Books: Where Are the Mexican Americans? A Textbook Omission Overdue for Revision

Abstract

T HE publishers' representatives had arrived early, before the opening of the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians. By the time the convention officially began, the book racks, signs, and display cases were all arranged. Each publisher, from Appleton-Century-Crofts to Yale University Press, displayed its wares in a colorful and attractive manner. Most impressive were the giants of the field, the large publishers who hire prominent historians to write textbooks for them. Like a stable of Thoroughbreds, these historians are proclaimed by their publishers as the distinguished authors of the most authoritative, readable, and comprehensive writings available for the college survey course. The professor already knows much of this, because while on the plane to the convention, he has casually thumbed through the pages of ads for survey texts in the convention program: ... it does far more than give comprehensive coverage to the material . . . . It makes the material interesting for your students to read, taking a colorful biographical approach .. Chronology charts and historical debates incorporated throughout the text further contribute to your students' learning and enjoyment. ... this exciting and definitive text presents an authoritative, vividly written account of American history from early exploration to the present. Among the topics treated in detail are: the historical and current roles of minority gioups, especially blacks .... ... Continuous and enthusiastic demand . . . necessitated a new edition of this leading American history text. Updated to include the Johnson and early Nixon years, the book vividly recreates the color and excitement of the American experience.