The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement [Paperback]

Susan Ferriss (Author), Ricardo Sandoval (Author), Diana Hembree (Editor), Gary Soto (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

A “vivid, well-documented account of the farmworkers movement”(Philadelphia Inquirer) and its prime mover, Cesar Chavez. Edited by Diana Hembree with a foreword by Gary Soto and essays by Carey McWilliams, Victor Villaseñor, Alfredo Véa, Jr., Peter Matthiessen, Rudolfo Anaya, and others. Black-and-white photographs throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When the Chavez family lost its farm in Arizona in 1938 during the Depression, they moved to California and became migrant workers. Cesar was outraged by the exploitation, racism, and brutality that migrant farmworkers were forced to endure. His strong religious convictions, a dedication to nonviolent change, and a skill at organizing led to the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW) union. "La Causa," as it was called by supporters, became an important movement for self-determination in the lives of California's Mexican American and Filipino farmworkers. The successful nationwide grape and lettuce boycotts and public support exposed the injustices of California agribusiness and resulted in the first collective bargaining agreements and union hiring halls for migrant workers. Authored by two journalists who covered Chavez and the farmworkers, this companion volume to a PBS documentary traces Chavez's life and the events and people that helped shape it. Recommended for labor and agriculture collections.?Irwin Weintraub, Rutgers Univ. Lib., New Brunswick,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers union, was a man of principles and piety, dedicated, as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., were, to strategies of nonviolent protest. Still controversial, Chavez is, nonetheless, beginning to fade from our collective consciousness. To preserve his story, two filmmakers, Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles, created a PBS documentary titled The Fight in the Fields, and journalists Ferriss and Sandoval wrote and compiled this powerful, photo-filled biography. They trace Chavez's path from a happy childhood on his family's Arizona farm to the fields of California, where the Chavez family landed after being forced from home during the Depression and the great drought. Chavez never got over his shock at the brutality of farmworkers' lives and the blatant racism they endured. He founded the United Farm Workers union in 1962 to fight for basic human rights, devoting himself to union work at night after picking cotton all day with his wife to support their eight children. All that Chavez accomplished by organizing strikes, protests, and the now legendary grape boycott, was heroic in nature and profound in effect. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Edition edition (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005980
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005982
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Hispanic & Latino

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars To date, this is the most complete history of the UFW. February 6, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I haven't read the softcover revision, but the hardback edition of Fight in the Fields is the most complete history of the farm workers' movement led by Cesar Chavez out there. It is factual and personal. I worked with Cesar 11 years and our friendship spanned three decades. I also recommend With These Hands (Harcourt Brace) by Daniel Rothenberg for the expanded picture of farm labor around the nation.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history April 9, 2001

By R. J. Marsella

Format:Paperback

This very personal history of the Cesar Chavez and the UFW is a comprehensive account of the farmworkers movement and the difficulties encountered in their fight for justice and fair treatment. Very well written and illustrated.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY BOOK September 19, 2001

By Kent Braithwaite

Format:Paperback

Okay, I'm biased. I'm the author of a mystery novel in current release that features a Latino private investigator as the protagonist, and I've been teaching in a rural California high school with a student population over 98% Hispanic for over twenty years. This biography, loaded with photographs and facts, is perfect for today. It clearly proves what an exceptional man Cesar Chavez was and what exceptional accomplishments that man achieved. If you have any interest in the real America, you have to read this book.