A Dream for Gilberto: An Immigrant Family's Struggle to Become American [Paperback]

Biloine W. Young (Author), Billie Young (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966011163 | ISBN-13: 978-0966011166 | Publication Date: April 9, 1999 | Edition: 1st

A Dream for Gilberto is the true story of one man's dreams and his epic struggle to fulfill them. Born into the direst of third world poverty, sleeping on the streets of a South American city, Gilberto, while yet a boy, absorbed the basic lesson of his life: that only by clinging to his dreams, no matter how irrational they appeared to others, would he be able to survive.

Gilberto's earliest dreams were of his family, destroyed when he was a young child. He spent much of his youth in a search for his mother and lost siblings. Another dream was to immigrate to the United Statesan impossibility until the day a bizarre circumstance again changed his life.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Both books are well written and help the reader understand the faces behind the statistics. Barefoot Heart is more lyrical, reading like a novel, and is appropriate for junior high through adult readers and even book groups. A Dream for Gilberto is more of a case study and will be appreciated by slightly older readers as well as teachers and other professionals working with the Latino population. Both are recommended for public libraries.ADeborah Bigelow, Leonia P.L., NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"... [r]eading the book brought back memories.... I would find myself nodding...that...was the way it happened." -- —Moises Loza, Executive Director, Housing Assistance Council (HAC), Washington, DC

"A perfect case for the new social-science emphasis on the Narrative.... for people who like literature..." -- —Carol Bly, author “Changing the Bully who Rules the World

"A perfect case for the new social-science emphasis on the Narrative . . . . We are returning to respect for the individual story as the most, not the least, reliable source of truth. Here it is for people who like literature and people who practice in the helping professions." -- Carol Bly, Author, Changing the Bully Who Rules the World

"Gilberto's struggle, his dream, burns in the reader's memory long after finishing the book . . . . [This book] reminds us of the struggles of other worlds, of how we too often refuse to see, to acknowledge, reality." -- Dr. Howard D. Paap, Professor of Anthropology, Century College

"Gilberto's struggle, his dream, burns in the reader's memory long after finishing the book . . . . -- —Dr. Howard D. Paap, Professor of Anthropology, Century College

"I found the book a deeply moving narrative. Gilberto is a . . . man whose strengths (his dogged determination to do what he thinks best) are also his ruin." -- Frederick Kirchoff, Dean, Metropolitan St. University, College of Arts and Crafts, St. Paul, Minnesota

A Dream For Gilberto is a welcome addition to a literature whose authors insist on portraying migrants as more than interlopers. Billie Young writes with rare sensibility, blending personal testimony with a detailed account of a single, determined individual and his family. -- Patricia Fernandez-Kelley, Professor of Sociology, Princeton University

“The book . . . arouses deep empathy for the courage of ordinary people overcoming extraordinary obstacles." -- —Patricia Fernandez-Kelley, Professor of Sociology, Princeton University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: J-Press Publishing; 1st edition (April 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966011163
• ISBN-13: 978-0966011166
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,967,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick read that lingers long after the the book is over., May 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dream for Gilberto: An Immigrant Family's Struggle to Become American (Paperback)

Simple prose that delivers a quick read reminscent of Hemingway's crafting. Every word counts and every sentence leads effortlessly to the next. This is the story of Gilberto, a real person, and his journey from depths of poverty, abuse and ignorance that middle class Americans can only understand third or fourth hand. Gilberto not only succeeded in every way (education, middle class respectability, an American citizenship) but he pulled an entire family back with him. The ending is bitter sweet. Entirely unpredictable...but satisfying. Disney did not influence this writer. The author views Gilberto's life from a 1950's post WWII perspective of American arrogance filtered again through our 1990's revisionist (and more mature) perspective. Fascinating. An almost four dimensional approach. Great story, well told and should find a building audience over time as word spreads about this remarkable book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all Americans, May 7, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dream for Gilberto: An Immigrant Family's Struggle to Become American (Paperback)

Here is a book the will give every American a good look at what life might have been like had he or she not had the good fortune to be born in this country and a better understanding of the people all around us who are brave enough to find their way to our shores and make the supreme effort to become an American. Billie Young tells the story well and I found it interesting from beginning to end.