Book excerpt: When A History of the Mexican-American People was first published in 1977 it was greeted with enthusiasm for its straightforward, objective account of the Mexican-American role in U.S. history. Since that time the text has been used with great success in high school and university courses. This new, revised edition of the book continues the history of Mexican-Americans up to the early 1990s. Samora covers such topics as the exploration and northward Spanish expansion into what is now the United States, Mexico's independence from Spain, the Treaty of Guaddalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War, the impact of the Mexican Revolution on both sides of the border, and the effect of mass migrations from Mexico to the United States. This edition also contains a revised chapter on Chicano contributions to the art, literature, music, and theater from the mid-1950s through the early 1990s, as well as a new chapter on the religious life of Mexican-Americans.