No comments about Juan Bautista De Anza (Latinos in American History).

1 comments about Hispanic Scientists (Capstone Short Biographies).

1. In "Hispanic Scientists," Jetty St. John has written short biographies of 5 fascinating individuals: biomedical engineer Carlos A. Ramirez, astronaut and optics expert Ellen Ochoa, zoopharmacognosy pioneer Eloy Rodriguez, neurology researcher Lydia Villa-Komaroff, and botanist Maria Elena Zavala.

   St. John offers insights into both the lives and work of these scientists. The book contains many photographs, as well as a useful glossary and other resources.

   If your child seems to be fascinated by dirt, bugs, cloud formations, body secretions, or other natural phenomena, she just might be exhibiting the beginnings of scientific curiosity. And "Hispanic Scientists" may inspire her, regardless of her own ethnic background, to take that curiosity to some amazing places.

No comments about Californio Voices: The Oral Memoirs Of Jose Maria Amador And Lorenzo Asisara (Al Filo: Mexican American Studies).

1 comments about The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry.

1. This tasty book is full of the smells, textures, colors and lives of the Barrio. Lively, inspiring, heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking, Ortiz fills this book with individuals whose lives are both representative of immigrated people and yet strikingly the stories of every woman and man. Mostly comprised of short-shorts the occasional poem is also brought in. Not all of the characters are named, and there is a sense that the reader is sometimes getting both the history and the future of the same characters. Marvelously woven, this book is a tapestry of personalities, lives, tastes and aromas. Check this book out for something unique! May I also recommend that a cup of Cuban coffee goes wonderfully!

5 comments about The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. As an actual, real Navajo tribal member and as a writer I'm pretty disgusted by this. A hoax it is and pretty pathetic. I'm always surprised at how little most Americans know about my people. It's pretty disheartening. Definitely read the LA Weekly article http://www.laweekly.com/index.php?option=com_lawcontent&task=view&id=12468&Itemid=47 for more on the Navahoax. If you want real Navajo writing read Lucy Tapahanso or for great writing read Leslie Marmon Silko (a Pueblo writer).



2. I read this book a few years ago as a publishers advance and it completely broke my heart. It ranks as one of my top 5 favorites. I really don't care if it's fiction or if Nasdijj identifies with the Navajo nation.
   
   What matters most, the quality of the writing or the veracity of it?
   
   For me a book doesn't have to be true to resonate.
   
   I also feel that the problem people are having with it is that he started out writing gay leather stuff and then tried his hand at writing about the love he supposedly had for a child.



3. While it appears that memoirs that have been fabricated are now coming out of the woodwork, the knee jerk reaction that people have towards Million Little Pieces isn't really fair to apply to this book.
   
   First of all, when I was working in a bookstore when this book came out, there wasn't nearly the fanfare that there was for Million Little Pieces, even before Oprah started pushing it. A lot more people are now willing to reject this book before even taking a look inside, and that's a shame.
   
   Secondly, the book reads more like a novel than MLP did. I really wasn't expecting the complete truth the further I got in. While I was a little disappointed upon finding out the actual author, and while I'm sure that any actual Navajo would have every right to be pissed off, it didn't affect the telling of the story to me. It doesn't need to have happened to be worth reading.
   
   Last of all, Boy and the Dog is a better book. MLP was written by a self-aggrandizing blowhard, and it shows in the writing. While Nasdijj (I don't remember his real name) may have been just as self serving in the long run, his books aren't nearly as juvenile.



4. Nasdijj is NOT NAVAJO (Dine). He is a White guy from Michigan. He lied about being "Dine". His real name is Tim Barrus. As a member of the Dine Nation I am Truly disgusted with this fraud.



5. This was one of my favorite books until I found out that the author made it up, and passed it off as memoir.

3 comments about Home Is Everything: The Latino Baseball Story: From the Barrio to the Major Leagues.

1. This book is very well photographed and written. The photos are stunning and colorful as well as informative and narrative. Not your stanard picture book, this is much better and will have a longer shelf life as the players are legendary. A must have book for the photographer, the sports fan and the Latino communities around America.



2. In Home Is Everything, Marcos Breton presents story vignettes of Latinos involved in American Baseball, told in both English and Spanish, and enhanced with full-color photographs by Jose Luis Villegas. Slices of daily life training and competing in this great sport, as well as the names and brief profiles of remarkable and dedicated people, comprise this celebration of baseball which is enthusiastically recommended for the fans of Latino players.



3. This is the best book I ever read! Marcos Breton is an amazing writer and historian. Usually, all you ever hear about is Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, but now we get to hear about Roberto Clemente, Fernando Valenzuela, and Jorge Posada too! Viva Baseball! This book is a valuable addition to any library.

1 comments about Conversations with Rudolfo Anaya (Literary Conversations Series).

1. This book by Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, was a wonderful book. I like the way that he made the reader actually think about what he writes. It really kept me awake at night sometimes. It even made me question my religion! I liked the way Antonio said that God wouldn't forgive everyone, but the VIrgin Mary will forgive everyone. If you haven't read this book, I strongly encourage you to read this!

4 comments about Closest Companion: The Unknown Story of the Intimate Relationship Between Franklin Roosevelt and Margaret Suckley.

1. Having visited Ms. Suckley's home and the nearby Roosevelt home and library, I felt as though I were along for the ride as I read Daisy's accounts of their picnics and "tea dates" at various sites along the Hudson. In this day of "tell-all" books and seemingly unlimited voyeuristic snooping into Presidential private lives, this book was a pleasant departure from the norm. It also offered new insights into the life of a much-studied President, but one about whom there are still many unknowns. Margaret Suckley, even while preserving much of the account of her longstanding (but unknown to most contemporaries) relationship with FDR, took care to take the more private elements of their friendship to the grave.



2. This is the story of Franklin Roosevelt's friendship with a distant cousin Daisy Suckley, based on journals long kept from the public by Daisy herself. It is fascinating for that story, but more so for the information it gives of a time in our history, when the President could leave the country and only those closest to him would know it. As Daisy relates the daily comings and goings of her life, she give us an intimate look at how Franklin Roosevelt managed to travel to secret meetings with other world leaders. She also lets us see Rosevelt's failing health and how his determination to win the war kept him going.

   Geoffrey C. Ward's editing keeps the story moving. It may not be scholarly history, but it is a fascinating read for any history buff looking to understand the story behind the history.




3. A fascinating book. If you like history, particularly the Roosevelt era, it is the day-to-day letters and diaries between Franklin Roosevelt and his fourth cousin Margaret Suckley who was present at most of the major events during the Roosevelt presidency including his death. She traveled extensively with him throughout the United States. She lived down the road from him in Hyde Park and edited his papers at the White House with him during his presidency. This book an unknown treasure.



4. This book was recommended to me more than 10 years ago; I am sorry that I finally read it only within the past few weeks. Whether its excellence is owing more to Daisy Suckley and the FDR correspondence she kept hidden throughout her long (99-year) life, or to editor and compiler Geoffrey Ward (whose other Roosevelt books I am now dying to read), it should be required reading on the topic of FDR. Nothing else I have read shows us more about FDR's personal life. It is more revealing, for example, than the recent Franklin & Lucy (also worth reading, but not nearly so compelling). Roosevelt's letters to his neighbor and distant cousin Daisy are not direct transcriptions from his mind or heart---no one's are---but they may come as close as we can get. Besides this insight, we get Daisy's eyewitness account of many crucial moments in World War II and of FDR's last days. A valuable account of an extremely complicated man.

2 comments about Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography, Community (Viewpoints on American Culture).

1. amazon let me know when my package was mailed out and when it was expected to get here. it felt like the book took forever to get here because i needed it this semester but i got before we used it in class. everything was great.



2. This book is filled with fascinating histories of amazing women! It's wonderful to read the history of another ethnic group and compare it to the US History. I found myself even more empowered, intrigued, and inspired!

No comments about Mi Familia My Family (Somos Latinos / We Are Latinos).