¡Raza Sí! ¡Guerra No!: Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era - Tapa dura

"A fascinating and beautifully argued interpretation of how the American war in Southeast Asia affected Chicano communities. The author provides the most complete and well-documented study to date of this important chapter in U.S. history and its impact on an ethnic group with long-standing traditions of military service, assimilation, and resistance to injustice. Oropeza's book is what students of the Chicano Movement, especially the Mexican American role in antiwar activities during the Vietnam War period, have been waiting for." - George Mariscal, author of Aztlan and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War"

This incisive and elegantly written examination of Chicano antiwar mobilization demonstrates how the pivotal experience of activism during the Viet Nam War era played itself out among Mexican Americans. "!Raza Si! !Guerra No!" presents an engaging portrait of Chicano protest and patriotism. On a deeper level, the book considers larger themes of American nationalism and citizenship and the role of minorities in the military service, themes that remain pertinent today. Lorena Oropeza's exploration of the evolution, political trajectory, and eventual implosion of the Chicano campaign against the war in Viet Nam encompasses a fascinating meditation on Mexican Americans' political and cultural orientations, loyalties, and sense of status and place in American society.