This is a charming little book of human-interest vignettes (written 2000 to 2002) about Latinos in Allentown. This area has seen intense growth in Latino populations over the past few decades. In particular, there is a sizable Puerto Rican minority as well as immigrants (legal and illegal) from other countries. Although it is not a book that theorizes on this development so to speak, it gives a great deal of texture from the experiences of Sandoval and the people he reported on. One gets a sense of the motivations of the people, the differences between first and second generation Pennsylvanians, the people for whom it is a temporary move and the people for whom it is a permanent move. It's absolutely brilliant that it takes place in Allentown (familiar from the Billy Joel song) and Bethlehem (of Bethlehem Steel), because even those of us far from that part of the country have a picture of the post-industrial rebuilding that must happen here, the kind of hope and vision it would take to start over there.

The episodes are short, so this would make yet another great book for quickies (waiting in line, etc.). And Sandoval is just a good writer of the newspaper style, and he has a sense of humor about himself and those around him. I could also see this book being valuable for discussions of Latino culture(s) and for (im)migrant experiences. Quite a decent index as well.

Recommended. ( )

The New Face of Small-Town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, PA is exactly that quick snapshots of different lives throughout this small town. The author does a wonderful job of giving you quick glances into peoples lives, he visits a young girls quinceanera, immigrant workers on a Christmas tree farm, a school principal, and so forth. He visited with a Koren business owner who was learning Spanish to be able to help serve his customer base better. ( )

Living in a bipartite world we tend to envision the hidden livesof others through our own cutural eyes. This book was a joy to read in that it opened the bedroom doors so to speak in homes that I could never imagine being invited to. The writing style was familiar and would not be recognized as anything but homey news-writing but that was its charm also. When I received the book I expected an anthropological treatise but was given so much more. While the events were obviously dated I would be interested to read a follow up book on the subjects' lives now. ( )

This book is comprised of newspaper human interest stories based on Latino immigrants to Allentown, PA. The short vignettes are interesting, but in book form this issue cry out for more depth and analysis. Superficial. ( )

An interesting and timely topic with all of the recent coverage on immigration, but the writing is a bit stilted. The chapters don't flow very well in book form - each essay works better on its own. After reading the book, I felt that Americans should be proud that people from other countries want to move to to the United States and that they still believe in the American Dream, even when our economy is in a recession and we think we're not doing well financially. The book is a good overview of some of the issues that Latinos face, and an interesting cultural study of the lives of Latinos in small-town Pennsylvania, but it's definitely more of an academic read than something you'd pick up just for fun. ( )