1 comments about Foolish Men: Sor Juana Ines De LA Cruz As Spiritual Protagonist, Educational Prism, and Symbol for Hispanic Women.

1. Foolish Men! exhibits a thorough historical research of the time and political atmosophere surrounding Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. However, there was too much focus on the bishops and other political figures (all men) and little discussion on Sor Juana. The title and the preface both suggest the text will delve into Sor Juana as "spiritual protagonist, educational prism, and a symbol for women," but there was little connection between the historical backgrounds of the bishops and its effects on Sor Juana, specifically how a new generation of hispanic women can see Sor Juana as a symbol of strength. Overall the text was well-written but lacked a strong argument connecting the theological past of Sor Juana with modern education. This text is more for the curious reader than the Sor Juana scholar.

2 comments about Benjy Lopez: A Picaresque Tale of Puerto Rican Emigration and Return.

1. A mindblowing book. I want to find more books by this autho



2. ``Barry Levine has that increasingly rare gift, the sociological ear. In this book we have the result of his listening-patiently, sensitively, with a fine feeling for nuance to what I'm sure must be one of the most colorful characters in sociological literature.'' Peter L. Berger on the dust jacket of Benjy Lopez ``This book is intended as a positive alternative to much testimonial literature about Puerto Ricans/Neoricans in which they appear as passive victims... The sad absurdity of racial and cultural prejudice is illuminated... Highly recommended.'' Joanna Walsh in Library Journal ``An attempt to redress the balance in the sociological literature about Puerto Ricans... providing a more balanced view of Puerto Rican migrants and of the acculturation process.'' Frank Fernández in Revista/Review Interamericana ``In this book one reads a few paragraphs at random only to find them so interesting that one turns to the first page and reads every page. Benjy is a good antidote to those who believe that the culture of poverty concept is all but divinely inspired... Valuable research, excellent writing.'' Raymond E. Crist in Latin America in Books ``Professor Levine's book is both a labor of love for Puerto Rico and its plight and a fine piece of scholarship.'' Ed Vega in Nuestro ``Bringing to Lopez's story advanced instruments of social science, an effective interpretative scheme, and a solid sociological background, Levine has rescued Third World man from indignity... Few works will better demonstrate the circum-stances of the Puerto Rican in New York than this one by Levine.'' Miguel Barnet in ``A Man and His Potential,'' Caribbean Review. The review appeared in Spanish in Opiniones Latinoamericanas, titled: ``Un puertorrequeño contra el sistema.'' ``I applaud his attempt to give a different picture of Puerto Rican life, one not ridden with despair and resignation like many other writers... have done.'' Helen I. Safa in ``A Tale of Wit and Woe,'' Caribbean Review ``Ojala que Barry Levine, quien con tanto acierto ha sabido comunicamos la personalidad de este hombre puertorrequeño de nuestra epoca, ofrezca en algún momento nuevas noticias que vayan completando esta apasionante `historia picaresca'...'' Juan Mart¡nez Capó in ``Libros de Puerto Rico,'' El Mundo (San Juan) ``Acaba de aparecer un estupendo libro... Tras esa historia aparentemente vulgar, se esconde algo realmente conmovedor: la lucha de un imigrante de origen hispano para ser respetado y apreciado... La labor de selecci¢n de informaci¢n hecha por Barry Levine puede considerarse ejemplar. Ahí estan en ese magnífico libro todas las luchas... de miles de puertorrequeños.'' Carlos AIberto Montaner on the Spanish International Television Network ``A rare work about the Puerto Rican diaspora that leaves the reader on the whole more cheerful when he finishes reading than when he started.'' Gerald Guinness in ``Beating the System,'' Américas. The same review also appeared in Spanish under the title ``Cómo burlar el sistema.'' A similar review by the same author appeared in the San Juan Star under the title ``The Puerto Rican Hustle: Beating the System'' ``Benjy's story is much more interesting and refreshing than the countless one-dimensional sociological studies of Caribbean and Latin American emigrants to the U.S., or Mediterranean emigrants to Western Europe.'' Aaron Segal in The Times of the America. This review also appeared in Worldview [Benjy's life] ``opens the reader's eyes to the problems and challenges, the pain and frustration of life as a Puerto Rican in the big metropolis.'' Joseph P. Fitzpatrick in ``Is There Hope for Puerto Ricans?,'' a review essay in Contemporary Sociology ``A good read... but above and beyond its literary attributes, it stands on its own as a well-conceived, thoroughly researched, and solid study. A significant contribution to the scientific analysis of the causes and consequences of Puerto Rican emigration and return.'' Angel Calderdón Cruz in Caribbean Studies ``A stupendous book that only a sociologist/anthropologist willing and unafraid to let a little humanism and common sense creep into his study could write. A very human document about a very human being.'' Gary Brana-Shute in Bijdragen (Liden) `Levine's simpatico study reveals unique kinds of resourcefulness and suffering that elevate Benjy from a `type' into a subject of human concern.'' W. Marvin Will and Edward M. Dew in Choice ``Levine does not believe that the migration experience is one of failure and for this reason he writes a success story.'' Carolina Hospital in Latinamericanist A nasty little attack appears in Marvin A. Lewis, ``The Puerto Rican in Popular U.S. Literature: A Culturalist Perspective,'' in Asela Rodríguez de Laguna, ed., Images and Identities: The Puerto Rican in Literature, (New Jersey: Transaction Books) and in Imágines e Identitades: el puertorriqueño en la literatura (Río Piedras: Editorial Huracán) A critical essay appeared in Revista de Ciencias Sociales (San Juan), Vol. XXll, Nos. 1 & 2 (March-June 1980), 187-98. Reviews also appeared in La Critica Sociologica (Rome), Sociogische Gide (Amsterdam) and Social Science Journal. Book notes have appeared in: Kirkus Review (15 February 1980); Publishers Weekly (22 February 1980), and Booklist (15 June 1980).

4 comments about No Borders: A Journalist's Search for Home.

1. This book reflects how an immigrant who works hard in the USA can succeed financially and professionally. Ramos has certainly proved that=--Congratulations. It is unfortunate that even though he has interviewed leaders of other countries and see how government in other countries hold back progress of their own people and yet Ramos hesitates to call USA his home. As he acknowledges Mexico made him and USA developed him...like a biological farther who has a child yet never nourishes or parents his child but the stepfather is really the "Father" because the step dad has cared, nourished the child. USA has been the step father for Ramos in many ways.



2. I truly enjoyed reading this book, Univision was always on my mom's television set and Mr. Ramos is my mom's favorite journalist, she loves him, and now I see why. Thank you Jorge for sharing your incredible story.



3. This has to be one of the most astonishing and incredible memoirs of hispanics living in the United States. I loved Ramos's simplistic style, yet profound way of describing his thoughts. For those interested in journalism, this is a book to read.



4. Having read The Other Face of America, I had to get my hands on Jorge Ramos's memoir. He has inspired me to pursue a career in journalism, which is why I have followed his career for years. In No Borders, Ramos gives the reader an inside look into the life of a young Hispanic male seeking the American Dream. He moved to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of twenty-five, with very little experience in the journalistic field. Twenty-years later, he is a seven-time Emmy Award winning anchorman for Univision. From his tale of how he became one of the most successful reporters to recaps of his biggest news assignments, No Borders is an inspiring memoir about a man who stopped at nothing to get to where he is today...

5 comments about La historia de Ana: Un camino lleno de esperanza (Ana's Story, Spanish edition).

1. impressive work by bush.....absolutely loved the way the innocence of ana was portrayed and the struggles she had to overcome just because that was the life she was born to......could not put it down....loved it



2. I found Ana's Story to be an encouraging account of a young South American woman whose life will always be defined by her response to the HIV/AIDS virus. She seems to be well aware of how vital taking care of herself and her baby will be to their future. The work of UNICEF and its volunteers like Jenna Bush is admirable.
   
   I listened to the audio recording. While the author did a reasonably good job of reading, I found her pronunciation of contractions, i.e., ("diduhn't"), to be distracting.



3. I loved this book. A friend recommended it and said it's a short read with beautiful pictures. It only took me a couple of hours to read. And I can not wait to loan it out to a couple of friends. I just went to Amazon and pulled up the reviews. I was amazed at how many negative comments people made and all because of who wrote the book. I read a lot and I read everything. This book was an excellent way to reach out to the younger generation about such a serious topic. I can appreciate the format it is short and to the point, which works for this story. The pictures help you visualize the area Ana grew up in. It helps the story grow in your head. The only complaint I have is it ended entirely too soon. I wanted to hear more about Ana, the afterward explained why and what happened. It saddened me to read the reviews and to read someone say it would never have been published had it not been written by Jenna Bush. It makes me wonder how many other lovely stories are out there I will never read because it doesn't fit the "normal" mold of what people want. I will recommend this short sweet read to everyone I know. READ IT READ IT READ IT. Thank you



4. Jena Bush has written a remarkable story. I love how it is written and I understand why the story is incomplete. In the future I hope to hear that Ana is still doing well and continues to grow. Much was said about HIV/AIDS and much education is being done with this book. I hope that it continues to educate people about this disease. Thank you.



5. this is a supposdly true story of a girl named ana who goes through many hardships from having hiv, to losing her parents, to being abused in many forms. this would be a truly touching story if didn't come across sounding overly sweet, plus the pictures/illustrations don't match up with the story. what i found was worst is how gives a false hidden message where all you truly need is love to survive. i got this book from the library and glad i didn't waste a dime other then my time in reading this book.

No comments about Pedro Martinez (The Great Hispanic Heritage).

No comments about To Alcatraz, Death Row, and Back: Memories of an East LA Outlaw.

1 comments about Ellen Ochoa.

1. I ordered this book thinking it would provide a nice, concise biography of Ellen Ochoa, the famous Latina astronaut, for my 10 year old son. Unfortunately, the book consists almost entirely of pairs of facing pages, on one side displaying a color photo occupying a full page and on the other side a page with a single sentence 6 to 8 words long. The only exceptions to this are the first page, which has two sentences totaling 7 words in all, and the last page, which has 3 sentences of 7 or 8 words each. There is also a 4-word glossary at the end with 3 to 6 word long definitions of these words: astronaut, machines, space and train (the verb).
   
   For you to grasp the level of this book, I need only quote the first few pages: "Meet Ellen Ochoa. She is an astronaut. Ellen had to train to be an astronaut. Ellen had to learn how to use many machines. She worked hard, but she had fun." You have now read the first 12 pages of this 24 page book! We don't get to find out when or where she was born, where she went to college or what degrees she earned, how long or where she trained for her mission(s), how long she worked at NASA, what the machines were she had to train on, or what trips she may or may not have taken into space.
   
   The color photographs are beautiful. If you want a nice picture book to inspire 6 year olds to read their first simple sentences, this is your book. If you actually want your child to learn something about Ellen Ochoa, you'll have to look elsewhere!

No comments about Tommy Nunez, N B A Reference: Taking My Best Shot (A Mitchell Lane multicultural biography).

No comments about The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing (Camino Del Sol).

No comments about The Life & Times of Willie Velásquez (The Hispanic Civil Rights Series).