Grade 9 Up–Similar in scope and in length to Ilan Stavanss
Encyclopedia Latina (Grolier, 2005), this multivolume encyclopedia seeks to document the history and experience of Latinos and Latinas in U.S. society since the early Colonial period of this country. Far from being an exclusively biographical resource, it includes more than 700 signed, objective articles on a wide range of topics both general and specific from Baseball, Employment Discrimination, and Religion and Spirituality to Environmental Racism, Teenage Pregnancy, and Tucsonians for a Clean Environment. There are also entries for each of the 50 states; biographical articles represent individuals who are considered to have broken new ground and are not meant to include all prominent Latinos or Latinas. For example, although Joan Baezs mixed heritage (Mexican/Scottish) does not always cause her to be identified as a Latina, …her commitment to justice for all aligns her with the struggles of Latinas and Latinos in the United States. Each essay ends with cross-references to related articles and a bibliography. Black-and-white photographs and a few tables and charts are scattered throughout the set. A 190-page index is included in volume four. Comparing entries in the
Oxford with those in
Encyclopedia Latina reveals enough variety in coverage for libraries wanting to provide a range of resources to have both sets.
–Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
*Starred Review* A child of the 1970s movement to teach Chicano and Puerto Rican studies in American universities, this comprehensive encyclopedia aims to be a "tool in the continuous struggle to unshackle the human spirit" by "dispelling the many and persistent prejudices and bigotries regarding Latinos" in the U.S. Some 900
A-Z essays ranging in length from 500 to 7,500 words and written by 500 experts document the impact of Latinos in all spheres of U.S. history and society, from conquistador to migrant worker and from economic refugee to political exile. More than 400 illustrations, sidebars, maps, and charts accompany the text. Editor Oboler is associate professor, Latin American & Latino Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago; and editor Gonzalez is chair, Department of Chicano/a Studies, Loyola Marymount University.
As explained in the introduction, content is organized into seven general areas, each with its own editor: "Culture, Language, Hollywood, and the Media," which includes entries on such topics as Documentaries, Latin Grammies, Quinceanera, and Spanglish; "International Relations and Political Economy" (Cuban Embargo, Maquiladoras, Spanish-American War); "Museums, Architecture and Urban Landscapes, Religion and Folklore, and Education" (Literacy; Little Havana; Llorona, La; Santeria); "Race, Laws and Customs, and Court Cases" (Bilingual Education Act, Stereotypes); "The Environment, Science, Technology, and Health and Nutrition (Agriculture, Diabetes, Pesticides); "Contemporary Political Participation, Access and Citizenship" (Green card, Voting); and "Literature, Poetry, the Arts, and Sports" (Baseball, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Graffiti, Publishing). Entries themselves are of three types. Thematic essays focus on broad topics, and issue essays are more specific. Approximately 200 biographies--always popular items--highlight pioneers or those individuals who, like author Isabel Allende, ethnologist Lydia Cabrera, labor union organizer Cesar Chavez, baseball Hall of Fame inductee Roberto Clemente, music impresario Emilio Estefan, Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn, and U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have left indelible marks in U.S. history. Two excellent aids, a topical outline of entries and a subject and keyword index at the end of volume 4, provide multiple access points to information embedded under main entries that otherwise might have been difficult to locate.
This encyclopedia appears just a few months after Grolier's four-volume Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Both are aimed at the student, researcher, and general reader, and as might be expected, they have many entry headings in common. The Grolier set has around 250 fewer entries but more supplementary materials, including sidebars (of which the Oxford set has only around a dozen); appendixes containing primary documents and statistical charts; and a selection of color plates; these, in addition to its less-dense-looking pages, may make it more appealing to students. But a library can't go wrong with either set, and large libraries serving large Latino populations will want both. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States is highly recommended for public, academic, and high-school library reference collections. Diana Kirby
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