Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration

Book Description

Sam Quinones's first book, True Tales From Another Mexico, was acclaimed for the way it peered into the corners of that country for its larger truths and complexities. Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream, Quinones's second collection of nonfiction tales, does the same for one of the most important issues of our times: the migration of Mexicans to the United States.

Quinones has covered the world of Mexican immigrants for the last thirteen years--from Chicago to Oaxaca, Michoacan to southeast Los Angeles, Tijuana to Texas. Along the way, he has uncovered stories that help illuminate all that Mexicans seek when they come north, how they change their new country, and are changed by it.

Here are the stories of the Henry Ford of velvet painting in Ciudad Juarez, the emergence of opera in Tijuana, the bizarre goings-on in the L.A. suburb of South Gate, and of the drug-addled colonies of Old World German Mennonites in Chihuahua. Through it all winds the tale of Delfino Juarez, a young construction worker, and modern-day Huckleberry Finn, who had to leave his village to change it.

"Sam Quinones is a border legend. For those in the know, his reportage has been cause for celebration. Now, with Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream he takes us behind the lines and undercover. He puts a human face on 'illegal immigration,' and he gives us stunning stories of survival and dread. However, he accomplishes something more valuable than a mere parade of sensational set pieces--Quinones starts to put the complex issues in the light of understanding and hard-won wisdom."--Luis A. Urrea, author of The Devil's Highway and The Hummingbird's Daughter

These stories of real people who have immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico show how they have changed their new country and how they are changed by it.

Customer Reviews:

Inspiring stories of Mexican diaspora.......2007-09-05

A collection of short stories of the Mexican diaspora, saddening, uplifting and inspirational by turns that challenge the stereotype of the illegal immigrant on US media outlets. Hopefully readers will be able to bring rationality and even humanity to the immigration debate after reading these insightful stories.

Tales Across the Border.......2007-07-26

In 2002 Ruben Martinez published "Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail". The book did a wonderful job of telling the story about an extended family separated by the U.S.-Mexico border. Sam Quinones' book "Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream" is an equally compelling and well written, researched book. The three part story of Delfino Juarez is without comparison. Plus, the chapter on migrants from Atolinga, Zacatecas to Chicago who entered the non-Franchise fast food industry is GREAT. My only concern about the book is that Quinones sets out to tell tales about the things Mexican migrants (to the U.S.) want. Ok, generally speaking he succeeded. I was bothered by the fact that Sam seems to lose focus on migrants to the U.S. For example the book has chapters that address such topics as the rise of Opera in Tijuana, Velvet painting in Juarez, and drug smuggling into U.S. and Canada. While the chapters are facinating and well written, I felt these topics did not tie into Quinones' stated objective. Aside from this concern, Sam Quinones obviously poured his heart into the project. Kudos to him. A very good read!

Must-Buy Book for Folks Interested in Great Reads.......2007-05-25

Sam Quinones is the best journalist about Mexican immigration, and this collection shows it. But even if you don't care about Mexicans, the writing here is brilliant--all the essays. Great book!

Prehistoric Iberia - Genetics, Anthropology, and Linguistics

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Longstanding research
A new history

Prehistoric Iberia - Genetics, Anthropology, and Linguistics

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0306463644

Book Description

This book contains most of the conclusion reached by the geneticists, anthropologists, and linguists at the meeting `Prehistoric Iberia'. This is the first time that a particular historical topic has been approached from a multidisciplinary point of view in a single meeting.
The novel conclusions reached include the following: There is no evidence of the demic diffusion model of people substitution in Iberia during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. New technologies were probably reached by circum-Mediterranean navigation. Present day Iberians are genetically very similar to North African populations and also to other more distant Eastern Mediterraneans, including Turks. Arab invasions in North Africa and Spain in 711 AD did not result in a massive gene flow. North African Berbers and Spaniards have maintained their old genetic identity; this invasion was mostly religious and cultural. Celts in Iberia are difficult to find.
Basque and Berber languages are similar to many other extinct `Usko-Mediterranean' languages (Etruscan, Minoan). These `older languages' were later substituted by the Euro Asiatic languages (Latin, Greek, German). Finally, the Saharan area is considered as a radiation focus of peoples, (and languages) who were forced to emigrate from a fertile area where hyper-arid conditions began to develop after 7000 BC.

Customer Reviews:

Longstanding research.......2000-10-22

The genetics and linguistic part of the book is the result of a 20 year long research.Visit our web page http://www.chopo.pntic.mec.es/biolmol for details and further developments.

A new history.......2000-04-04

This revolutionary book contains a totally new vision of the civilization's origins.

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This composition sings

The Composition
Antonio Skarmeta
Manufacturer: Groundwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0888995504

Book Description

In a village in Chile, Pedro and Daniel are two typical nine-year-old boys. Up until Daniel's father gets arrested, their biggest worry had been how to improve their soccer skills. Now, they are thrust into a situation where they must grapple with the incomprehensible: dictatorship and its inherent abuses. This sensitively realized story touches a nerve and brings home the uncomfortable fact that some children do encounter issues of this magnitude. Here, deft realism is brought to the page by Antonia Skarmeta's story and the edgy drawings of Alfonso Ruano, portraying a child's view of a repressive society. The Composition is a winner of the Americas Award for Children's Literature and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

Customer Reviews:

This composition sings.......2004-07-16

At first glance, "The Composition" is a book that simply describes military dictatorships in a way that children will understand. On a closer look, however, Antonio Skarmeta's brilliant 2000 creation does more than that. It shows how every human being, regardless of age, can fight injustice on an individual level. It displays sympathetic characters that are punished for thinking for themselves. And it is one of the first picture books I've ever read where the main character is a child that outsmarts a fascist regime.

Pedro lives in an unnamed South American country with his mother and father. Each day after work his parents sit on the sofa to listen to foreign radio stations about their country's military dictatorship. Pedro doesn't really understand the importance of this, preferring to play soccer with his friends. One day, while playing, he sees the father of one of his friends being led away by a group of soldiers. That night Pedro finds that his own parents, like Daniel's, are against their country's form of government. When he asks if he himself is against the dictatorship his mother replies, "Children aren't against anything. Children are just children". The next day a military man enters Pedro's classroom with an assignment. They are to write a composition under the soldier's watchful eye entitled, "What my family does at night". Pedro thinks it through and after talking with his friend Juan proceeds to write. In the end, the reader discovers that sometimes children are far cannier than the adults around them might suspect.

In many ways the real question this story raises is whether or not children have the ability to make careful informed decisions. On the outset, Pedro's mother thinks this isn't possible. She believes that kids are innocent and incapable of deep thought. When Pedro tells Juan this, his friend's response is, "They all say that. They took my father away up north". So you see, when a child is affected personally by the events around him/her, that child cannot help but come to their own conclusions. What Pedro writes in the end is a clever tale of how his parents usually come home and, after dinner, play chess. The last line of the book (after Pedro has read this composition to his parents) is this:

"Well", said his father, "we'd better buy a chess set".

Fabulous writing. Would you expect anything less from the author that wrote the novel on which the film "Il Postino" was based? I loved the plot of this book and, in a way, I wished that the illustrations matched it. The pictures here are fine, of course. They accurately portray the ways in which kids feel the effects of life in a strictly controlled country. Illustrator Alfonso Ruano also isn't afraid to focus his attention on the seemingly innocuous elements of a tale. When the children are told the subject of their composition, the picture on the facing page is of an eraser that has had a small hole drilled into it. Two pages later you see Pedro grasping the edge of his desk as he attempts to try to figure out what to write. Behind him looms the soldier, arms clasped behind his back. Another artist might have chosen to make the tale a little more artistically rendered, but Ruano has done pretty well with this book. The result is that your attention is focused entirely on the story itself.

Tackling freedom and personal choice in a picture book is very hard work. Very hard. In the case of "The Composition" it's pulled off brilliantly. A creative amalgamation of text, subtext, and darn good writing this book is appropriate for any and every kid. If you'd like a book that is politically charged but subtle too, I think "The Composition" is a brilliant choice.

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ultra cool book with hip pictures of hot people

Antonio's People
Paul Caranicas , Antonio Lopez , and Juan, Ph.D. Ramos
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0500285020

Book Description

"In the world of illustration, his contribution is superior to the efforts of all other fashion artists of his era." —Karl Lagerfeld

Antonio Lopez (1943-1987), an unparalleled virtuoso, captured the pulse of style from the 1960s to the 1980s. Recording and predicting contemporary trends, he also incorporated a broad range of art movements in his work, from pop art to surrealism.

As significant as Antonio's contributions to art illustration are, it is the man himself and his friendships that define his oeuvre. For Antonio and his collaborator, Juan Ramos, life surpassed any fiction. They were supreme authors of la vida loca, as well as la dolce vita. Friends, "Antonio's Girls," and young men were the protagonists of his work, which was, in some senses, only nominally about fashion.

This exciting retrospective is filled with Antonio's illustrations and photographs of the beautiful people who are part of celebrity folklore—the fifteen-year-old Jerry Hall (whom he discovered), Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Faye Dunaway, Paloma Picasso, Manolo Blahnik, James Dean, Andy Warhol, Audrey Hepburn....

Antonio's work unites the generations—the people who were themselves young in his lifetime and the young of today. The most frequently requested artist by students in the library at New York's FIT, and represented in major collections from the Metropolitan to the Louvre, Antonio was the inspiration for John Galliano's spring 2001 collection and other contemporary fashion revivals. Includes numerous never-before published illustrations and photographs. 230 illustrations, 155 in color.

Customer Reviews:

ultra cool book with hip pictures of hot people.......2007-07-12

Antonio Lopez and Juan Ramos were two men with fabulous style. In this book, you get a sense of how they saw the world and how they tried to make it a prettier place. Paul Caranicas has created an homage to these two men and their work. It should be required reading for anyone interested in Fashion, Art, Illustration, Culture, and most of all STYLE.

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My daughter loves this book!
A STORY TO WARM HEARTS
Not 'adoptee' friendly
A pretty good model
For the love of a child

Our Baby from China: An Adoption Story
Nancy D'Antonio
Manufacturer: Albert Whitman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0807561622

Customer Reviews:

My daughter loves this book!.......2005-01-24

Although I would agree with other readers about one sentence in the book, otherwise it is a factual account of what my husband and I did in China when we adopted her. It is true that many children in China do not have mothers and fathers to love them, but I could tell my daughter that that is also true here in the US. Olivia is 3 and this book is a great way to talk about how she came into our family on her level. She asks to read the story of Ariela "Shanway" every night!!! It makes her feel good that this little girl shares her story.

It is only one tool that we use in our family to talk about her life before in China and after we came to China to bring her into our family!

Julie Gaglione
Mom to Livvy from Yangchun, PRC

A STORY TO WARM HEARTS.......2004-03-04

Our Baby from China/An Adoption Story by Nancy D'Antonio will warm hearts.

Filled with full-color photographs, very much like a family album, this is the true story of a couple who traveled across the world to adopt a child they had learned to love in a photograph. It is also a reminder that love transcends race and nationality.

Not 'adoptee' friendly.......2003-09-17

I was anxiously awaiting this book only to open and find that the first page indicated the Chinese peoples'/birthparents inability to love these children...
When in fact it is culture and history thousands of years old which force Chinese parents to make a plan of adoption. A loving decision considering their difficult circumstances.
I want to share a loving story with my daughter, not one which implies that love only comes from the adoptive family.

A pretty good model.......2002-08-14

This book is actually a pretty good model of a scrap book or photo book you could put together for your own Chinese child (if you have adopted one) or a good way for other children to learn some basics about a China adoption.

Some of these reviews seem to take one line in the book out of context. Although I lead a charity whose mission is to help Chinese adoptees feel good about being Chinese and proud of their heritage, I don't think anything in the book could be construed as harmful. Its factual. Yes, most adoptees probably have birth parents who abandoned these children for very understandable reasons, the fact remains, that these children can no longer be loved by their birth parents in any way that is likely to benefit the child. Sure the birth parents might still love the child in a spiritual sense, but we don't know that and cannot know that and to tell your child otherwise is to tell your child something you don't know. Psychologists warn against doing that.

But to focus on one line in this book is to miss the point. This book tells a story that is positive and that I am sure most adoptees can relate to in a healthy way. In actual fact, I will borrow the idea and put together a book for our Chinese children.

For the love of a child.......2001-08-15

In a mere 25 pages, with simple text and beautiful pictures, the story of a China adoption unfolds. My own China girl loves looking through the pictures and seeing the country of her birth. She never tires of it. It is not only her story but hundred's of Chinese children's story. My favorite picture is of the two pairs of quilted children's pants, hanging from the clothes line. Thank you for sharing this story! A good addition for your personal library.

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Family Acceptance.
Learning About Family Acceptance and Tolerance

Antonio's Card / La Tarjeta de Antonio
Rigoberto Gonzalez , and Cecilia Alvarez
Manufacturer: Children's Book Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0892392045

Book Description

Antonio loves words, because words have the power to express feelings like love, pride, or hurt. Mother's Day is coming soon, and Antonio searches for the words to express his love for his mother and her partner, Leslie. But he's not sure what to do when his classmates make fun of Leslie, an artist, who towers over everyone and wears paint-splattered overalls. As Mother's Day approaches, Antonio must choose whether — or how — to express his connection to both of the special women in his life.

Rigoberto González's bilingual story resonates with all children who have been faced with speaking up for themselves or for the people they love. Cecilia Concepción álvarez's paintings bring the tale to life in tender, richly hued detail.

Customer Reviews:

Family Acceptance........2006-09-14

Antonio has two mother figures which makes it difficult to explain to his classmates. During Mother's Day card making time and after school, when his mom's partner picks him up, Antonio doesn't know how to deal with peer pressure. He is teased often and this confuses him because he loves his moms and his family. This book nicely portrays one boys struggle to fit in without hurting anyone's feelings. The book is written in english and spanish on each page. The love in the story overpowers the basic illustrations. A feel good read.

Learning About Family Acceptance and Tolerance.......2005-11-28

Perfectly framed by Cecilia Concepcion Alvarez's colorful acrylic paintings with an accompanying Spanish translation by Jorge Argueta, Rigoberto Gonzalez's story teaches not only tolerance but also reassures children that a household filled with love is something to cherish.

The Royal Road: El Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe

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The Royal Road: El Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe
Douglas Preston , and José Antonio Esquibel
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 082631936X

Book Description

In 1598 the conquistador Juan de Oñate led the first permanent European settlers to what would become the United States, traveling from Mexico along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Road of the Interior. In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of this arduous journey, the husband-and-wife author/photographer team of Douglas and Christine Preston, seasoned travelers on the Camino Real, invite us to join them as they journey by car and horseback and on foot along this ancient road, which began thousands of years ago as a series of Indian trails. Christine Preston's photos show wild places that have hardly changed over the centuries as well as churches, ruins, villages, and modern cityscapes. Douglas Preston's text chronicles the history of the road and its travelers. José Antonio Esquibel provides fascinating historical information on the pioneer settlers of New Mexico including the origins and genealogies of old New Mexico families from Abeyta to Zamora.

An exploration, in stunning photography and text, of the 400-year-old Spanish trail known as El Camino Real, blazed by Juan de Oñate in 1598.

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Ireland (Flying High)
Antonio Attini
Manufacturer: White Star
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 8854400505
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Book Description

All lovers of Ireland will enjoy this fantastic aerial trip over the green western outpost of Europe. The book offers readers hundreds of views over a sea of gentle hills and green meadows, desolate moors dotted with heather and gorse, and a jagged coastline tormented unceasingly by the ocean. It also reveals stone-built castles and fortresses, small towns clustering around their churches, turf-roofed farmhouses and whitewashed cottages, great country houses and monastic ruins.

The focus of this book is on the photography. Brief essays introduce galleries of exceptional photographs whose themes and captions reflect Ireland's rich variety. A perfect gift, this book brings together the country's natural beauties and its enchantment.

Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal (Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures)

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Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal (Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures)
Antonio Cassese
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 052163752X

Book Description

Which of the peoples currently claiming the right to self-determination have that right under international law? At what point does this political ideal turn into an international legal standard? This first comprehensive legal account asks how far self-determination is reshaping international relations and assesses the extent of its impact on traditional international institutions. The book scrutinizes State practice through national digests and United Nations proceedings and reappraises the concept against the whole body of international law, thus making an important contribution to an understanding of the interplay of law and politics.

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Platero y yo/Platero and I
Dar'bon, the mild anti-hero and Platero
The Complete Platero
The Return to Simplicity
sencillez y belleza

Platero y yo / Platero and I
Juan Ramon Jimenez
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395623650

Book Description

Selections from a classic of world literature present a picture of life in the town of Moguer, in Andalusia, Spain.

Customer Reviews:

Platero y yo/Platero and I.......2007-01-29

The quality of the product is very good. The selection of the poems rather limited. Beautiful poems (i.e., "Angelus", "La flor del camino") were left out from the original selection. In general, I am please with the product.

One concern that I would like to express regarding the "one click" purchase option is that one should be able to choose his/her preferred mailing options. I was in no rush to receive this book and end up paying a shipping over 50% of the product price. No options to edit or preview before finalizing your purchase. I am afraid will avoid the "one click" experience in the future.

Dar'bon, the mild anti-hero and Platero.......2005-09-30

A very sweet book and touching story. Not for the cynical. Read and try to imagine various friends and family members in the roles of these characters, as my friend did to me, calling me Dar'bon, as to my propensity at the time for burping and such, and while reading, laugh and celebrate a provincial, simple and endearing story of a simple lifestyle rich with meaning. Classic!

The Complete Platero.......2001-11-20

This translation of Platero and I is the only "complete" translation into English of the Spanish Classic. It is also the most Spanish! This refers to the paperback edition.

The Return to Simplicity.......2001-06-02

This is a beautiful little book by a Nobel Prize Winner of Literature that is too often neglected, Juan Ramon Jimenez.

Only Jimenez could make the blood of a leach in a stream of water into beautiful imagery. Children read this book as part of their curriculum in Argentina, however, this book can be equally enjoyed and appreciated by adults.

The story is a simple one: it is a first person (semi-autobiographical) account of a poet and his donkey in the mountains of Spain, appreciating, almost Zen-like, the simple beauties of life. The elements, children playing, leaches bleeding in a pool, everything seems beautiful in this book, and the descriptions are exquisite.

This is probably the best introduction to Jimenez, a book not to be missed!

sencillez y belleza.......2000-04-06

Platero y yo es un libro tierno y sencillo que cuenta la relacion de un borrico y su amo. Yo lo recomiendo a todo aquel que quiera aprender espanol con esta pequena historia llena de poesia.

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