Orange County: A Personal History (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Orange County, United States, Santa Ana (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Readers get two stories for the price of one in this witty and informative memoir. Journalist Arellano (¡Ask a Mexican!) chronicles the sweet-and-sour story of his family's assimilation into American culture, while also recounting a historical narrative at odds with the bucolic ideal of a place that's been mythologized for decades. We're so American, so Orange County, that we're even prone to romanticize a past that never existed. Arellano's structure keeps the narrative moving along at a snappy pace, alternating the threads of the story so odd chapters constitute the memoir, even chapters tell the history, and one complements the other. Readers get solid background on the beginning of master-planned communities during the 1920s, the little remembered Citrus War, Orange County's embarrassing 1994 bankruptcy and special mix of conservatism coupled with a dollop of big-time religion. A 2005 Harper's article named Orange County the country's second hotbed of evangelical Christianity after Colorado Springs, Arellano writes, and of the 100 megachurches in the U.S. with the largest congregations, four are in Orange County. Arellano explores a place he calls the Petri dish for America's continuing democratic experiment and delivers a prescient view of the new American landscape. (Sept.)
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Product Description

The story began in 1918, when Gustavo Arellano's great-grandfather and grandfather arrived in the United States, only to be met with flying potatoes. They ran, and hid, and then went to work in Orange County's citrus groves, where, eventually, thousands of fellow Mexican villagers joined them. Gustavo was born sixty years later, the son of a tomato canner who dropped out of school in the ninth grade and an illegal immigrant who snuck into this country in the trunk of a Chevy. Meanwhile, Orange County changed radically, from a bucolic paradise of orange groves to the land where good Republicans go to die, American Christianity blossoms, and way too many bad television shows are green-lit.

Part personal narrative, part cultural history, Orange County is the outrageous and true story of the man behind the wildly popular and controversial column ¡Ask a Mexican! and the locale that spawned him. It is a tale of growing up in an immigrant enclave in a crime-ridden neighborhood, but also in a promised land, a place that has nourished America's soul and Gustavo's family, both in this country and back in Mexico, for a century.

Nationally bestselling author, syndicated columnist, and the spiciest voice of the Mexican-American community, Gustavo Arellano delivers the hilarious and poignant follow-up to ¡Ask a Mexican!, his critically acclaimed debut. Orange County not only weaves Gustavo's family story with the history of Orange County and the modern Mexican-immigrant experience but also offers sharp, caliente insights into a wide range of political, cultural, and social issues.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416540040
• ISBN-13: 978-1416540045
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,235 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #48 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Hispanic & Latino
  #76 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Hispanic American Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expected Better - Boring Family History, October 21, 2008

By	S. Cronin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like Arellano, and expected better. The book is in 2 parts: (1) Arellano's family history; (2) Chapters on OC, such as religion, politics, and media attention.

The first part, on family history, was bloated, and -- surprisingly -- just not too interesting. It seemed like the middle school essays we all wrote about our families, cramming too many aunts and uncles into repetitive stories. True, there were a few good anecdotes, but nothing exceedingly interesting, historic, or memorable. And I didn't feel like I cared about any of his family members (except for him) by the end of the book.

The second part, in alternating chapters, concerned OC. It was interesting, but nothing amazing. OC religion, OC politics, and OC TV shows are inherently interesting, and it would have been hard to screw up this part of the book. Arellano did a good job of describing his vantagepoint. How his sheltered views about politics and the world changed, and how he became more progressive, activist, (while incurring the wrath of other activists), and famous was somewhat interesting.

If you need something light to read on a plane or the beach, and might not finish the book, I recommend Gustavo Arellano's Orange County.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gustavo does it again!, October 7, 2008

By	L. Agan (Orange County) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OC Weekly's, Gustavo "Ask a Mexican" Arellano does it again! For those of us who live in the REAL OC, and even for those who don't - Gustavo flawlessly weaves a personal family history with the raw and interesting facts of this great county of ours. Amazing book, choc full of Arellano's brand of wit (as always). A must read!

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex History, November 24, 2009

By	Simon Burrow "Persuader" (Pasadena CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While most writing and almost all journalism is attempting to make their subjects less complex Gustavo Arellano is accepting the complexity and relishing it. His book "Orange County' is a wonderfully complex story of his family, its migration, the towns where they settled, the history of the towns and the strange paradox that is Orange County, California. There are very funny repetitions of lists of Aunts (I think he's mocking Leviticus) the story of his being a nerd among the macho and constant jibes at the gabachos. My favorite part was the restaurant recommendations , one for each town except Leisure World.
This is the perfect book to give as a Christmas gift to anyone with a sense of humor who lives in Orange County. It is a quick read, it has new data and will make you think again about the place you live.
Well done!