Sal si puedes;: Cesar Chavez and the new American revolution
From the Inside Flap
"Cesar Chavez is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."—Chicago Tribune
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us."—Nat Hentoff
Product Description
In the summer of 1968 Peter Matthiessen met Cesar Chavez for the first time. They were the same age: forty-one. Matthiessen lived in New York City, while Chavez lived in the Central Valley farm town of Delano, where the grape strike was unfolding. This book is Matthiessen’s panoramic yet finely detailed account of the three years he spent working and traveling with Chavez, including to Sal Si Puedes, the San Jose barrio where Chavez began his organizing. Matthiessen provides a candid look into the many sides of this enigmatic and charismatic leader who lived by the laws of nonviolence.
Sal Si Puedes is less reportage than living history. In its pages a whole era comes alive: the Chicano, Black Power, and antiwar movements; the browning of the labor movement; Chavez’s fasts; the nationwide boycott of California grapes. When Chavez died in 1993, tens of thousands gathered at his funeral. It was a clear sign of how beloved he was and how important his life had been.
A new foreword by Marc Grossman considers the significance of Chavez’s legacy for our time. As well as serving as an indispensable guide to the 1960s, this book rejuvenates the extraordinary vitality of Chavez’s life and spirit, giving his message a renewed and much-needed urgency.
Review
"Cesar Chavez . . . is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."--"Chicago Tribune"
From the Back Cover
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us." (Nat Hentoff)
About the Author
Peter Matthiessen is a winner of the National Book Award and the American Book Award and is the author of over thirty books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Snow Leopard (1978), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965), Far Tortuga (1975), In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1992), and Bone by Bone (1999). Chavez's longtime spokesman and personal aide Marc Grossman is currently Communications Director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the book:
The man who has threatened California has an Indian's bow nose and lank black hair, with sad eyes and an open smile that is shy and friendly; at moments he is beautiful, like a dark seraph. He is five feet six inches tall, and since his twenty-five-day fast the previous winter, has weighed no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Yet the word "slight" does not properly describe him. There is an effect of being centered in himself so that no energy is wasted, an effect of density; at the same time, he walks as lightly as a fox. One feels immediately that this man does not stumble, and that to get where he is going he will walk all day.
"Cesar Chavez is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."—Chicago Tribune
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us."—Nat Hentoff
Product Description
In the summer of 1968 Peter Matthiessen met Cesar Chavez for the first time. They were the same age: forty-one. Matthiessen lived in New York City, while Chavez lived in the Central Valley farm town of Delano, where the grape strike was unfolding. This book is Matthiessen’s panoramic yet finely detailed account of the three years he spent working and traveling with Chavez, including to Sal Si Puedes, the San Jose barrio where Chavez began his organizing. Matthiessen provides a candid look into the many sides of this enigmatic and charismatic leader who lived by the laws of nonviolence.
Sal Si Puedes is less reportage than living history. In its pages a whole era comes alive: the Chicano, Black Power, and antiwar movements; the browning of the labor movement; Chavez’s fasts; the nationwide boycott of California grapes. When Chavez died in 1993, tens of thousands gathered at his funeral. It was a clear sign of how beloved he was and how important his life had been.
A new foreword by Marc Grossman considers the significance of Chavez’s legacy for our time. As well as serving as an indispensable guide to the 1960s, this book rejuvenates the extraordinary vitality of Chavez’s life and spirit, giving his message a renewed and much-needed urgency.
Review
"Cesar Chavez . . . is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."--"Chicago Tribune"
From the Back Cover
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us." (Nat Hentoff)
About the Author
Peter Matthiessen is a winner of the National Book Award and the American Book Award and is the author of over thirty books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Snow Leopard (1978), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965), Far Tortuga (1975), In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1992), and Bone by Bone (1999). Chavez's longtime spokesman and personal aide Marc Grossman is currently Communications Director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the book:
The man who has threatened California has an Indian's bow nose and lank black hair, with sad eyes and an open smile that is shy and friendly; at moments he is beautiful, like a dark seraph. He is five feet six inches tall, and since his twenty-five-day fast the previous winter, has weighed no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Yet the word "slight" does not properly describe him. There is an effect of being centered in himself so that no energy is wasted, an effect of density; at the same time, he walks as lightly as a fox. One feels immediately that this man does not stumble, and that to get where he is going he will walk all day.
CHAVEZ, CESAR, 1927-1993AGRICULTURAL LABORERSLABOR UNIONS_UNITED STATES
RELEASED1973
PUBLISHERRandom House
LENGTH394
LANGUAGEEN
Peter Matthiessen was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer and CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine The Paris Review, he was a 2008 National Book Award winner. He was also a prominent environmental activist. His nonfiction featured nature and travel, notably The Snow Leopard (1978) and American Indian issues and history, such as a detailed and controversial study of the Leonard Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983). His fiction was adapted for film: the early story "Travelin' Man" was made into The Young One (1960) by Luis Buñuel and the novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965) into the 1991 film of the same name.
Sal si puedes;: Cesar Chavez and the new American revolution
From the Inside Flap
"Cesar Chavez is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."—Chicago Tribune
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us."—Nat Hentoff
Product Description
In the summer of 1968 Peter Matthiessen met Cesar Chavez for the first time. They were the same age: forty-one. Matthiessen lived in New York City, while Chavez lived in the Central Valley farm town of Delano, where the grape strike was unfolding. This book is Matthiessen’s panoramic yet finely detailed account of the three years he spent working and traveling with Chavez, including to Sal Si Puedes, the San Jose barrio where Chavez began his organizing. Matthiessen provides a candid look into the many sides of this enigmatic and charismatic leader who lived by the laws of nonviolence.
Sal Si Puedes is less reportage than living history. In its pages a whole era comes alive: the Chicano, Black Power, and antiwar movements; the browning of the labor movement; Chavez’s fasts; the nationwide boycott of California grapes. When Chavez died in 1993, tens of thousands gathered at his funeral. It was a clear sign of how beloved he was and how important his life had been.
A new foreword by Marc Grossman considers the significance of Chavez’s legacy for our time. As well as serving as an indispensable guide to the 1960s, this book rejuvenates the extraordinary vitality of Chavez’s life and spirit, giving his message a renewed and much-needed urgency.
Review
"Cesar Chavez . . . is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."--"Chicago Tribune"
From the Back Cover
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us." (Nat Hentoff)
About the Author
Peter Matthiessen is a winner of the National Book Award and the American Book Award and is the author of over thirty books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Snow Leopard (1978), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965), Far Tortuga (1975), In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1992), and Bone by Bone (1999). Chavez's longtime spokesman and personal aide Marc Grossman is currently Communications Director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the book:
The man who has threatened California has an Indian's bow nose and lank black hair, with sad eyes and an open smile that is shy and friendly; at moments he is beautiful, like a dark seraph. He is five feet six inches tall, and since his twenty-five-day fast the previous winter, has weighed no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Yet the word "slight" does not properly describe him. There is an effect of being centered in himself so that no energy is wasted, an effect of density; at the same time, he walks as lightly as a fox. One feels immediately that this man does not stumble, and that to get where he is going he will walk all day.
"Cesar Chavez is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."—Chicago Tribune
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us."—Nat Hentoff
Product Description
In the summer of 1968 Peter Matthiessen met Cesar Chavez for the first time. They were the same age: forty-one. Matthiessen lived in New York City, while Chavez lived in the Central Valley farm town of Delano, where the grape strike was unfolding. This book is Matthiessen’s panoramic yet finely detailed account of the three years he spent working and traveling with Chavez, including to Sal Si Puedes, the San Jose barrio where Chavez began his organizing. Matthiessen provides a candid look into the many sides of this enigmatic and charismatic leader who lived by the laws of nonviolence.
Sal Si Puedes is less reportage than living history. In its pages a whole era comes alive: the Chicano, Black Power, and antiwar movements; the browning of the labor movement; Chavez’s fasts; the nationwide boycott of California grapes. When Chavez died in 1993, tens of thousands gathered at his funeral. It was a clear sign of how beloved he was and how important his life had been.
A new foreword by Marc Grossman considers the significance of Chavez’s legacy for our time. As well as serving as an indispensable guide to the 1960s, this book rejuvenates the extraordinary vitality of Chavez’s life and spirit, giving his message a renewed and much-needed urgency.
Review
"Cesar Chavez . . . is gracefully revealed by Peter Matthiessen as a curiously private public figure who is in love with people."--"Chicago Tribune"
From the Back Cover
"Reading this book becomes an act of self-confrontation, for Peter Matthiessen has made it clear that Cesar Chavez's battle is not only for the agricultural workers but for the redemption of the country. In illuminating the intactness of this one man, Matthiessen provides a measure for the rest of us." (Nat Hentoff)
About the Author
Peter Matthiessen is a winner of the National Book Award and the American Book Award and is the author of over thirty books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Snow Leopard (1978), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965), Far Tortuga (1975), In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1992), and Bone by Bone (1999). Chavez's longtime spokesman and personal aide Marc Grossman is currently Communications Director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the book:
The man who has threatened California has an Indian's bow nose and lank black hair, with sad eyes and an open smile that is shy and friendly; at moments he is beautiful, like a dark seraph. He is five feet six inches tall, and since his twenty-five-day fast the previous winter, has weighed no more than one hundred and fifty pounds. Yet the word "slight" does not properly describe him. There is an effect of being centered in himself so that no energy is wasted, an effect of density; at the same time, he walks as lightly as a fox. One feels immediately that this man does not stumble, and that to get where he is going he will walk all day.
CHAVEZ, CESAR, 1927-1993AGRICULTURAL LABORERSLABOR UNIONS_UNITED STATES
RELEASED1973
PUBLISHERRandom House
LENGTH394
LANGUAGEEN
Peter Matthiessen was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer and CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine The Paris Review, he was a 2008 National Book Award winner. He was also a prominent environmental activist. His nonfiction featured nature and travel, notably The Snow Leopard (1978) and American Indian issues and history, such as a detailed and controversial study of the Leonard Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983). His fiction was adapted for film: the early story "Travelin' Man" was made into The Young One (1960) by Luis Buñuel and the novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965) into the 1991 film of the same name.
