"Brilliant.... A loving and detailed celebration of a diverse, beautiful and often astounding people."—Laurence Gonzales, Chicago Tribune They are sometimes called the people who died twice, once at the hands of the Spaniards and their brutal process of civilization, then at the hands of Anglos, practicing a subtler exploitation. They are Latinos, the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Earl Shorris's deeply moving narrative—enlivened by biographical sketches of Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and many others struggling with the burden of a rich and terrible history—illuminates every aspect of the Latino experience in America, from language to education to social and political organization. "[A] powerful, beautifully-written and thoughtful book...likely to remain unequaled in its sweep and profundity for some time to come."—J. Jorge Klor de Alva, The New York Times Book Review "A smart, perceptive and wonderfully readable book.... Should be required reading for anyone who would hope to understand America."—Gerald Volgenau, Boston Globe
Earl Shorris (1936–2012) was the author of many works of both fiction and non-fiction including Latinos, Under the Fifth Sun, In the Language of Kings, and Riches for the Poor. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Clinton for his founding of the Clemente Course in the Humanities®, Inc.
