Concerned with the Mexican Americans, who constitute the largest ethnic group in the southwestern United States, this book traces the history of these people from the early explorations and colonizing efforts of the Spanish in North and South America during the 16th century to the present. Major divisions of this book are the Introduction, Southwest, Ancient Mexican Heritage, Spanish Legacy, Americans Arrive, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Gold Rush and After, Great Migration, Civil Rights and Political Activity, and Mexican Americans Today. The bibliography is divided into 12 headings: General Sources (179 references); Civil Rights and Political Activity (74); Education (242); Folklore and the Arts (51); History (255); Labor (129); Magazines and Newspapers (22); Mexican Literature in Translation (37); Social Background and Social Change (116); The Mexican American in Children's Literature (76); Mexican Literature, Interpretations (15); and Mexican American Literature (51). Two maps and an index are included. (MJB)