It doesn't get any more real than this!! I really enjoyed this book. It lets you really get to know the people in the book who are real and not just some made up characters. I hope to see more of these type of books from Joseph Rodriguez. I also like the idea that someone made above about the author doing an update to this book. That would be great!!!

Finally someone writes a book and tells the truth i grew up in East los and believe me it was hard but something we chose,we chose to gangbang and finally someone was real about it and wrote this book showing the way it really is and what we really go threw.........THANKS,VBTP

I live in East L.A., and I know two of the young guys that were in the book. This is what life for us is really like.Im 19, and the guys that came out in the book are around 22 now. I think that this guy has come a really long way and hopefully when he looks back at this book he will realize that he has turned into a better and smarter person.The author has my support in whatever he does. To come here to the neighborhood and write about what goes on in here is opening society's eyes to the everyday struggles and pressures that our young Chicano men have to go through. Behind every picture that Joseph has taken there is a story,and the people that live through it are the authors. I am sure that Joseph has some how helped these guys, because when I first met Porky the first thing he told me was that Pony and him had came out in a book!I think that this book should be updated and see how everyone is doing now.I recommend this book to anyone that wants to see some of the hardships of life.Pony died after this book was made but his smile and memory are always with me.When you see his face in this book don't think of it as another gang member, but as someone who was sill a kid that got caught up in the gang life.

East Side Dreams is the debut book and memoir Art Rodriguez, of a Latino American who survived growing up on the rough side, at odds with a dictatorial father, and once an inmate of the California Youth Authority -- a prison system for young lawbreakers. Reflections on both happy and miserable times of his childhood, growing up, learning maturity and finally making a comfortable life for himself fill this heartfelt and revealing personal testimony. Highly recommended reading for young adults, East Side Dreams has justly earned the distinctions of being named the "Best First Book of the Latino Literary Hall of Fame", and has been honored as one of 200 Best Teenage Books in the United States by the New York Public Library System.

My son who is 21 came home with this book and said Mom you have got to read this book it is so good. So I said o.k. mejio let me read it! When I started to ready it it brought back so many memories (I grew up in the East Side of San Jose) and most of the things he was talking about I lived it. I laughed and cried and could not put down the book. This is a great book for all ages. After I got done reading it I gave it to my Father to read and he enjoyed it too.

Art Rodriguez takes us to jail with him so that we never need to go. He sits us next to him in his cell with nothing left to do but sit and remember. We try with him to connect the memories to being imprisoned, but there is no connection at all.

Although Art had an abusive father, he never once cites this as a reason for his violent behavior. He was a kid that made poor choices and got what he deserved. He blames no one but himself, and it is with this realization of responsibility that Art turns his life around. He went from street punk to a successful business man, a supportive father and an award winning author. He shows us that people can change and that bad mistakes are not the end of your life unless you allow them to be. Art Rodriguez is the silent roll model all troubled children are looking for.

This book is a great experience for audiences young and old. Buy it and read it.

FIRST OFF I WANT TO THANK FATHER GREG FOR CHANGING ALOT OF PEOPLES POINT OF VIEW ON GANSTERS ALOT OF PEOPLE JUDGE THE BOOK BY THERE COVER WELL FATHER GREG SPOKE THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PROJECTS IN EAST LOS I SHOULD KNOW I LIVED THERE AND I KNOW HIM AND ALOT OF THE GANG MEMBERS THAT FATHER GREG TALKED ABOUT HS BOOK. FATHER GREG TALKS ABOUT HOW HE EARNED HIS RESPECT FROM US GANG MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY NOT ONLY DOES HE INSPIRE PEOPLE WITH HIS BOOK BUT ALSO HE GETS RESPECT FOR NOT GIVING UP ON US HELPING US IN EVERYWAY POSSIBLE AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW ALOT MORE OF EAST LOS IN THE CITY OF ANGELS..

I teach criminal justice courses at Dodge City Community College. One of the topics most students are interested in is hispanic gangs. I found this book to be excellent, and a number of students have also said positive things about the book. It gives the reader a realistic view of gang life in LA, and Father Greg's work is very encouraging. I tell my students that 1 person can make a difference in life, but most don't believe me. The book not only depited gang members and their lives, it also demonstrated some programs that were effective. I highly recommend the book!

I had the pleasure of hearing Father Greg Boyle speak in my religion class at Santa Clara University earlier this year. I enjoyed his talk so much, I went to a subsequent one and it was there I was first introduced to his book. A wonderful book to compliment a wonderful person. Father Greg is truly an angel in human form.

This book was excellent! I read it in just a couple of days. Since I first started I couldn't take my eyes of what I was reading. The story is shocking and rude, yet interesting and mind-opening. It explicitly tells the struggles of growing up in a foreign country with everything against you and yet find the way to a new world full of possibilities. Excellent for tenagers, parents, and students.

THIS WAS ONE THAT COULD NOT BE PUT DOWN FOR LONG.I DO NOT READ ALOT BUT I TOOK A GLANCE AT THIS AND CONTINUED READING TILL THE END. IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING GREAT TO READ.MY EYES COULDNT GET ENOUGH.

I thought this book was great! The pictures of the objects are beautiful. Where a picture could not be obtained there is usually a detailed sketch of the object. The descriptions give not only insight into use of the archaological object but also surrounding information like similar objects and archeological context. Then the essays descibe the time period and unknown/debated issue of Egyptian Archeology. As a newbie to Egyptian Archaeology I found the book easy to read and felt that things were explained well.

I usually like horror stories, but "Stars Over East L.A." was better than all of them. I hated to see it end.

Many of the groups mentioned had their beginnings in the Salesian High School Rock n' Roll shows of the late 60's. Thee midnighter, Thee Enchantments, The Pharoahs, The Nightdreamers, Art and the Fabulons,Lil Art, the Counts, The Blue Satins, the impalas, The 4 x 4's, the Celestials, and many more. They grew into the Battle of the Bands of East L.A. The Showmen and The Majestics,who I roadied for, in the LATE 60' to the early 70's. Hank Castro of the Majestics still sings today at the Hop. An album, if you can get it, is the "East Side Revue" it was in yellow vinyl and black vinyl. It's a classic album.

"Land of a Thousand Dances: Chicano Rock 'N' Roll from Southern California" traces the roots and influences on the Chicano/Latino music scene today. The book is well researched including dozens of interviews with early performers from East L.A. and all around the Southland.

Mr. Reyes' and Waldman's rich photo archives accompany a history that may well have been lost had they not carefully documented it for us. The musical influences of artists like Richie Valens, Thee Midnighters, Cannibal and the Headhunters, Mark Guerrero, "Grammy Award" winning musician Carlos Santana, El Chicano, Tierra, and Malo are particularly interesting. Future generations of Hispanics and non-Hispanics will be blessed with the memories and experiences that the pioneers of Chicano Rock-n-Roll had with this enchanted cruise with sounds of the barrio, a magical blend of cultures that brought forth these "Oldies but Goodies"!

I found this to be a very joyful experience back into a musical era (1960') when I was teenager. I grew up with people like the Salas's Bros. (my cousins) El Chicano, the Premiers ( I went to grade school and High school with them), Thee Enchantments, played football with Willie Garcia of the Midnighters. Knew members of Yaqui, and Art Brambila, my uncle. I saw most of these groups that you mentioned in your book live throuhout my teenage years. Alot of these people were my friends. One dear friend that was never mentioned in your book was Eddie Serrano, former singer of Yaqui, Thee Enchantments and most currently, Cannibal and the Headhunters. Eddie passed away early this year from a bicycle accident. We grew as neighbors,more like brothers in Lincoln Heights. He contributed a lot to East La Music and entertainment in general. I was hoping he would be mentioned so his family and close friends could see his accomplishments written for legacy.

Thank you very much for your trip back in time where music,life and friends meant so much during those turbulent years. Sincerly, Joe Brambila

The Republic of East L.A. is collection of stories set in a part of Los Angeles that even natives have not seen, do not know. Rodriguez has an eye for his culture and a sometimes imperfect way of telling a story that only adds credibility to the subjects he writes about.

That these stories have a rough edge, that they are not always perfectly told, is not important because they are poignantly told. Mostly they cross the barrio barrier for all to enjoy. Occasionally they don't. If you are interested in culture, speak Spanish or are familiar with Hispanic/American way of life, you will have no trouble. If you aren't, you will still find some of these stories worth a bit of a struggle. Especially "Pigeons." This tale about new Mexican immigrant prejudices against second generation Mexicans and vice versa is worth the entire ride through "East L.A."

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

Luis J. Rodriguez once again has painted a vibrant and complex picture of those who work, live, love and die in "The Republic of East L.A." Rodriguez's prose is straight-forward yet poetic as he tells us about the varied struggles of cholos/as, a budding journalist, a limousine driver, immigrants, working people, all sorts of gente. My favorite story is "Sometimes You Dance with a Watermelon," where forty-year-old Rosalba (an immigrant living in poverty and already a grandmother) needs to escape her crowded home to get a momentary bit of joy. She rouses her favorite granddaughter, Chila, and they drive to Grand Central Market where they buy a watermelon. Rosalba balances it on her head and starts to walk swaying "back and forth to a salsa beat thundering out of an appliance store." She and Chila get caught up in this joyous dance:

"Rosalba had not looked that happy in a long time as she danced along the bustling streets of the central city in her loose-fitting skirt and sandals. She danced in the shadow of a multi-storied Victorian -- dancing for one contemptuous husband and for another who was dead. She danced for a daughter who didn't love herself enough to truly have the love of another man. She danced for her grandchildren, especially that fireball Chila. She danced for her people, wherever they were scattered, and for this country she would never quite comprehend. She danced, her hair matted with sweat, while remembering a simpler life on an even simpler rancho in Nayarit."

This is a powerful, beautiful collection.

NOTE: This review refers to the paperback edition.

With The Republic of East L.A., Luis Rodriguez slyly suggests our largest barrio might be a separate country. The critically praised author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., Rodriguez writes less about geography in the City of Angels and more about an atlas of human hearts.

Twelve stories, twelve voices, The Republic of East L.A. surpasses the typical story collection with a unity of geography, culture, and artistic compassion. What Rodriguez achieves--if at a more modest level--invites comparison with James Joyce's Dubliners. Both have a felt history of community and honest portraits of characters caught in moral struggle.

Rodriguez's protagonists are satisfyingly complex. In the lead story, "My Ride, My Revolution," Cruz Blancarte, twenty-something (but closing in on thirty) plays in a rap-and-rock garage band. He inherits a yearning for political revolution from his chicana activist mom. He hustles a girlfriend, Bernarda, two inches taller than his five-six. And he drives a limo for a living, shuttling the chasms between the barrio and tonier sections of L.A. No Hispanic stereotyping here.

With a journalist's eye, Rodriguez enriches his stories with historical texture that reaches across decades and generations. Does that short-pants cholo beside the lowrider Chevy not echo the tattooed grandfather who had a pachuco past in the 1950s? Why did James A. Garfield High School lose its accreditation in the 1970s and then rocket to Stand and Deliver fame in the 1980s? Have we forgotten that in 1970 armed L.A. County Sheriff deputies in East L.A. attacked a crowd protesting the Vietnam War, leaving several dead, including Chicano journalist Ruben Salazar?

But story by story, Rodriguez's narrative focus is tighter than barrio history. Character struggle often plays out against the frame of la familia. "Shadows" is possibly the grimmest portrait. Rudy spirals downward into alcoholism, metaphorically melting into the sidewalk as a "shadow" person--so often did he pass out there. Rudy's suffering is not his alone. It's shared by la familia too: an abandoned wife, an abandoned child, and a father who stops caring about his son. Despite individual setbacks, la familia emerges in these stories as the common engine of survival, driven by an unstoppable work ethic.

"La Operacion" is an ambitious narrative of two parallel stories about the dream compelling so many Mexicans to cross our southern border. Working immigrant populations in the United States invariably send money back home to family and relatives. Thus, one story is set in East L.A.; one story is set in a small beneficiary village in the scenic Copper Canyon country of Mexico. After the glimpse of everyone winning in the "parallel economies" of both barrio and village, tragedy strikes in both places. La Migra, not unexpectedly, literally bulldozes the dream of the immigrants in East L.A. But surprisingly, the villagers' dream collapses too: The heavy hand of tourist development reaches out, destroying culture, a lifeway, and whatever else the dollars from up north had secured.

All twelve stories deserve comment, but the final story demands comment. "Sometimes You Dance With a Watermelon," is that rare event: pure storyteller magic. Told with economy and deft strokes, we get to know Rosalba, a grandmother who's still living a difficult life in her fortieth year. We see the arc of her life from leaving an obscure Mexican village to questioning now whether the sacrifices to be in Estados Unidos were worth it. Someday, some way, she wants to go back to her village. And yet as the matriarch of her own familia, she has few choices. Like Camus's Sisyphus, she can only keep moving.

Rosalba and her nine-year-old granddaughter Chila walk down to Grand Central Market in the heart of L.A. There Rosalba buys a watermelon, which Chila can't carry. Then Rodriguez kicks the story up another level, for something akin to Joycean epiphany. Rosalba balances the watermelon on her head as she learned in the village, and festive music in the air, she dances. To not spoil this literary treat for you, no more should be said. Read the story. Better yet, read all of The Republic of East L.A.

The Gulf War veterans and their supporters in Congress have forced a resisting military and intimidated white house to acknowledge that the price of war-even in smashing triumph-is high. The lesson this book teaches is this: Today's high tech wars are too important and too dangerous to be left to the military or to the politicians. Neither will risk all to protect their soldiers. Those men and women who do the fighting want their say, too, and are learning how to get it". This book, by its glaring omission of criticism, upholds the Gulf War Massacre. This is not an anti-war book, it's a book calling upon the system to live up to its supposed "ideals". It seems as though the author has gotten defensive in the wake of his stinging book on the Kennedys [see Camelot Review-Ed.] and backed off on some of his indictment for the system. Hersh sees a government divided. He says that the CIA had knowledge that there were chemical weapons at Khamisyah and "failed to relay the information...that failure was a criminally negligent mistake, but it was not a cover-up." Apologizing for the government by saying the problem was confusion inside the American intelligence movement is absurd. He portrays the white house as "intimidating" saying "Bill Clinton was afraid to take on the Pentagon. It was up to Congress to do what the president would not. In many respects this is their victory"!

The book has a strong 'honor the vet' edge that leaves a nasty taste in our mouths. If you've had the privilege of reading the scathing expose, My Lai 4 , by this same author you would never believe it's the same guy. This book does do a good job, if you filter well through the politics, of outlining the major physiological issues regarding the Gulf War Illness. With that exception noted, we can only say this: Paper will put up with anything that is written on it.

This book helped me to understand what my brother had been trying to say...he was sick (a Gulf War Vet...now deceased). My family thanks Seymour Hersh and any others who expose the military for what they did (and didn't do) before, during, and after the Gulf War. The book made a lot more sense than the propaganda material the gov't. has sent our family concerning questions we've had. According to the military....everything (except for the stress) occurred in "insignificant levels to have caused any diseases". Tell that to my brother now... Good job Mr. Hersh!

A very well written, well researched and well documented book on Gulf War Syndrome. It concisely answers the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" questions that many of us are asking. In doing so, it lifts the lid on one more of America's dirty little secrets. Powerful and Amazing.

Most people are put off by sociological studies that are mostly about showing statistics and graphs. "East Los Angeles", though, is written in an engaging style that sheds new light on the direct role that Mexicans had in the creation of Los Angeles as a metropolis. My only problem with this book is that it ends its scope in 1930, before many seminal moments in Chicano history such as "Operation Wetback", the bracero program and the Zoot-Suit riots happened. If this book would have encompassed these events, it would be deserving of 5 stars. As a companion piece though, Rodolfo Acuna's book on East Los Angeles from 1945-75 is essential.