Latinos: A Biography of the People - Softcover

Shorris, Earl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393321908 ISBN 13: 9780393321906

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001

Synopsis

"Brilliant.... A loving and detailed celebration of a diverse, beautiful and often astounding people."―Laurence Gonzales, Chicago Tribune

They are sometimes called the people who died twice, once at the hands of the Spaniards and their brutal process of civilization, then at the hands of Anglos, practicing a subtler exploitation. They are Latinos, the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Earl Shorris's deeply moving narrative―enlivened by biographical sketches of Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and many others struggling with the burden of a rich and terrible history―illuminates every aspect of the Latino experience in America, from language to education to social and political organization. "[A] powerful, beautifully-written and thoughtful book...likely to remain unequaled in its sweep and profundity for some time to come."―J. Jorge Klor de Alva, The New York Times Book Review "A smart, perceptive and wonderfully readable book.... Should be required reading for anyone who would hope to understand America."―Gerald Volgenau, Boston Globe

About this title

About the Author:

Earl Shorris (1936–2012) was the author of many works of both fiction and non-fiction including Latinos, Under the Fifth Sun, In the Language of Kings, and Riches for the Poor. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Clinton for his founding of the Clemente Course in the Humanities®, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Using an oral storytelling style and chapter vignettes, Shorris attempts to cover the history and the current condition of all the North American Latinos, who are identified as descendants of the Spanish conquest of the New World. Beginning with Columbus's subjugation of the native populations in the West Indies, Shorris, a contributing editor of Harper's magazine, recounts the struggle of the Latino people (Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, etc.) against Anglo racism, language barriers, and economic and political discrimination. He also offers an unflinching look at the condition of Latinos in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Shorris's meandering style makes his book a difficult tool to use academically, however, and the abundance of detail at times overwhelms his message. Still, this is a worthy purchase for urban libraries or any library serving any size Latino population.
- Sharon Roman, Carroll Cty. P.L., Westminster, Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0393321908
• ISBN 13: 9780393321906
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 540