Reviews (1)

Very interesting, but not for the hardcore boxing fan
This is a great book, but unfortunately it is weak in terms of covering the boxing aspect of Chavez' life. Regardless this book is gives a fascinating look into the life of one of Boxing's greatest fighters. ... Read more

Book Description

Knight without Armor is the definitive biography of one of the most substantial yet unknown historians of the twentieth century. No historian of Hispanic descent has matched Castaeda's success, with eighteen books and nearly fifty articles published in three decades. He was also one of the most distinguished historians of his time, having earned accolades such as knighthood in the Vatican's Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and in Spain's Order of Isabel la Catlica for contributing to the study of Catholicism and the history of the Spanish borderlands in North America.

In his rise to prominence, Castaeda had to overcome financial burdens and ethnic discrimination. Rising from humble origins in South Texas, he fought to improve school conditions in the barrios of San Antonio and Del Rio and served on Franklin D. Roosevelt's Committee on Fair Employment Practice during World War II. In 1939 he became a professor and historian at the University of Texas, where he taught Latin American and Catholic history. His seven-volume study, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, 15191950, has been called the best work ever written on the Spanish colonial era in Texas.

Until his death in 1958, Castaeda educated others on the history and culture of Hispanic Americans and courageously sought equality for his people. Author Flix Almarz has drawn on writings, interviews, and photographs from private collections as well as extensive data from state and national archives in this worthy tribute to an important historian. ... Read more

Book Description

Traces the life of the Spanish explorer and missionary who traveled to Mexico and California to teach the Indians about Christianity and who established nine missions along the California coast. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Junipero Serra and The California Missons
I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to read and understand. It is a great resource to use in the classroom. The book contains a lot of information regarding Father Serra. It is written in a form that provides just enough information for the average fourth or fifth grade student.

Father Junipero Serra and the California Missions
I thought this book was good because it offers very good information about Father Serra, and it's easy for children to read. There are not many books on Father Serra, I only found a few but they were too long for young children to read. I was very interested while reading the book, and I enjoyed it. ... Read more

Book Description

Biography of gold medal olympic gymnast, Trent Dimas ... Read more

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Roberto Clemente
This book is great and tells about Roberto Clemente on and off the field, one of the greatest books I ever read ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I really enjoyed this book, it was wonderful!
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 questionmyreligion! I liked the way Antonio said that God wouldn't forgiveeveryone, but the VIrgin Mary will forgive everyone.If you haven'tread this book, I strongly encourage you to read this! ... Read more

Book Description

Spanish explorer, Fray Juan Crespi, founded sites in upper California for Franciscan missions. The sites became part of a trail called El Camino Real, of 21 missions connecting San Diego and San Francisco. ... Read more

Book Description

Noted filmmaker Jesús Salvador Treviño participated in and documented the most important events in the Mexican American civil rights movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's: the farm workers' strikes and boycotts, the Los Angeles school walk-outs, the Chicano Youth Conference in Denver, the New Mexico land grant movement, the Chicano moratorium against the Vietnam War, the founding of the La Raza Unida Party, and the first incursion of Latinos in the media. Coming of age during the turmoil of the sixties, Treviño was on the spot to record the struggles to organize students and workers into the largest social and political movements in the history of Latino communities in the United States.

As important as his documentation of historical events is his self-reflection and chronicling of how these events helped to shape his own personality and mission as one of the most renowned Latino filmmakers. Treviño's beautifully written memoir is fascinating for its detail, insight, and heretofore undisclosed reports from behind the scenes by a participant and observer who is able to strike the balance between personal reflection and reportage. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must for young Chicanos
Names and stories about so called "Role Models" fall short in front of this personal memoirs of Jesus Salvador Trevino.
This book is a great collection of personal experiences and success in a society where not being "white" means to swim against the current.
I highly recommend it for teachers to share with their students.
Each page carries a message that says: Yes, it can be done! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Seeing is believing...
The story reads very much like J.D. Salinger's Catcher in theRye, except that JD's was a work of fiction and Vilar's is a true andheart wrenching account of her own experience. From a literaryperspective, it is obvious that Vilar is young. But this work holds the promise of greater literary works by Vilar. Vilar's talent is in her ability to drag you in to her story and aid you in understanding it without too much of a fuss. The books makes great reading for HS students. It is valuable in terms of it's linkage to contemporary historical facts about which HS students may just be learning. The books biggest benefit is in its telling in the intimate way only an insider can about the aftermath of political actions of the 1950's. ... Read more

Book Description

Baseball is enormously popular in Latin America, and many of the sport’s greatest players are from south of the border. Fourteen of these superstars, from 1900 to the 1960s, are profiled here. Modeled on traditional baseball cards, the book features stats and anecdotes about 14 pioneering Latino players ranging from Dolf Luque, the Cuban pitcher who became the first Latin American star in the major leagues, to Roberto Clemente, the legendary Puerto Rican outfielder of the 1950s and 1960s. ¡Beisbol! also recalls the hardships Latino players have faced and how they have contributed to baseball history. “Will be a welcome addition to any baseball collection.” — School Library Journal ... Read more

Book Description

In order to obtain a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of Cuban society, Felipe Arocena and William Noland spent three years interviewing and photographing the people of this nation in Cuba and in Miami. This book is the product of that interval during which the two men gathered narratives, reflections and life stories of both Cubans living in their own country and those residing in Miami. Collectively the dialogues assist in answering questions such as: What is life like for the Cuban people after nearly 50 years of Castro’s rule? How do those Cubans who emigrate to Miami manage? And, how do these two groups relate to one another?

These accounts, all published in the interviewees’ native Spanish, provide a synopsis of a single country that has been divided in two. The conversations recorded with people living in Cuba represent three distinct groups; those employed by the state, which practically all formal employment is; individuals working in occupations not tied to the government, such as musicians, farmers or those in the businesses owned by foreign investors; and the Cubans supporting themselves with semi-clandestine or completely clandestine activities.

The Miami Cubans interviews are of a range of unique people from the executive director of the National Cuban-American Foundation, high school teenagers, the manager of one of the most successful stores in Miami, and workers in a tobacco factory. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Baseball Legends Roberto Clemente
The book about Roberto Clemente is explaning to you that he can be placed at the top of the greatest baseball players list. I think that if you are a baseball fan you will be able to understand the book a lot more than others. Somehings that you might get out of this book or tha you might learn about this person is that he had an 307 lifetime batting average, he was 15th on the all time home run list, he was one of the best outfeilders to play for the pittsburg pirates, he was one of many to play in the Babe Ruth error, he was also one of the greatest hitters in the league at that time with more than 3000 hits.

RODNEY D

Roberto Clemente a Star From Puerta Rico
Roberto Clemente was born in Puert Rico. He grew up watching his favorite players play. His favorite player was Monte Irvin. Roberto always had a dream of playing in the majors. When he turned 18 he got his chance to tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He made the team and played in the minors. After one year with the Dodgers he then went to play for Pittsburgh and he ended up playing for them the rest of his career. He then won 12 golden gloves. He won one World Series and ended up with over 3000 career hits , and a batting average of .317. He was a Big League star and an idol for many.

Josh C. ... Read more

Book Description

Authorized biography of Moises Alou, son of Felipe Alou, from the famous Dominican baseball family. Moises now plays for the Houston Astros. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Rafael Campo is acclaimed as an important contemporary poet on the basis of his two books of poetry The Other Man Was Me and What the Body Told. In The Poetry of Healing Campo uses his gift for language to explicate and delineate the connections between being a doctor and a poet, a writer and a healer, a gay man and an educator. Campo's topic is always the body and he understands its fragility and resistance, its power and its grace. Campo's prose is precise and poetic; his insights are revelations. The Poetry of Healing is a work of literary grace and compassion--a memoir that illuminates the world with new light and urgency. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Poetry: the miracle cure
I read Campo's poetry before I knew he was a doctor; therefore, I hope he forgives me for thinking of him as a poet first, a doctor second. But this eloquent book--and indeed, Campo's life--exemplifies the benefits of accessing both sides of one's brain, the creative as well as the analytical/scientific. At times soaring with hopefulness and at others questioning the purpose of life and pondering the darkest moments of despair, Campo writes passionately and intimately about his role in the healing arts. This calling is informed as much by his poetic genius and ability to come face to face with raw emotion, unflinchingly, as it is by his doctoral training.

Campo writes powerfully about AIDS and our relationship to the plague in a way one seldom reads: with practical guidelines, not moralistic platitudes and empty slogans. His essay "Imagining Unmanaging Health Care" is worth the price of the book.

An excellent volume of essays, full of warmth, compassion, and most of all, humanity. Campo has truly become the "warrior-physician" he aspired to be--let's hope managed care doesn't drive him from the profession.

A sensitive book by a gay, Latino, physician who treats AIDS
Dr. Campo provides a sensitive and sometimes provocative look at the life of a gay, minority, physician who treats patients suffering from the plague of the 90s, AIDS. Moreover, Dr. Campo, a true humanist and poet, discusses how his passion for medicine and writing have oftentimes seemed at odds with each other. He was able to deal with many, many issues in his life and to use both medicine and writing to heal himself, his patients, and, I believe, some of his readers. He is courageous, too, just by writing this kind of book. I couldn't have imagined a Yale-educated physician acting so "un-Ivy." But, Dr. Campo has spoken out to describe, in vivid detail, his love of medicine and of words and, most importantly, of his patients.

This book is a wonderful, wonderful read. ... Read more