National Hispanic Heritage Month: A Reading List

Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month! In 1988 National Hispanic Heritage Month, previously only a week-long observance known as Hispanic Heritage Week which began in 1968, was enacted into law as a month long observance. Since then, every year from September 15th-October 15th, we celebrate the achievements, contributions, cultures, and histories of the American latino community and the independence of several Latin American countries.

This year, we were excited to exhibit at the Latina/o Studies Association Conference for the first time where we announced our Latinx history series, tentatively scheduled to launch in Fall 2023. The series is premised on the view that understanding Latinx history is essential to a more complete and complex understanding of the history of the United States, the Americas, and the world. Learn more about the series and forthcoming titles on the series page.

Enjoy this National Hispanic Heritage Month reading list comprised of titles that celebrate the diverse histories and experiences of Hispanic/Latinx communities and individuals in America.

Use code 01DAH40 to get 40% off and free shipping on orders of over $75.

---

These Ragged Edges: Histories of Violence along the U.S.-Mexico Border Edited by Andrew J. Torget, Gerardo Gurza-Lavalle

“The solid, clearly written, well-researched articles that comprise this edited volume attest to the productivity of a transnational perspective and highlight the importance of context in structuring state intervention when determining the stakes involved. These Ragged Edges draws the lines of confrontation, negotiation, and cooperation over the class, ethnic, and national divisions which constitute border violence as a complex historical phenomenon.”—Erika Pani, El Colegio de México

Latin American Street Food: The Best Flavors of Markets, Beaches, and Roadside Stands from Mexico to Argentina by Sandra A. Gutierrez

Grand prize winner, M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing, Les Dames d’Escoffier International

“Ms. Gutierrez’s recipes make it possible for readers to experience Latin American street food that is authentic in every respect.”—Wall Street Journal

“Sandra Gutierrez takes the reader and home cook on a culinary road trip through 20 Latin American countries and introduces us to the best of each country’s street food in 150 fun, authentic recipes.”—Huffington Post

The Young Lords: A Radical History by Johanna Fernández

2021 Frederick Jackson Turner Award, Organization of American Historians

2021 Merle Curti Social History Award, Organization of American Historians

2021 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award, Organization of American Historians

2020 New York City Book Awards, The New York Society Library

2021 American Book Award, Before Columbus Foundation

“The Young Lords Party lasted essentially two years (1969–70) with an active membership of less than 3,000, yet as this book shows, its brief but spectacular history is worth studying and particularly poignant in the time of Black Lives Matter.”—CHOICE

Caribeños at the Table: How Migration, Health, and Race Intersect in New York City by Melissa Fuster

“Expands the field of food studies by bringing forward an interdisciplinary approach that combines public health, food policy, anthropology, and sociology focused on the understudied communities of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans in NYC.”—Intervenxions

The Shadow of El Centro: A History of Migrant Incarceration and Solidarity by Jessica Ordaz

2022 First Book Award, Immigration and Ethnic History Society

“This short book packs a powerful punch . . . [and] explains the rise of the immigrant punishment system without attributing a complex issue solely to race, capitalism, or xenophobia.”—Antipode

“Illuminating.”—NACLA Report

“A compelling work that exposes the hidden histories of El Centro and detention centers more generally.”—Society for U.S. Intellectual History

Feminism for the America’s: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement by Katherine M. Marino

Ida Blom-Karen Offen Prize, International Federation for Research in Women’s History

2020 Luciano Tomassini Book Award, Latin American Studies Association

2020 Barbara “Penny” Kanner Award, Western Association of Women Historians

“Marino’s historical analysis is timely and necessary, for it renders accessible this neglected arena of the complex struggle for women’s rights in the Western Hemisphere.”—Latino Book Review