Book Review
by M.V. Greene
mgreene@ccgmag.com
HARVEST OF EMPIRE, REDUX ON LATINO INFLUENCE IN U.S. M
ore than a decade ago, New York journalist Juan Gonzalez wrote his acclaimed compendi-
um Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America.
A sweeping and rapid-fire historical account, Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America chronicles the several hundred-year ascendancy and influ- ence of the Latino population on what is now the United States of America— detailing a collision of sorts between Latin and Anglo cultures. The Gonza- lez book tries to lay understanding to the burgeoning Latino presence in the United States starting with that demography’s colonial beginnings.
As a compelling trek through history, many colleges across the country have adopted the book as part of coursework.
Much has happened with the Latino population since Gon- zalez first published in 2000. In May 2011 the author updated, revised and republished Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. For the New York Daily News columnist and co-host on the interactive Democracy Now! Web site, the new version comes at a time when the Latino pres- ence in America is undergoing unprecedented and transforma- tive growth.
Group, also wanted to freshen some of the book’s data relying on studies and reports, given its stature as a college text.
What is remarkable about Harvest of Em- pire: A History of Latinos in America is the way in which it delves into Latino history. The ride is fast and sometimes fleeting, but you sense Gonzalez has all the bases covered. No matter your persuasion, or whether you are a novice or expert on his- tory, the book offers an inviting lesson.
Gonzalez says most Americans feel “remarkably insecure” about the Latino presence in America, but attributes much of that to a lack of knowledge and under- standing.
As Gonzalez has pointed out in media interviews, U.S. Census Bureau projections forecast that a third of people living in the United States by 2050 will be of Latino origin. So fast is the growth of the U.S. Latino population that these population projections have been revised skyward in just 10 years. As the 2000 book noted, the Census projection then was that a quarter of people living in the United States by 2050 would be of Latino origin.
“This is an enormous transformation, when you consider that there were only a few million Latinos in the 1970s, represent- ing about four percent of the population, and now you’re talking about, by 2100, more than 50 percent of the entire nation” if current trends continue, Gonzalez said in an inter- view on Democracy Now!
Just those considerations alone made the book a candidate for updating, but the author said his publisher, The Penguin
36 HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | 2011
Gonzalez says most Americans feel “re- markably insecure” about the Latino presence in America, but attributes much of that to a lack knowledge and understand- ing. Gonzalez approaches this by offering context about the role America has played historically in Latin America, particularly in the nations of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Domini- can Republic, Mexico, Salvador and Guatemala that have pro- duced the largest share of the immigrants from Latin America. He writes about the impact of civil wars on these populations, direct U.S. government inter- vention in the political affairs of some Latin American nations and the “recruitment” of immigrants to fill jobs in America.
In a you-get-what-you-pay-for scenario, Gonzalez explains that the mass migration of Latinos
into the United States was a direct response to America’s needs and actions.
Gonzalez painstakingly examines each native Latino group and charts how each got to the United States and what compelled them to enter the “empire.” The explosion of the Latino population today in the United States is the re- sult of policies over many decades, he summarizes.
Whether he is recounting the role of the Spanish conquis- tadores who claimed much of the southern and western United States nearly a century before the first English colonies were settled at Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay, recalling the story of Juan Ponce de León and his search for the Fountain of Youth in what is now Florida, or describing the daring expeditions of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and Hernando de Soto in search of the New World’s cities of gold, Gonzalez offers a valued snapshot for anyone wanting to learn more about Latino history, culture and influence.
www.hispanicengineer.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52