Manana Forever?


Book Description

In this shrewd and fascinating book, the renowned scholar and former foreign minister Jorge Castañeda sheds much light on the puzzling paradoxes of politics and culture of modern Mexico. Here’s a nation of 110 million that has an ambivalent and complicated relationship with the United States yet is host to more American expatriates than any country in the world. Its people tend to resent foreigners yet have made the nation a hugely popular tourist destination. Mexican individualism and individual ties to the land reflect a desire to conserve the past and slow the route to uncertain modernity. Castañeda examines the future possibilities for Mexico as it becomes more diverse in its regional identities, socially more homogenous, its character and culture the instruments of change rather than sources of stagnation, its political system more open and democratic. Mañana Forever? is a compelling portrait of a nation at a crossroads.




South Sea Sketches


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The Chautauquan


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The Chautauquan


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Tomorrow is Forever


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On the Other Side of the Garden


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From one of the great creative teams in picture books, On the Other Side of the Garden is about a city girl learning to accept the change brought about by her parents’ separation when she is taken to her grandmother’s house in the country and befriended by an owl, a frog and a mouse. When her father leaves her at her grandmother’s house, the young girl at the center of this story feels abandoned and lonely. Her mother has moved to another country, and the girl wasn’t paying attention when her father explained what was happening. And she hardly remembers her grandmother. After going up to her room she decides to venture out into the nighttime garden where she meets an owl, a frog and a mouse. They take her on a tour of her extraordinary new world. When she gets back in the morning, her grandmother explains that her father won’t be back for a long time. The girl tells her that she wants to be able to spend time in the garden with the plants and animals of this new world, and her grandmother doesn’t seem to be either surprised or alarmed by her nighttime adventures. And she is very happy that the girl and she will get to know each other. Buitrago’s stories are noted for conveying large truths through understatement and suggestion. This story, beautifully illustrated by Yockteng, shows how a child can use her own bravery and curiosity to confront frightening and potentially destructive realities such as a parents’ separation and being left with an almost unknown relative through what we must assume is a situation where her father had no choice. There is an endnote about the plants and animals that might be found in such a garden.







Ex Mex


Book Description

From the massive nationwide rally in support of immigrant rights in May 2006 to protests against the increasingly frequent immigration raids across the country, the public debate on immigration reform has largely centered on Mexican immigrants. Yet, in the United States, we rarely hear the Mexican perspective on the issue. In “portraits that defy American stereotypes of who is a Mexican immigrant” (Booklist ), former Mexican foreign minister and eminent scholar Jorge G. Castañeda describes just who makes up the newest generation of immigrants from Mexico, why they have chosen to live in the United States, where they work, and what they ultimately hope to achieve. Drawing on his wide-ranging experience, Casteñeda examines the century-long historical background behind the labor exchange between Mexico and the United States, while offering an insider's account of the official conversations and secret negotiations between the two countries in recent years. Both authoritative and timely, Ex Mex is essential reading for all who want to make sense of the complex issue of immigration.




Talking Book Topics


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