DAGOBERTO GILB’S book of personal and journalistic essays, A Passing West (UNM Press), is as fun as it is thought-provoking. His meditations on Mexican American identity and life in the West take readers to dusty El Paso highways and on harrowing El Camino rides. We visit an industrial laundry facility in Los Angeles, elegant archivos in Spain, and cornfields in Iowa. In one essay, Gilb contends with overzealous border patrols on both sides of the international boundary; in another, he humorously describes the Texas origins of Sheryl Crow’s first hit. Through vivid prose and poignant observation, the PEN Award–winner situates Chicano history, culture, and lived experiences at the heart of the borderlands and beyond.

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