Strangers Among Us is a lucid, informed, and cliché-shattering examination of Latino immigration to the United States–its history, the vast transformations it is fast producing in American society, and the challenges it will present for decades to come. In making vivid an array of people, places, and events that are
little known to most Americans, the author–an American journalist who is himself the son of Latino immigrants–makes an often bewildering phenom-… More >>
Strangers Among Us: Latino Lives in a Changing America
One of the great drawbacks of a lot of contemporary American social science is that you never hear/see/touch any of the real people who make up the aggregated statistics. A skillful journalist and story-teller like Suro shines a light on the stats. It’s the only way to understand how that dry abstract thing called “policy” is experienced by living people. Whether you are generally sympathetic to an open door immigration policy, or hostile to it, you’ll find plenty that is informative, provocative, enlightening and moving in this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book was very informative. Roberto Suro is an excellent writer, he used great resources. It’s his first book I have read and won’t be my last. It opened my eyes to alot of issues I wasn’t aware of in my hispanic culture.
Rating: 4 / 5
I first read STRANGERS AMONG US: LATINO LIVES IN A CHANGING AMERICA, by Roberto Suro, as a college student in a Chicano Studies course. Though, our class had “Chicano” in the title, it wasn’t completely centered specifically on the Chicano/Mexican American experience. We also took a wider look at the experience of Latin Americans, in general. Writer Roberto Suro, the American-born son of Ecuadorian and Puerto Rican parents, brings insight and sensitivity to the plight of Latinos immigrants (be they South or Central American, Mexican or Caribbean). Keep in mind that this book was written prior to 9/11, and Suro’s take on the xenophobic attitude toward immigrants doesn’t examine our terrorism-infused view of foreigners, in the United States (and throughout the globe). I do believe that this book still remains very insightful and engaging, because Suro is a very good writer because he is inclusive toward readers who aren’t familiar with the various plights resting on the heads of Latinos (particularly, the young, under age eighteen crowd who feel the pressure of gang violence, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and an epidemic of youth dropping out of high school). I definitely reccomend this!
Rating: 5 / 5
Linda Chance
Soc. 224
Andrea Voyer
April 17, 2006
In his book Strangers Among Us, Roberto Suro talked about the problems faced by Latino immigrants in this country. He covered some complex problems in great depth. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Latino immigrants and their reasons for coming. The information provided by Suro helps us understand the plight of Latino immigrants. He tried to suggest possibilities that could have helped alleviate some of the problems. The problems of these immigrants are not only theirs, but ours as well. Suro also suggests that immigrants have some responsibility to learn English, but also need to make the decision of who they are and where they are going. The immigrants are here because they want a better life, and because businesses want them here, but there needs to be a move toward encouraging legal means of arrival. In spite of the fact that this country is in a transitional period moving toward a global economy, we should help those who want to become Americans also. This book can lead to a better understanding of the history of the situation
Rating: 4 / 5
I picked up this book to help develop my “big picture” of the huge influx of Latino immigrants during the past couple of decades. Mr. Suro certainly delivers an enlightening account, but what I didn’t expect was that the smaller, very real portraits Suro conveys are deeply moving, personalizing the Latin diaspora in a manner that can ideally help bring the currently-politicized public forum on the issues into more accurate, more humane focus. This is as much an intriguing page-turner as it is an outstanding reference book.
Rating: 5 / 5