This Land Is Our Land: Immigrants and Power in Miami (Paperback)

by Alex Stepick (Author), Guillermo Grenier (Author), Max Castro (Author), Marvin Dunn (Author) "On Thanksgiving Day 1999, a six-year-old boy, Elian Gonzalez, was found floating on an inner tube three miles off the Florida coast..." (more)
Key Phrases: established resident whites, segmentary assimilation, reverse acculturation, African American, Miami Cubans, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This well-written and compelling story of immigrant resident relations in Miami will be read and enjoyed by lay people and scholars, and will no doubt produce stimulating discussions in classrooms throughout urban America."

Product Description
For those opposed to immigration, Miami is a nightmare. Miami is the de facto capital of Latin America; it is a city where immigrants dominate, Spanish is ubiquitous, and Denny's is an ethnic restaurant. Are Miami's immigrants representative of a trend that is undermining American culture and identity?

Drawing from in-depth fieldwork in the city and looking closely at recent events such as the Elian Gonzalez case, This Land Is Our Land examines interactions between immigrants and established Americans in Miami to address fundamental questions of American identity and multiculturalism. Rather than focusing on questions of assimilation, as many other studies have, this book concentrates on interethnic relations to provide an entirely new perspective on the changes wrought by immigration in the United States. A balanced analysis of Miami's evolution over the last forty years, This Land Is Our Land is also a powerful demonstration that immigration in America is not simply an "us versus them" phenomenon.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520233980
• ISBN-13: 978-0520233980
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #853,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Warped portrayal of Cuban-American community, October 15, 2008

By	BM "Internationalist" (South Florida) - See all my reviews

In general this is an interesting book and it provides a partially accurate picture of many socio-cultural patterns in Miami-Dade. However, the book presents a lop-sided, biased and unfair characterization of Cuban-Americans and CANF supporters and a shallow overview of the complexities and the tragedy of the Elian Gonzolez case. The child's mother gave her life so that he could know freedom and have a better life with his Miami relatives, who sincerely loved him and cared for him as did many members of the local community. The authors chose to be selective in what facts they presented in order to portray the Cuban-American community in negative light.