Table of Contents

Introduction: The Mexican-American generation. Part 1 The middle class: in search of America - the League of United Latin American citizens (LULAC): education and the Mexican American-Eusebio Escobar and the School Improvement League of San Antonio; Mexican American Muckraker - Ignacio L. Lopez and "El Espectador": the politics of status - the election of Raymond L. Telles as Mayor of El Paso, 1957. Part 2 Labour and the left: the popular front - Josefina Fierro de Bright and Spanish Congress; border Proletariats - Mexican Americans and the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers; Mexican American radicals and the Cold War - the Association Nacional Mexico-Americana (ANMA). Part 3 Mexican American Intellectuals: Carlos E. Castaneda and the search for history; George E. Sanchez and the forgotten people; Arthur L. Campa and the cultural question. Conclusion: the Chicano in American history.

Reviews

"This is a much-needed study of a neglected period in the history of the Mexican-American struggle against discrimination. The author successfully bridges the gap between studies of the Immigrant Period and Chicano Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The leaders are the focus but in the context of the struggle of the Mexican-American people for self-determination. Not just scholars, but anyone who is interested in understanding more of the history of all of the people of the United States can usefully read this book."—Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and History, University of Pennsylvania; member, United States Commission on Civil Rights


*Mary Frances Berry*

"García’s book is first-rate. Well documented, with a good index and comprehensive footnotes, it should be read by all interested groups."—Choice


*Choice*

"Mexican Americans emerge clearly from Mario Garcia’s study of what he calls the ’Mexican-American Generation,’ the first generation of Americans of Mexican descent to struggle on a broad scale for civil rights, first-class citizenship, and a secure identity as Mexican-Americans. . . . Garcia argues convincingly against the interpretation advanced by militant Chicanos in the 1970s. . . . Garcia underlines the obstacles to achieving genuine advances for the disadvantaged."—Michael W. Foley, Commonweal



*Commonweal*

"A trail-blazing book."—Historia

*Historia*

"Garcia . . . has ventured into this brave new world of synthesis and interpretation with his study of Hispanic leadership in the American Southwest from 1930 to 1960. He has undertaken several challenging tasks. . . . Garcia chronicles so well and laments so eloquently."—Michael Welsh, History: Reviews of New Books
*History: Reviews of New Books*

"A thought-provoking study of leadership."—Vicki L. Ruiz, Journal of American History


*Journal of American History*

"Mario Garcia has . . . given Chicano history an important corrective. . . . Remarkably researched and competently executed."—Douglas Monroy, Journal of the Southwest


*Journal of the Southwest*

"Fascinating historical journey. . . . It is a book that humbles the spirit, informs the mind, and brings respect for the bridge-builders of yesterday who prepared the way for today’s struggles. . . . This is required reading for those of us from the Greater Antilles, Central and South America who need to learn each other’s histories to better forge coalitions under the banner of Hispanics in the United State."—Samual Betances, New York Daily News

*New York Daily News*

"The story of this oft-neglected group has been given its due. Mexican Americans is a fine presentation and a painstaking analysis. . . . This is a volume the present generation should read to become acquainted with a significant if neglected period in its history. . . . It is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone interested in the heroes and heroines who come out of the ethnic and regional communities of this vast country. The generation Mr. Garcia depicts produced such heroes and heroines, and his research is not only a thoughtful review of their history, it is a tribute."—Rudolfo A. Anaya, New York Times Book Review


*New York Times Book Review*

"Refreshing new book . . . offers painstaking scholarship. . . . Garcia has detailed the role of Mexican-Americans before the militants of the 1960s."—Richard Estrada, Santa Barbara News-Press

*Santa Barbara News-Press*

"Garcia’s work is a significant, effective contribution to our understanding of Southwestern history and politics."—David Montejano, Texas Observer




*Texas Observer*

"Mexican Americans fills an enormous gap. . . . A first-rate work of historical writing and interpretation."—David Rieff, Times Literary Supplement

*Times Literary Supplement*