Strike: The Farm Workers' Fight for Their RIghts

by Larry Dane Brimner
Hennepin County Library hardcover 162 pages
genre: non-fiction YA

This was a quick read and very interesting. I had never even heard of Larry Itliong (a Filipino who was active in the labor union movement before Cesar Chavez was on the scene). This book was very informative and somewhat heart-breaking, as all David and Goliath stories are when David suffers so much and Goliath is supported by politicians, the media, etc.

The perspectives of Governor Ronald Reagan and President Nixon make me sad (and help me understand why my mom was so passionate in her political perspectives). Also when Chavez started hanging out with Charles Dederich, the change in his own leadership style saddens me. I wonder what his wife thought about that. Chavez was tape-recorded saying, "Every time we look at them (the farm workers), they want more money. Like pigs, you know." Later in the afterward, the author writes, "For me, the most troubling aspect of Chavez was his relationship with Synanon founder Charles Dederich and Dederich's apparent influence over him."

I think the author did a wonderful job researching this book and kept a balanced tone throughout. Also in the afterward, she wrote "The critics' views notwithstanding, Chavez deserves credit for a lot of accomplishments, but he didn't achieve them alone." I love that she included the perspectives of Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Dolores Huerta, and Pete Velasco. I don't know that I would buy this for my collection, because I have such a small budget and I'm spending more on fiction than non-fiction (because of how students research). That makes me sad, because this is a very well-written and informative book.