Latin America United States

Big Sugar: The Other White Powder peels back the shiny facade of an everyday staple to reveal a history marked by exploitation, political intrigue, and global impact. From sugar’s beginnings as a rare delicacy in Southeast Asia to its role in shaping empires, economies, and entire societies, this book explores how a simple sweetener fueled colonial expansion, financed wars, and entrenched forced labor.

This is a concise history, intended for travellers, but of inestimable value to anyone looking for an overview of the Caribbean and its mainland coastal states, with a focus on the past few centuries. The history of the Caribbean does not make much sense without factoring in the cities - Pensacola, New Orleans, Galveston - and the ambitions of the states on its continental shores, notably the United States. This account is grounded in a look at the currents and channels of the sea, and its constraints, followed by the history of 'pre-contact' civilisations.

Al terminar la Guerra de Independencia de Venezuela y tras la muerte del Libertador Simón Bolívar en 1830, los campesinos no volvieron a sus tierras sino siguieron guerreando entre ellos. Mientras, algunos habitantes de la Isla de Córcega, en el Mar Mediterráneo, decidieron buscar mejor fortuna en América y llegaron al Puerto de Carúpano.

Cesar Chavez is known as one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders. When he led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn’t always a leader. As a boy, he was shy and teased at school. His family slaved in the fields for barely enough money to survive.

Since the regiment’s creation in 1899, the men of the 65th have proudly served the US through multiple wars, despite facing racial discrimination. Their courage, loyalty, and patriotism earned them hundreds of accolades, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.

For this striking, stripped-down account of youth immigration, Villalobos interviewed teens at various stages of the immigration process to illustrate their stories - the physical and emotional difficulties of their travels. He then changed certain elements of these stories in order to protect the children's identities. Each chapter brings forth the voice of one young immigrant's experience, from crossing the Mexican desert to gang violence to the freezers at ICE detention centers.

Al enmarcar históricamente los sistemas educacionales tanto en los países Latinoamericanos como en los Estados Unidos, aparecerán las reformas educativas implementadas en las décadas de los 80’s, 90 y al principio de los 2000’s como un hito que establecerá las maneras en que estaban instituidos y cómo funcionaban los sistemas escolares antes y después de dichas reformas.

Border Odyssey takes us on a drive toward understanding the US/Mexico divide: all 1,969 miles, from Boca Chica to Tijuana. Along the journey, five centuries of cultural history (indigenous, French, Spanish, Mexican, African American, colonist, and US), wars, and legislation unfold. And through observation, conversation, and meditation, Border Odyssey scopes the stories of the people and towns on both sides.

In 1550-51, Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, in the Valladolid Debate, attempted to settle the issue of whether or not Native Americans should have been enslaved, given sanction by the Pope. Both carefully argued their sides, las Casas stating emphatically, through his "Apología", that Native Americans were not all uncivilized and that only Canaanite tribes could be enslaved.

Seen and Now Heard presents a meticulously researched autobiography of a Cuban girl named Crystina Bass. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Caribbean, South Florida, and California, Crystina's story is a story of Cubans in America. It's a story of growing up in a not-so-typical American family, yet as she says herself, "We are Americans in the purest form of the word."

In Caracas, Venezuela, Adelaida Falcon stands over an open grave. Alone, except for harried undertakers, she buries her mother - the only family Adelaida has ever known.

Numb with grief, Adelaida returns to the apartment they shared. Outside her window tear gas rains down on protesters in the streets. When looters masquerading as revolutionaries take over her apartment, Adelaida resists and is beaten up. This marks the beginning of a fight for survival in a country that has disintegrated into violence and anarchy, where citizens are increasingly pitted against each other.