"Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun" is a new study of the Chicano/a movement, "El Movimiento," and its multiple ideologies from a broad cultural perspective. The late 1960s marked the first time U.S. society witnessed Americans of Mexican descent on a national stage as self-determined individuals and collective actors rather than second-class citizens. George Mariscals book examines the Chicano movements quest for equal rights and economic justice in the context of the Viet Nam War era.

Mariscal outlines the social and political conditions that made El Movimiento possible, especially the Cold War, U.S. military interventions, the Black Civil Rights movement, and anti-colonial struggles in the so-called Third World. This context paved the way for U.S. minority groups to politicize their cultural production and elaborate radical identities. Mariscal analyzes many issues that scholars have heretofore ignored when studying "El Movimiento."

Mariscal argues convincingly that the term nationalism fails to adequately describe the complexity of the movement and shows how Chicano/a internationalism arose in response to the Cuban Revolution of 1959. He traces the ideological uses of the image of Cesar Chavez as a touchstone for debate within "El Movimiento" and explains how some activists such as Reies Lpez Tijerina formed alliances across ethnic boundaries, specifically with African American militants. The final chapters look at attempts to democratize higher education in California and suggest ways in which the legacy of the movement might be relevant to contemporary political projects.

"George Mariscal gave us that extraordinary book "Aztlan and Viet Nam." Here he turns his attention to athoughtful analysis and description of the Chicano Movement of the Sixties and Seventies, in all its complexity, excitement, and promise. He finds fascinating connections between "el Movimiento" and certain historical figures like Che Guevara and Cesar Chavez. This book is a rich tapestry of provocative ideas and untold history."Howard Zinn, author, "A People's History of the United States"

This ambitious book attempts to rehistoricize the Golden Age of Spain (ca. 1550-1680) by placing literary production in its socio-cultural context. Drawing on theories of cultural materialism and making use of historical analysis, George Mariscal focuses on the ways in which the problem of subjectivity is constructed in the writing of the period, particularly the poetry of Francisco de Quevedo and Cervantes' Don Quixote.

Showcasing over sixty short stories, poems, speeches, and articles, "Aztlan and Viet Nam" is the first anthology of Mexican American writings about the U.S. war in Southeast Asia. The words are startlingly frank, moving, and immensely powerful, as they call to our attention an important and neglected part of U.S. history. Gathered from many little-known sources, the works reflect both the soldiers' experience and the antiwar movement at home. Taken together, they illustrate the contradictions faced by the traditionally patriotic Mexican American community, and show us the war and the grassroots opposition to it from a new perspective--one that goes beyond the familiar dichotomy of black and white America.
George Mariscal offers critical introductions and provides historical background by identifying specific issues which have not been widely discussed in relation to the war, noting, for example, the potential for Chicano soldiers to recognize their own ethnic and class identities in those of the Vietnamese people. Drawing upon interviews with key participants in the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, Mariscal analyzes the antiwar movement, the Catholic Church, traditional Mexican American groups, and an emerging feminist consciousness among Chicanas.
Also included are personal accounts: Norma Elia Cantu's remembrance of her brother who died in combat, Barbara Renaud Gonzalez's evocative poem about Chicanas on the homefront, Alberto Rios's and Naomi Helena Quinonez's moving poetry about the Wall, and the recollections of Abelardo Delgado and others on the August 29, 1970 Moratorium.

A turning point in twentieth-century American history, the war in Vietnam raised profound questions that affected every aspect of life in the United States. A dramatic case study of the political passions, spiritual pain, and cultural divisions produced by the war, "What's Going On? California and the Vietnam Era" provides for the first time a balanced and personal look at the Vietnam years in California, revealing their impact on American life and culture. Wallace Stegner believed that California 'is like the rest of the United States, only more so', and in this book we discover the truth behind that sentiment. Conceived in tandem with the Oakland Museum of California's innovative national touring exhibition of the same title, this absorbing collection of essays captures the essence of a unique time and place. The exhibition itself centers on events between 1965 and 1975 and examines the legacy of those years on the state today through some 500 historical artifacts - documents, news accounts, photographs, film clips, musical excerpts, and personal stories presented in multiple formats. These accompanying essays delve deeper into the themes raised by the exhibit, looking into such topics as the relationship between Cold War politics, the Vietnam War, and California's economy; social activism from the Right and the Left; the rise of the feminist, African American, Chicano, and veterans' movements; Vietnamese refugees; media images of the war; and the legacy of those years on the entire nation.