No comments about Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia (3 volume set).

1 comments about Xul Solar: Pintor De Misterio / Painter of Mystery.

1. Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari (1887-1963) was born with that name, but later decided that he wanted to change it to Xul Solar, a phonetic equivalent of his parents surnames. Xul was many things: a painter, an astrologist, a mystic, a creator of languages and religions. He participated actively in the Argentinian artistic scene from the 1920's onwards, and was permanently involved in new endeavors with friends such as Jorge Luis Borges, Oliverio Girondo, Leopoldo Marechal, and Macedonio Fernández. According to Borges, "Hombre versado en todas las disciplinas, curioso de todos los arcanos, padre de escrituras, de lenguajes, de utopías, de mitologías, huésped de infiernos y de cielos, autor panajedrecista y astrólogo perfecto en la indulgente ironía y en la generosa amistad, Xul Solar es uno de los acontecimientos más singulares de nuestra época".
   
   Because of all that, it isn't easy to find a good biography about Xul, because such a biography would have to be little less than a biography of everything. Fortunately for us, "Xul Solar: pintor del misterio" is almost certainly such a biography. Well documented and easy to read, it is evident that Álvaro Abós had a great idea when he decided to write this book.
   
   Notwithstanding that, I think that this biography could have been even better if it had had illustrations of at least some of Xul's paintings. All the same, we can solve that inconvenient if we visit www.xulsolar.org.ar/xulhall.html, a website where you can admire Xul Solar's works. Do you really need to do that?. Well, allowing Borges to speak again, "Sus pinturas son documentos del mundo ultraterreno, del mundo metafísico en que los dioses toman las formas de la imaginación que los sueña. La apasionada arquitectura, los colores felices, los muchos pormenores circunstanciales, los laberintos, los homúnculos y los ángeles inolvidablemente definen este arte delicado y monumental.El gusto de nuestro tiempo vacila entre el mero agrado lineal, la transcripción emotiva y el realismo con brocha gorda; Xul Solar renueva, a su modo ambicioso que quiere ser modesto, la mística pintura de los que no ven con los ojos físicos en el ambito sagrado de Blake, de Swedenborg, de yoguis y de bardos". No need for more words, don't you think?.
   
   Also, it is wortwhile to point out that another possible problem for the English speaking reader is that this book is written in Spanish, so get ready to practice your language skills, or be prepared to wait a long time for an English translation that may never come...
   
   On the whole, I recommend his book to you if you are at least somewhat interested in Xul Solar's paintings, or eager to know more about a man as peculiar as Xul was.
   
   Belen Alcat

4 comments about Armando Marsans: The First Cuban Major League Baseball Player.

1. ...then you have to read this book. Toot is that rare breed of writer who can weave together an impressive array of details and facts into a compelling story. This is a great baseball tale with larger-and-lower-than-life characters, nail-biting games, and interesting off-the-field background. It's also an important book about the integration of hispanics into baseball--their experience and the reaction from the American baseball community. In this day and age of hispanics playing such an integral role in baseball, it's more important than ever to understand where they got their start.



2. If he were playing today, Armando Marsans would be a household name. Until this remarkable book, Marsans' name survived only in boxscores, in the occasional mention in the sports pages, and in the memories of those few surviving fans who remember seeing him play. Through his in-depth research, Toot manages to rescue the player from obscurity and bring his story to life.

   Toot's book is also an interesting sociological study of our country's first hispanic celebrity's struggle for acceptance. Further, it provides an eye-opening picture of the early days of baseball, when players played year-round, when sharp metal spikes threatened devastating injury with every slide, and when there was still the prospect of multiple professional leagues in the US.




3. Its surprising how a very good book can receive so little publicity.
   We always refer to Jackie Robinson when talking about racial prejudices, but we never stop to think what early Latino players suffered.
   Peter Toote has done an impressive job documenting Armando Marsans' career in the Major Leagues, describing his intelligent and agressive style to play the game.
   We can read how Marsans became one of the iconic scapegoats that the Major Leagues used to expand its monopolistic tentacles against the Federal League. Take a look on Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis' role to protect the Major Leagues.
   Perhaps, one of the disadvantages that I find in this book is the little research that the author does about Marsans' career in Cuba.
   American authors must realize that language is not a barrier anymore as there are many Latin experts that speak English and can give a big help to complete a research project.
   Anyway, I give 5 stars. I really liked it.



4. I'd list this up there with Halberstam's The Teammates, Brashler's Josh Gibson biography, and Kahn's Boys Of Summer as one of the great baseball books.
   Toot's love of the game and deft prose is elegantly interwoven with the history of this one groundbreaking player.

No comments about Men May Come and Men May Go ... But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat: Life and Love In and Out of My Wardrobe.

No comments about Luis W. Alvarez (Raintree Hispanic Stories).

No comments about Notable Hispanic American Women: Book II (Notable Hispanic American Women).

No comments about Pablo Casals: Cellist for the World (Hispanic Biographies).

No comments about Cesar Chavez (Biografias Hispanoamericanas/Hispanic-American Biographies).

5 comments about Wandering Time: Western Notebooks (Camino Del Sol).

1. It is a shame that Amazon.com has to put on-line the review by Kirkus. I don't know who wrote it--he didn't sign his name--but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a jealous, inferior writer lashing out with his tiny pen.

   The shame is this: Wandering Time is a fine book. A great book. One of the best books I have read. Urrea's language has a music all its own. That's as clear as I can say it. He knows the word-music, the secret combination that strings the right sounds together in the right order--turns the language into something better, something sweeter than it is for the rets of us, something delicious.

   The Kirkus review sounds an awful lot like what they said about Mozart. In that regard it is appropriate. But in no other way.




2. I knew Luis and the other half of this "troubled marriage" (Kirkus Review) that ended. She left, he fell apart, she fell apart. But that was seven years ago! He's remarried and she has a two year-old by someone else! This is one of the great writers of our time; surely he can find something more interesting to think and write about. P.S. where do you want me to send your dad's records???



3. Luis writes from his soul; he is a wonderful person and it shows in his work. Kirkus doesn't know what he/she's talking about...Luis is one of the world's greatest writers, and one of my favorite people. I hope he's happy and well. I am, Nicolina



4. This American poet writer delivers songs in sentences and has a singular voice that calls out to you long after the book is lost on the shelf. His words don't just stay with you, but the spirit of a decent man does too. An engaging, funny, reflective, lyrical read.



5. This little book fell off the bookstore shelf in front of me while I was browsing so I knew it was meant for me to buy and read. It was also the first time I felt so inspired to write to the author to say how much his writing moved me. The book tells of his travels around the Western US while trying to find direction in his life but it is really a heart to heart talk with the reader. You will feel like you have an author for a best friend and you will never forget the beauty of how he puts his words together.

No comments about Roberto Clemente: Baseball Player (Ferguson Career Biographies).