Presuming that a strong relationship exists between one's identity and political behavior, American politicians have long targeted immigrant and ethnic communities based on their shared ethnic or racial identity. But to what extent do political campaign messages impact voters' actual decisions and behaviors? This new book is one of the first to examine and compare the campaign efforts used to target Latinos with those directed at the rest of the electorate....

"Latinos in Nevada: A Political, Economic, and Social Profile provides a political, economic, and demographic profile of contemporary Latinos in Nevada. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the authors examine Latino history, growth, and trends in employment, education, and health, and analyze the dynamics of political participation and civic engagement"--

"The Rise of the Latino Vote examines the struggles of activists and elected officials from the 1960s to the 1980s to mold Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans into a single national political constituency. Its argument is three-fold. First, it argues that the drive to forge the "Spanish-speaking vote," as it was first called--and not simple demographic growth--that led the federal government to recognize "Hispanics" as a national minority...