A biography that approaches the story of the farm worker and labor organizer in the context of Chicano and American history. It shows a shy and quiet man--thrust by events into a maelstrom of campesino strikes, religious fervor, and the fight for social justice--whose life was touched by the major events in the Mexican-American chronology, from Mexican immigration in the 1920s, through forced repatriation in the 1930s to the Chicano movement of the '60s and '70s and, finally, the "new immigration" in the 1990s. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

With his family displaced from their land and forced to work as migrants, Chávez (1927-93) from early on shared the arduous life of those he was destined to lead. In this biography of the embattled farm labor organizer, del Castillo (Mexican studies, San Diego State Univ.) focuses on Chávez's formation, growth, and development as a leader in the movement to unionize farm workers in the Southwest. The story is filled with ups and downs in the long, drawn-out struggle with powerful corporate and institutional interests, as well as with organized labor. Moral strength through nonviolence, pragmatic flexibility, and the able coleadership of Dolores Huerta are all elements del Castillo credits to La Causa. Del Castillo's account is balanced, highly readable, and engaging. Recommended for general readership.‘Charles E. Perry, East Central Univ., Ada, Okla. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Griswold del Castillo and Garcia have written a biography of Ch'avez, but it is also a history of the Mexican American labor movement and the Mexican American struggle for civil rights. The authors effectively place Ch'avez and his career within the context of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and they broaden the scope of their study to include an analysis of the role that Dolores Huerta and other Ch'avez associates played in the movement. Griswold and Garcia effectively argue that Ch'avez was more than a labor/civil rights leader; instead, they see him as a spiritual ascetic--an American Gandhi--whose vision, commitment to nonviolence, and leadership defied simple political labels and added a unique aspect to the Mexican American struggle. They relate Ch'avez to mid 20th century American liberal and radical thought, and trace his political evolution from that of a Saul Alinsky-style community organizer to that of nonviolent civil rights leader using the tactics of marches, the grape boycott, and fasting to pursue his political and social objectives. The authors conclude with a survey of the Ch'avez historiography. Although this study provides a compelling assessment of the significance and uniqueness of Ch'avez, the authors fail to analyze adequately the unraveling of Ch'avez's United Farm Workers in the 1970s and '80s, and to describe his significance for the Mexican American civil rights struggle outside of California. These minor faults aside, this is a fine book. General and undergraduate readerships. C. D. Wintz; Texas Southern University From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.