This book presents an integrated historical look at Latin America and Latinos in the United States, offering portraits of real-life Latino pioneers and sketches of the political events and social conditions that compelled them to leave their homeland and examining how they have transformed the nation's cultural landscape. Part 1, "Roots," includes (1) "Conquerors and Victims: The Image of America Forms (1500-1800); (2) "The Spanish Borderlands and the Making of an Empire (1810-1898); and (3) "Banana Republics and Bonds: Taming the Empire's Backyard (1898-1950). Part 2, "Branches," includes (4) "Puerto Ricans: Citizens Yet Foreigners"; (5) "Mexicans: Pioneers of a Different Type"; (6) "Cubans: Special Refugees"; (7) "Dominicans: From the Duarte to the George Washington Bridge"; (8) "Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost"; and (9) "Colombians and Panamanians: Overcoming Division and Disdain." Part 3, "Harvest," includes (10) "The Return of Juan Seguin: Latinos and the Remaking of American Politics"; (11) "Immigrants Old and New: Closing Borders of the Mind"; (12) "Speak Spanish, You're in America! El Huracan over Language and Culture"; (13) "Free Trade: The Final Conquest of Latin America"; and (14) "Puerto Rico, U.S.A.: Possessed and Unwanted." (Contains approximately 350 references.) (SM)