Abstract

North of the Border

This article focuses on the book "Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America," by Juan Gonzalez. The book deals with reality in a conventional sense-it is filled with charts, numbers and facts-his book cannot help conjuring up a series of past and present constructions of what it is to be Latino (or Hispanic, or Latin American, or Spanish-American, or Spanish-speaking, all identities modified by residence, however brief, in the Coloso del Norte). He covers more than 500 years of history; the internal politics (historical and actual) of scores of countries; racial, gender and class conflicts within the multifarious national groups. Gonzalez shows not only his advocacy/journalistic flair for making a convincing case but also a sense of narrative.