - yes, there is still success after that (check out the story of the executive that prefers to use the word "bedding" instead of sheets). I believe the authors' met their goal by compiling great stories that offer lessons learned and successes along the way to the top. Truly inspiring!

This book answers a lot of questions about the Latino culture, experience, past, present and future. Some essays tell stories, while others are plain facts. This book has about 670 pages, yet it is a fast and informative read where you can't put the book down. It is organized by section of topic and gives suggested reading lists at the end of each chapter. A good introductory to Latin American studies, historically, culturally, and sociologically. It gives a lot of information for the price, you will not regret buying this book.

Excellent book, but know in advance that this book is heavily skewed toward legal topics and lawyer authors. While much of the legal writing is dense for lay readers, it is often well worth the effort. The selections authored by Margaret Montoya, Kevin Johnson, editor Richard Delgado, and non-attorney Gloria Anzaldua were the very best of this remarkably well-written anthology.

This is just a fantastic book. It will be one of my classics from here on. I appreciated where he started, "the plan of the book and the name of the people", from that moment on - I was hooked. It really raised my consciousness of which we are as a whole, as a people.
I have recommended this book to everyone I know to have as part of his or hers library or on coffee tables.

esta historia es instructiva, me ayudo aenterarme de cosas que ignoraba y cosas que no queria admitir. el llama a los latinos las personas que muerieron dos veces y nos muestra una radiografia historica de nuestros origenes y de nuestra presente adaptacion al medio norteamericano. algunos conservan restos de su cultura, los mas viejos conservan su lenguaje y sus tradiciones, los mas jovenes son absorbidos por la cultura que las trasnforma en seres sin raices ni tradiciones, que no son ni de aqui ni de alla. es un buen libro para conocernos y saber que no importa cuantos anos permanezcamos fuera no es bueno olvidarnos completamente de nuestros origenes.

LUIS MENDEZ luismendez@codetel.net.do

A Legacy Greater Than Words comes at a good time, when the anti-immigration hysteria seems to be focused on Mexicans and other Latinos. What if all the people noted in this book had not been allowed to stay, make a life, become citizens, and put themselves in harm's way for this country? I hope that many non-Latinos read the book and come to know the legacy of Mexican-Americans, my father among them.

this book contains actual interviews of hundreds of Male and female soliers, cavillians, activists, immigrants and day labors from the WW2 generation. Each tells about there experiances in WAR or taking over jobs men left to fight for our country. Storys of descrimination, pride and fear are told.

This is a chaming, multi-ethnic story that reflects experiences of generations of immigrants.

This book nourishes the neighborly kindnesses of multicultural apartment tenents. Not only are Rob Roth's watercolors warm and inviting but the mention of the food made me wish I knew those people. Rosa-Casanova sprinkles Spanish words like, "en un dos por tres", which means "lickedy-split" makes me want to polish up my Spanish again. This book promotes acceptance in a subtle way and is very satisfying.

When I took my first trip to California in the 1960's, I saw fast food outlets selling a strange cuisine that I had never seen on the east coast - tacos. I hadn't a clue what this was..never even heard the word. Much has changed since then.
Latinos are a major new presence and force in the United States, whose influence on our commerce and politics will only continue to grow. For those who have more than casual interest in this phenomenon, perhaps for purposes of business or for politics, Isabel Valdes has produced a most timely and useful guide. Ms Valdes, with professional precision, takes apart this demographic and cultural Rubik's Cube, lays the pieces out before the reader, and then, taking the reader by the hand, methodically and meaningfully puts it all back together. Weaving together a tapestry of various countries of origin, age distribution, language preference, time in the US, etc, the author helps us sort through the reality behind the headlines and develops systematic approaches to formulate an effective and targeted business strategy. Data is targeted, timely, well presented, and well analyzed. Yet, the human dynamic behind the data is not lost. Highly recommended.

Marketing To American Latinos: A Guide To The In-Culture Approach, Part 2 by Hispanic marketing pioneer M. Isabel Valdes is a solidly presented, up-to-date, business oriented examination and analysis of the Hispanic-American consumer market. From studying diversity, geographic distribution, and buying power of Hispanic households to advertising strategies that target the hearts, minds, and wallets of Hispanic consumers, to digital marketing and an "integrated in-culture" strategy, Marketing to American Latinos is an extensively researched reference written especially for big and small businesses alike. Also highly recommended is Valdes' predecessor volume, Marketing to American Latinos: A Guide To The In-Culture Approach, Part I (0967143934; $[price]).

Hall's Mentoring Young Men of Color makes a true attempt to inform and arouse readers to the less understood lives of Latino and African American boys. As a teacher, mentor and father of two boys, Hall's work completely resonated with my experiences, as both a teenager and adult.
Hall discusses the frequently used metaphor of youth of color as an "endangered species", not only from a societal standpoint, but also from the perspective of these males (most being unconscious as to their own self-destruction). The point he makes throughout the book is that these young men are part of our human existence and MUST be treated with the same care and concern that we give to more privileged and less troubled youth.
While Hall carefully lays out the predicament these boys face, he also goes on to offer realistic strategies that teachers, mentors and even parents can use to help these promising young men find hope and a vision for the future--strategies that I plan to use in my own classroom and household.
As my school has tried to put together programs for students, our attempts have mostly failed. However, from reading this book, I plan to return back to the drawing table, inspired and encouraged by what is possible from Hall's own mentoring experiences.
I strongly recommend this work--it's a quick and powerfully motivating read. Don't just pick it up and read it...LIVE it!!

Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students is an exceptional book. Anyone seeking enlightening on the delicacies of mentoring young men of color will learn techniques outlined by Horace Hall's empirical knowledge. Kudos for a job well done.

I am always skeptical about books written on Mexico by foreigners. However, Michael Hogan who has lived in the country for more than a decade is a careful, although often critical and sometimes humorous, observer. He also has an obvious love and affinity for the Mexican character and writes about it accurately and well. The book contains observations on the effect of globalization on the Mexican economy, a night at a Mexican concert with the Tigres del Norte, a revolution in Chiapas, a university riot,a meeting with Fidel Castro when he comes to Guadalajara, as well as more tranquil moments riding in the forests or hiking the mountains.
The book is far better than any tour guides I have read, especially of the Guadalajara area, both with its descriptions of the people and the flora and fauna. It is an expatriate equivalent to the Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, who by the way, is an inspiring presence in several of the essays.
For someone visiting Mexico for the first time, this is a valuable handbook. For someone who has chosen Mexican as their adopted country it provides clear evidence that it was a correct choice. For all Mexicans living outside the country, and for those who have visited and not yet returned, it clearly evokes the love and the longing that so many have for this land south of the border. Hogan writes lovingly of the person and the poetry of Richard Shelton here as well. For those, like myself, who are enarmored by the Tucson poet, it is a refreshing visit to an old friend who also has strong conenctions to Mexico. All in all, a wonderful read. Hogan has an accesible style with occasional flashes of brilliance and a quiet but poignant wit.

This is Dr. Michael Hogan's latest book, a collection of essays written over the past decade while the author has lived and taught in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is quite possibly his best book, displaying a wide range of topics and an incredible maturity and intelligence that only comes when one's perspectives have been expanded. In one essay, "Letter to a Troubled Student," he deals with the Zapatista uprising of Chiapas, Mexico, telling his student that it is not scary that a group of Indians are taking on the Mexican government, but that, in any war, the truth is always the first victim. To him, and to a lot of us, that is truly scary. Through this essay, marked for its open-mindedness and its intelligence, Hogan is able to explain how his fears transcend the egocentric level, acheiving a greater understanding and universality.
This is the modus operandi for the rest of the book, which is a collection of essays written in Mexico over a period of the past ten years. They relate the expatriate experience, but they differ from other expatriate books because these essays are observations told through the eyes of a person who is committed to the lifelong quest of knowledge, a person who is committed to learning about his surroundings. All the essays are examples of a deep thought process, and one gets the realization that the author is just as much the teacher as he is the student.
One of the best examples of this, and also one of the defining elements of the book itself is the obvious influence that Mexican Poet Octavio Paz had and still has on Hogan's life. Paz's presence is everywhere in the book; the musicality of his poetry helping Hogan the young boy overcome his stuttering problem, the incisive nature of his essays helping Hogan the teacher in teaching the Odyssey to his ninth graders, the profound depth of his social critiques helping Hogan the human being understand humanity and the Mexican better.
This book is a deep, insightful study into the psychology of the expatriate. In my opinion it is a peer to that other great book about the human condition, "The Labyrinth of Solitude." It is also the only expatriate book that is fully able to document the reasons why a person chooses to leave his home country. It interacts with the reader on many levels, displaying intelligence, while appealing to the poets, the teachers, the scholars, the human beings in all of us. It also displays a deep love for a country that is not the native land for the author, nor for many expatriates. And it is this love that makes the book, and the essays within so compelling. I am reminded at this point, while searching for the place to end my review, of some lyrics from the song "Atlanta" by the Stone Temple Pilots.

"Visions of Mexico seduce me,
It goes to my head so carefully."

My daughters, 3 and 5, are pretty tough customers when it comes to new books, but all of us were enchanted by Mimi's Parranda. The book has everything you would want--a moving storyline, vivid details, and an introduction (for some of us) to a new world, that of the parranda. I hope to read more from this author, and I know my daughters agree. They ask to read this every night, and of course want their own parranda!

Qué chévere! You don't have to be Puerto Rican to read this delightful children's book and reminisce about how Christmas was celebrated in your own country, city or town of origin. The author and illustrator give us all a wonderful opportunity to share our favorite Christmas family traditions with our children. Educationally, this book would be useful in bilingual classes where children could discuss family traditions around holidays, be it parrandas or posadas, etc. Teachers could bring some of the desserts featured to class for a taste of Caribbean cooking. The children could learn how to make instruments for their own parranda, as is suggested in the book. I, for one, loved the drawing of "Mimí" with her long wavy hair dreaming of parrandas and delicious desserts. Bravo!