Booklist Review

The 16-title Hispanic Americans: Major Minority series covers everything from cuisine to religion to jobs, but this volume focuses on the broad topic of civil rights in America. Whether you know it or not, someone in your family was probably an immigrant, writes Arkham before launching into a brief yet cogent history of the Native American and Spanish collision that led to today's Hispanics, the history of Hispanic immigration to America, important Hispanic figures, and the history of Hispanic discrimination. Arkham definitely has a point of view; a picture of a Hispanic boy is captioned, This child deserves the rights and privileges every other American enjoys. And while the font is not the most legible choice, and beginning each chapter with a detail of a mural without describing the detail's significance doesn't quite work, this is very readable material that puts a fine spotlight on today's issues of migrant worker abuse, immigration law, and increasing political power. Helpful sidebars include a discussion of the words Hispanic versus Latino. Historical and modern photos enliven the layout of this solidly constructed book.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist