Though written to be accessible to high school students, this terrific resource contains material of interest to all readers wishing to expand their knowledge about Latino history, life, and culture (and U.S. history, life, and culture as well). Editor Stavans (Amherst College, Mass.) asked the contributors for analysis as well as reports, and the result is a rich and thought-provoking compendium. Latino/a is defined as all things related to the Spanish-speaking peoples who live north of Mexico. Among the entries: 1492, art (for many different ethnic groups), art criticism, Catholicism, class, cuisine (also for many tastes), dance, death, Islam, jazz, medicine, nativism, sexuality, tourism, and the Vietnam War. There are entries for individual states and many biographical entries on significant artists, writers, musicians, politicians, comedians, and thinkers. Each entry is signed and includes cross references and a list of references. The contributors are academics and independent scholars, mainly in the U.S. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less