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[well-used copy, covers worn along spine and edges, soiling/browning to page edges, binding intact but a little delicate; basically a reading/reference copy only]. Mass Market PB Essential work of Mexican-American life in California (specifically Los Angeles), a blend of fact, fiction and sociology, derived largely from the author's conversations with "the children of America's last great immigration." An early chapter discusses the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots, and the book examines nearly every aspect of Mexican-American life: employment, juvenile delinquency, the church, the family, schools, housing, health, the effects of World War II on the community, etc. Although this paperback edition was supposedly abridged somewhat from the original 1948 book (hence "selections"), and has been given a somewhat sensationalized packaging ("Here is love, death and violence and a happiness -- 'kicks' -- that can come only with Marihuana."), any actual excisions appear to have been minor; in fact, a table-of-contents comparison between the two shows only a slight re-arrangement of chapter order. (Although it's possible that individual chapters or sections were edited or abridged.) Although the 1992 film of the same name (the directing debut of actor Edward James Olmos), a saga of Mexican-American gang life spanning three decades, was not derived directly from any material in the book, one could still legitimately say that it was the film's spiritual source. Includes a 9-page glossary of Spanish and Pachuco words used in the book. (The original hardcover edition was a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship book.)

Chicano Immigrants Zoot Suit Riots Los Angeles Mexican-Americans

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