La Raza: The Mexican Americans

by Stan Steiner

"Mr. Steiner's staggering achievement in La Raza is to paint the broad picture to supply the details, to suggest a political sophistication and a perceptual depth and a cultural richness of which 'Angelos' are wholly unaware. Tijernina, Chavez, David Sanchez all are here, along with the history that shaped them. His accounts of Chicano poetry and the role of the Roman Catholic Church are superb___And he seems never personally to intrude on his this is what he learned, not what he set out to prove." — John Leonard, The New York Times // "La Raza is a hurricane of dialogue, monologue and oratory. From the barrios of Los Angeles and San Antonio; from the California vineyards and the cotton fields of Arizona; from the tiny, exhausted farms of New Mexico... comes a torrent of Chicano words— La Raza is really the journal of an odys-sey of the heart." Richard Bradford // "Steiner's La Raza is a book of panoramic scope and realized intention, an impressionistic history of the Mexican people from their original magnificence through their defeats and on to their burgeoning self-awareness and militancy. It is an intricate, fascinating tapestry, rich, colorful, beautiful." —John Rechy, Saturday Review

Genres: History

418 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1958

Reviews

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant. Though it was published back in 1969, much of what is in the book is still relevant. It was alternately light-humored and emotionally draining. This book taught me a lot about where I came from and made me curious as to where I - and the other Latinos in the US - are going.

The book starts by discussing the Spanish land grants and it touches on the huelgas of the farm workers, the fights in and about the school system, and the unchecked racism and brutality - including murder - against and of Mexicans over the years. Though to say that is *all* the book touches on would be a gross understatement. As a law student, I found particularly interesting the glimpses of the role the judicial system played in much of this story.

The book is as much an oral history as it is thoroughly researched [an extensive discussion of sources comes at the end]. This makes the tone very pleasant to read. It is not a lecture and not a history book as much as it is a conversation, the telling of a story.

A good read for anyone interested in the history of the Mexican-Americans.

[Mati Kucz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting, but for me was a bit too verbose and repetitive (especially the anecdotes).

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a excellent read. While published in 1970, much of Steiners' writing still holds water in regards to the current state of the Chicano movement and La Raza in the Southwestern United States. A great overview.