1 comments about All Rise: Reynaldo G. Garza, the First Mexican American Federal Judge (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a&M University, No. 62).

1. Reynaldo G. Garza is a giant in the political and legal history of Texas and is most deserving of biographical treatment. All Rise successfully recounts many of the highlights of Judge Garza's life and career. It ultimately disappoints, however. First, the author lacks the legal background necessary to explain the significance of many of Judge Garza's judicial opinions. Second, the book fails to fully introduce the reader to the biographical subject himself, leaving him portrayed as two-dimensional and leaving the reader wanting more.

No comments about Sports Great Bobby Bonilla (Sports Great Books).

No comments about Latino Writers in the U.S. (Literary Reader).

No comments about Forgotten Memories, Revised Ed.

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

1. 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.



2. 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.



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. 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???



5. 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 comments about Diary of an Undocumented Immigrant.

1. I read this book years ago, and it is one of those books that stayed in my head. Tinguis Perez writes in simple, direct prose about some harsh situations in the US, the types of situations undocumented immigrants encounter routinely but that few US citizens will encounter at all in the ordinary routine of life. He understates everything, never sensationalizes, and the result is extraordinarily powerful and human.



2. Libraries are now full of statistical and sociological reports on undocumented or illegal Mexican immigrants in the U.S. This book presents what I believe in the only account in print from the personal experience of one such immigrant. It tells of his crossing the border, his apprehension by the Border Patrol, of a subsequent successful entry, and of the more than two years that Mr. Perez spent in Texas, California and Washington, living with others in his status, trying to catch the American Dream.

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 No Greater Love: The Lives and Times of Hispanic Soldiers.

4 comments about Ritchie Valens: The First Latino Rocker.

1. This was a great biography. I foolsihly thought that the movie was accurate, but this book proves me wrong. It would have been good for the movie to be just like this book, but of course the show business just wants to make it look good to make a profit! As well, maybe the movie makers had to change some things around or they would get sued. If I were going to make a movie about him, I would base it on this book. The movie was a good movie, but not truly about the real Ritchie Valens...same as the Buddy Holly Story.



2. I had been a fan of Ritchie's since 1988. When I learned of this book through Ritchie's offical fan club; I couldn't have been more pleased. I had done a research paper in my senior year of high school, on Ritchie, and I realized how little was written about him. The first Latino Rocker is the only book out there about Ritchie, and I thought it was wonderful. The other shared someone personal traits about Ritchie that allowed me to know him at least a little bit. It was actually better than the movie La Bamba. I highly recomend this book for a new Ritchie fan. I love the pictures of him in the book. My heart goes out to his family and friends since tomorrow will be February 3rd.



3. Ms. Mendheim does much much more than give us an accurate account of the famed Lation rock-n-roll star's life. She successfully immerses us completely in Ritchie Valens' music, leaving us with a comprehensive wealth of knowledge that was long overdue for the public! Ms. Mendheim's thorough research is to be congratulated time after time! You WON'T be disappointed!



4. The First Latino Rocker jumps around more than a 2 year old on a sugar fix. It is terribly written, yet the author says it was 20 years in the making. My grade school cousin can write a one page book report with more info on a subject, than Ms. Mendheim gives in 175 pages. After the first 3 or 4 pages she has jumped from his infancy, to his musical career several times. Halfway through you are so confused with his story you have to continuously look back towards the front to see what the hay is going on. Let's just hope she does not quit her day job. The only high point in the book are the photo's.

1 comments about My Sax Life: A Memoir (Latino Voices/Vidas).

1. Paquito d'Rivera is an undisputed virtuoso on saxophone and clarinet in both the jazz and classical worlds. One of the great innovators of Latin jazz in modern times, Paquito has always been at the forefront of the movement. Unless you are familiar with his random writings in numerous publications, most people were unaware of Paquito's talent of prose in Spanish and English. After penning his novel, Oh, La Habana! and the Spanish version of his memoirs, he has now released his memoirs in English or his anti-biography as he prefers to call it. Much like his lyrical improvisational style, Paquito d'Rivera's book is filled with his trademark humor and wit, bounces between decades here and abroad and includes personal antidotes and stories as well as those of his closest friends and collaborators. Destined to becoming one of the great jazz memoirs of all time, and definitely a must read for this year's music book releases, My Sax Life is highly recommended.