2 comments about Selena (Latinos in the Limelight).

1. I love reading Selena so much I would rather read a book about Selena than go to school.I think all ages should read this book.she was famous for her singing.I admire her so much.I love for you to read it and admire her as much as I do.



2. If you have no information on Selena then this book is a good starting point. This book is well presented with a beautiful front cover of Selena and many good colour photos inside. The chapters cover Selena's beginnings her road to success and and also gives an insight into her aspirations to become a fashion designer. Her relationship with Chris later to become her husband are touched upon as is the the hugely successful concert at the Alamodome in San Antonio a week before her death. The book features details about the search for an actress to play Selena in the film which eventually starred Jennifer Lopez. As much as I enjoyed the book and I think it is excellent value for money I wanted more information and more detail. 46 pages somehow doesn't do justice to the legacy that Selena left behind. If your daughter is doing a project on Selena at school as mine was then this is good source of reference.

1 comments about Alex and the Hobo: A Chicano Life and Story.

1. This book is one of the best textbooks on Chicano studies that has come out in a long time. Joe Taylor is a natural storyteller and I am hoping that his next book is an anthology of short stories on the San Luis Valley life experience. Joe Taylor has lived the life of a descendant of the sturdy pioneers that settled that area. Theses people were to far from Mexico and never included as part of America ,created their own culture,language and customs. Priscilla Salazar

No comments about The Medicine of Memory: A Mexica Clan in California.

1 comments about Alisados: Vivencias de una Mujer Dominicana.

1. 
   Alisados: Vivencias de una Mujer Dominicana
   
   As a brown skinned Hispanic I could relate to the author. I find her anecdotes similar to mines and it shows the intricate details of ones culture. I encourage others to get this book and pass it along as a form of knot to tie each others past and cultures together--to share friendship.

No comments about Latin King: Una vida sangrienta (Coleccion Barbaros/Testimonio).

5 comments about Gabriel's Fire: A Memoir.

1. The fact that this book was chosen by the University of Chicago Press is no small feat. The other reviewers must be seeking action, resolution, or Hollywood storytelling. This is not the point. This book is a clairvoyant entry into a very special voice that became witness and part of the surroundings and established a deep, confident, thoughtful, methodical, positive, and productive psyche through the chaos that unfolded (sometimes via the protagonist's own doing, mind you!).



2. I knew the author and his family. I attended S.S. Peter & Paul too and if memory serves me right, I think his mother IS still alive. I thought memoirs were supposed to be true? Guess this author didn't get that memo. Not everything is fiction though. He did have an affair with his teacher that everyone knew about but shame on the author for lying about "Father Tom"!! He knows damn well that &$%!# did happen. What a disappointment!



3. I read this book because I've been studying Latino youth and gangs in Chicago. I kept waiting for "something" to happen in this book. The author doesn't really have enough interesting things to say for a memoir, and it seems kind of like he just wants to hear himself talk.
   If anyone has any other suggestions about quality books on Latino youth and gang culture (particularly in Chicago/NYC) let me know: jlockey79@yahoo.com



4. I really enjoyed this book. As someone who grew up in Chicago around the same time, it's a realistic portrayal of life on the South Side. Some may complain about all of the profanity used. I say, hide in a corner and listen to teens talk. As a matter of fact, don't hide, they'll probably swear anyway.
   The alcohol abuse, violence and love of music is a very real aspect of many people's lives. Even the affair with the teacher is well-done and not sensationalized.
   This is a must read for anyone interested in what life is or was like for some young people in our American cities.



5. I bought this book because I enjoy reading life stories, especially if it is about mexican/latino life. I just could not get into this book, so I didn't bother to finish it. The story just didn't seem to tie together or flow. I think the premise was a good start but it should be rewritten.

1 comments about The Conquistadores: Building a Spanish Empire in the Americas (Proud Heritage: the Hispanic Library).

1. R. Conrad Stein has written enough books for the various series published by The Child's World press that he not only know the formula, but how to exploit it to his advantage. Like all of those other volumes, "The Conquistadores: Building a Spanish Empire in the Americas" is required to have four chapters, but Stein is allowed to have detailed sidebars in each chapter and he really takes advantage of that in this book.

   The first chapter on Spain and the Conquistadores explains how fighting for several centuries to free their land from Moorish rule created a warrior class in Spain that took advantage of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus to take armies across the sea to serve God and the monarch (and also to get rich). The other three chapters are devoted to the three most famous conquistadores, namely Hernando Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico, Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Incas, and Francisco de Coronado, Explorer of the American Southwest. But then Stein also devotes sizeable sidebars to Vasco de Balboa, Discoverer of the Pacific, Cabeza de Vaca, the Compassionate Conquistador, and Hernando de Soto, Explorer of the Mississippi. The Time Line in the back of the book shows who was doing what when and where to help put each conquistador in perspective. The result is a nice introduction to a half dozen of the key conquistadors who helped to establish a Spanish presence in the New World on a level that is at least comparable to what you would expect to find in the early chapters of a standard grade school American history textbook.

   The book is illustrated with historic prints and paintings (the cover is a detail of Spanish soliders taken from Juan O'Gorman's "Historical Mural). The first eight volumes in this series, "A Proud Heritage: The Hispanic Library," were published last year and "The Conquistadores is one this year's eight new volumes. The others are devoted to "Christopher Columbus: Opening the Americas to European Exploration," "Emiliano Zapata: Revolutionary and Champion of Poor Farmers," "Frida Kahlo: An Artist Celebrates Life," "Hernando Cortés: Conquistador and Empire Builder," "Mario Molina: Chemist and Nobel Prize Winner," and "Pancho Villa: Mexican Revolutionary Hero," as well as a volume on "The Changing Face of America: Hispanic Roots, Hispanic Pride" (the first set had a volume on Coronado). Given that Hispanics are now the second largest ethnic group in the country the value of a series like this is better than ever.

No comments about Frida Kahlo: Painting Her Life (Famous Latinos).

No comments about Salma Hayek (Twentieth Century's Most Influential Hispanics).

No comments about Latin American Writers (Literary Reader).