Review by Choice Review
Aranda (sociology, Univ. of South Florida), Hughes (Latin American studies, Univ. of Miami), and Sabogal (gender studies, William Patterson Univ. of New Jersey) explore the impact of the social, cultural, political, economic, and regulatory trends in the US on immigrants and their families. Their focus is on Latin American and Caribbean immigrants to the greater Miami-Dade County area as a microcosm of a regional globalization experience. The authors use Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Becks's conceptualizations to explore the facets of ontological security in light of the psychological, social, and economic experiences of social mobility; discrimination and ethnic rivalries; and concepts of belonging. Using a constructivist paradigm, their in-depth look at immigration uses a blend of observation, case study, intensive interviews, focus groups, surveys, and census data to deepen the findings of the overall inquiry. The result is, occasionally, a dense presentation of facts balanced with poignant individual stories that add color and dimension to the more weighty material. The use of in-text tables and charts is appropriately illustrative. The inclusion of a lengthy list of citations and endnotes at the end of each chapter makes it tedious to track references. This multidisciplinary text will be indispensible for any serious scholar of immigration. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. K. E. Murphy Northwestern University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
