Spanish Americans Lives And Faces

The history of the United States is made by many extraordinary individuals who gave significat contributions to this country. Many of them are of Hispanic origin and their achievements have not been exposed to the general public. Spanish-Americans highlights the deeds of many Hispanic figures who have made significant accomplishments in this land before it became independent and after its independence. Among them, the reader will find explorers, scholars, mossionaries, sailors, politicians, sciientist, artists, athletes, etc. Each biography gives hte background of each person, the main achievement and other important aspects of the individual's life. As one reads eack fascinating biography, one can glance at the picture of the person, giving the feeling of his (or her) presence. Spanish-Americans provides an additional one hundred profiles of other extraordinary individuals who merit being remembered for their achievements. Abundant historical sources and related bibliography are provided, accompanied by an alphbetical list of names.

PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS EDITIONS: "Rare is the book in English that provides a general overview of Latin America and the Caribbean. Rarer still is the good, topical, and largely dispassionate book that contributes to a better understanding of the rest of the hemisphere. Peter Winn has managed to produce both."—Miami Herald "This magisterial work provides an accessible and engaging introduction to the complex tapestry of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean."—Foreign Affairs "A clear, level-headed snapshot of a region in transition…. Winn is most interesting when he discusses the larger issues and to his credit he does this often."—Washington Post Book World "Balanced and wide-ranging…. After canvassing the legacies of the European conquerors, Winn examines issues of national identity and economic development…. Other discussions survey internal migration, the role of indigenous peoples, the complexity of race relations, and the treatment of women." —Publishers Weekly

With relatively high fertility and growing legal and illegal immigration, the U.S. Hispanic population increased by some 265 percent from an estimated 4 million in 1950 to 14.6 million and 6.4 percent of the total population counted in the 1980 census. By 2020 they could number some 47 million and displace blacks as the largest U.S. minority if immigration were to continue at the recent estimated level of one million a year (legal plus illegal, Hispanics plus all others). Self-identified as persons who trave their heritage to Spanish-speaking countries, Hispanics consist of Mexican-Americans (60 percent of the total), still concentrated in the Southwest; puerto Ricans living main in New York and New Jersey; Cubans headquartered in Florida; and the second-largest, more scattered :Other Hispanic: group from some 16 other Latin American countries and Spain, plus some other Mexican Americans established many generations in the Southwest. Fully 88 percent of Hispanics, compared to 75 percent of the general popluation, live in metropolitan areas. Except for Cubans, Hispanics are younger than the U.S. average (a median of 23 years versus the general median of 30 in 1980) and have higher fertility (an estimated 2.5 versus 1.8 births per woman), though their life expectancy may now equal that of all U.S. whites. They are also more likely to be divorced or separated and live in female-headed families. Hispanic occupational status and educational attainment still lag far behind the U.S. average, unemployment is 40-50 percent higher, and Hispanic families average 70 percent of the median income and 2.7 times the poverty rate of all U.S. white families. But younger Hispanics and Cubans in particular are beginning to catch up, as is likely also for future generations of U.S. Hispanics. However, with their common language and large numbers (including a large, if unknown, number of "undocumented" aliens), assimilation into the U.S. "melting pot" may take longer for Hispanics than it did for toher immigrant ethnic groups before them.

Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.

The Two Faces of American Freedom boldly reinterprets the American political tradition from the colonial period to modern times, placing issues of race relations, immigration, and presidentialism in the context of shifting notions of empire and citizenship. Today, while the U.S. enjoys tremendous military and economic power, citizens are increasingly insulated from everyday decision-making. This was not always the case. America, Aziz Rana argues, began as a settler society grounded in an ideal of freedom as the exercise of continuous self-rule—one that joined direct political participation with economic independence. However, this vision of freedom was politically bound to the subordination of marginalized groups, especially slaves, Native Americans, and women. These practices of liberty and exclusion were not separate currents, but rather two sides of the same coin. However, at crucial moments, social movements sought to imagine freedom without either subordination or empire. By the mid-twentieth century, these efforts failed, resulting in the rise of hierarchical state and corporate institutions. This new framework presented national and economic security as society’s guiding commitments and nurtured a continual extension of America’s global reach. Rana envisions a democratic society that revives settler ideals, but combines them with meaningful inclusion for those currently at the margins of American life.

The Latina/o population in the United States has become the largest minority group in the nation. Latinas/os are a mosaic of people, representing different nationalities and religions as well as different levels of education and income. This edited volume uses a multidisciplinary approach to document how Latinas and Latinos have changed and continue to change the face of America. It also includes critical methodological and theoretical information related to the study of the Latino/a population in the United States.

In this new edition of Why Unions Matter, Michael D. Yates shows why unions still matter. Unions mean better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their members; they force employers to treat employees with dignity and respect; and at their best, they provide a way for workers to make society both more democratic and egalitarian. Yates uses simple language, clear data, and engaging examples to show why workers need unions, how unions are formed, how they operate, how collective bargaining works, the role of unions in politics, and what unions have done to bring workers together across the divides of race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. The new edition not onlyupdates the first, but also examines the record of the New Voice slate that took control of the AFL-CIO in 1995, the continuing decline in union membership and density, the Change to Win split in 2005, the growing importance of immigrant workers, the rise of worker centers, the impacts of and labor responses to globalization, and the need for labor to have an independent political voice. This is simply the best introduction to unions on the market.

'Build it Now' provides a compelling set of arguments for socialism, showing both the new catastrophes being prepared by capitalism and the concrete steps being taken to initiate a transition from capitalism to a form of socialism fitted for the 21st century.

For review see: Frank R. Safford, in HAHR : The Hispanic American Historical Review, 76, 2 (May 1996); p. 358-359.