Synopses & Reviews
Within the next decade, Hispanics will become the largest minority group in the United States. The new immigrants have ignited a vibrant Latin explosion in popular culture and deeply affected American society.
Spanning 500 years-from the first New World colonies to our nation's nineteenth-century westward expansion, from the days of gunboat diplomacy to the turn of the millennium-Harvest of Empire features family portraits of real-life immigrants along with sketches of the political events and social conditions that compelled them to leave their homeland. In addition, it gives a fascinating look at how these Latino pioneers have transformed the cultural landscape of the United States.
Review
"A serious, significant contribution to understanding who the Hispanics of the United States are and where they came from." --
The New York Times Book Review "Required reading, not simply for Latinos but for everyone." --Kansas City Star
Review
Required reading, not simply for Latinos but for everyone. (Kansas City Star)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part IRoots (Las Raíes)
1. Conquerors and Victims: The Image of America Forms (1500-1800)
2. The Spanish Borderlands and the Making of an Empire (1810-1898)
3. Banana Republics and Bonds: Taming the Empire's Backyard (1898-1950)
Part IIBranches (Las Ramas)
4. Puerto Ricans: Citizens Yet Foreigners
5. Mexicans: Pioneers of a Different Type
6. Cubans: Special Refugees
7. Dominicans: From the Duarte to the George Washington Bridge
8. Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost
9. Colombians and Panamanians: Overcoming Division and Disdain
PartHarvest (La Cosecha)
10. The Return of Juan Seguín: Latinos and the Remaking of American Politics
11. Immigrants Old and New: Closing Borders of the Mind
12. Speak Spanish, You're in America!: El Huracán over Language and Culture
13. Free Trade: The Final Conquest of Latin America
14. Puerto Rico, U.S.A.: Possessed and Unwanted
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Interviews
Index