America Libre

By Raul Ramos y Sanchez

After years of anti-immigrant backlash, America's Latino people are in turmoil. The accidental shooting of a young girl sparks mass riots and the nation is in danger of falling into a second Civil War. Amidst this chaos, former U.S.Army Ranger Manolo Suarez finds himself questioning his loyalty to his country and to his wife.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044650775X
• ISBN13: 9780446507752
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Intense

Raul Ramos y Sanchez set his debut novel American Libre in the near future. A young Latina youth was shot and killed. The Latinas were rioting in the streets. The National Guard was called into keep peace. The result, twenty three Latinas were killed. Quarantine camps were set up to segregate the Hispanics from others. Civil War is imminent. Raul Ramos y Sanchez examines racial tensions. While American Libre is an entertaining thriller, it is also a statement of a social issue facing America. Sanchez successfully shows both sides of the issue. American Libre will stay with the reader long after they read the last page. American Libre is a page turner. The action will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The characters make this book. They seem to come to life upon the pages. I actually cared about what happened to them. I expect this book will be made into a movie.

exciting timely tale

In El Paso, a cop shoots and kills a Latina youth. The Hispanic community in the border city is outraged and rioting occurs. The Texas Governor calls in the National Guard to quell the riots and prevent looting. Shots are fired and twenty-three Latinas are killed. Across the country there is horror from many quarters and defense of the use of force from others. However, Latinas explode in outrage. In Los Angeles tensions between Hispanics and Anglos are boiling over with every incident and rumor escalating the tension. Wealthy Ramon Garcia creates the La Defensa del Pueblo to protect Hispanics from the Anglo backlash. Unemployed former Army Ranger Manolo "Mano" Suaraz is one of the veterans who enlist over the objection of his frightened wife as he obtains work as a bodyguard. Soon La Defensa del Pueblo begins to ally with local Hispanic gangs. Civil war seems imminent as the government sets up "Quarantine Zones" and internment camps to isolate Hispanics from the general population. This is an exciting timely tale that makes a strong warning to beware of the fast growing populace turning angry. The case Ramos y Sanchez makes is supported by the potential backlash to the anti-immigration assault and the Judge Sotomeier attacks. Although no exploration into how other races like Asian-Americans and African-Americans, or foreign countries or terrorist groups react to the American racial civil war, fans enjoy Ramos y Sanchez's entertaining but admonitory thriller that avers liberty and libre are the same or else. Harriet Klausner

A very timely book ... highlighting one of America's greatest issues

This book is very well-written, and brings a different perspective to the social issue of immigration facing America. For many, this book shows both sides of the issue, and gives a much greater understanding of the problems faced. The characters have great depth, and truly force the reader to empathize with their position in what may be one of the biggest social issues to face the United States in decades. It is also action packed, and will keep your attention until the very end. I am looking forward to the next chapter in this story - would like to see how this fictional version of what may really happen - will play out.

Wonderfully uncomfortable

This is the kind of book that jumps alive in your hands. It whispers to you of love and compassion, and shrieks at you from the depths of hatred and confusion. In dealing with the immigration issue this book is certainly timely, but I believe its greatest value actually lies in the wonderfully uncomfortable way in which it shatters the over simplification which plagues most of the world's problems - that there is simply good and bad, right and wrong, Latino and Gringo. What a great gift this author has given us in these pages, where innocents become enemies, heroes disappoint and hope kindles in dark places. As much homage as this book pays to the Latino cause, it also beckons to the broader human cause: Let us all be aware of the slippery slope that constitutes our perspectives and judgments. Let us all treat with reverence the complexity of our community. And let us all think twice, even thrice, before we decide our choices. Read it, and most importantly, read it well!

Thought Provoking Book

The raw action alone makes this book engaging and difficult to put down. Yet it is the character development and perspective it offers that grabs you emotionally. We're quick to take sides on political issues. But this book reminds us that often there is no right and no wrong on the side of an issue - just perceptions, experiences and personal circumstances that draw you one way or the other. I found the topic of the story timely, and the message timeless. While most people will pick up this book for the action, they will walk away with much more.