Misses the Point and Doesn't Deliver
My review on Amazon
I enjoyed reading some of the passages in this book pertaining to the contributions of the hispanic community to America's culture and economy. The information provided, however, was incomplete and frequently missed the point.First of all, Geraldo regards Latinos in the US as the big monolith that they certainly are not. He believes that the biggest obstacles in the face of this monolithic community are what he calls "the education siesta" (true in some Latino communities but not all) and immigration (also relevant to one community (i.e. Mexican) but not all.) Lumping the distinct Latino communities in America into one will not go well with most Latino readers, I suspect.
Also, I didn't quite understand the parallels her tried to draw between the flow of Jewish, Italian and Irish "legal" immigrants at the turn of the century and the flood of "illegal" immigrants today. He failed to mention the role geography has played in both situations. The main reason the illegal immigration today is far more serious than ones past is that it is constant and unrelenting due to the land continuity between the US and Mexico. This very important difference and its impact on the overall culture, quality of life and public services in this country was never even mentioned in the book.
There was also very little mention of suspect groups like La Raza and others that are viewed by the vast majority of Americans as separatist and their impact on the Latino communities and the country as a whole.
My biggest beef with this book is that it didn't really deliver on its promise. Geraldo didn't really explain "how" Hispanics will lead America to a new era of prosperity. He didn't paint a prosperous future where the Hispanics where the leading force. He gave little hints here and there but nothing that one would expect from the title of the book.
Although the book was lacking in the areas I mentioned above and many more, I found it pretty entertaining and down right funny. The part where Geraldo compares himself to Oprah and Lassie is friggin' hilarious!
Skip this book, unless you you want to drink Geraldo's Kool-Aid.
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