Barrios to burbs : the making of the Mexican American middle class /

This clearly organized, succinct book adds to a growing body of scholarship on the identities and experiences of Mexican Americans. Vallejo's contribution is on the mobility and incorporation paths of middle-class Mexican Americans--a population that has received scant academic and popular attention, partially because of its relatively small size. Combining statistical data, participant observations, and in-depth interviews, Vallejo (Univ. of Southern California) engages traditional sociological debates about the applicability of theories of racialization and assimilation for Mexican Americans. In four main chapters, she examines family obligations, racial/ethnic identities, civic participation, and factors influencing the pathways into the middle class. In one especially noteworthy chapter (written with sociologist Jennifer Lee), Vallejo finds that Mexican Americans raised in middle-class families are more likely to adopt individualist patterns similar to middle-class whites and that Mexican Americans raised in poor households tend to follow a collectivist ethos of providing financial and social support to extended families. Findings such as these throughout Barrios to Burbs reveal the importance of Vallejo's integration of class-based differences in complicating understandings of Mexican Americans' experiences. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, lower- and upper-division undergraduates. G. L. Ochoa Pomona College