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De Hijos de la Tierra a Una vez fui tú, lo mejor en ensayo del año. 
From Children of the Land to Once I was you, these are the best nonfiction books of the year.

Five great non-fiction books written by Latinx authors in 2020

From the BLM movement to Biden's historic victory and the COVID-19 pandemic, this year will bring rivers of ink. But what have Latinx authors written about?

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1. Children of the Land

Considered the best book of the year according to NPR, these memoirs written by Marcelo Hernández Castillo shed light on the tragedy of immigration from his personal experience crossing the border as a child and how he suffered temporary blindness from the stress caused by the difficult journey. 

The book is a harsh metaphor for the invisibility of the migrant odyssey and immigration policies in the U.S. 

2. The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump

The 2020 presidential election was a real wake-up call to the reality that all American Latinos are not a monolithic voting bloc and do not all side with Democrats.

Gerardo Cadava, professor at Northwestern University, explores the historical reality of a long-standing segment of the Republican Hispanic population. In his book, he delves into the foundation of their mostly-conservative vote since Nixon's re-election in 1972 to Reagan's drive to win over Latino voters. Do you want to know why some political analysts missed the mark in their election predictions?

3. American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise

Written by New York Times Economics reporter Eduardo Porter, the book addresses the politics of unequal distribution in the United States and how they have historically affected minorities. A lack of empathy and intelligence, according to the writer, has put the country at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations, especially in terms of social welfare.

American Poison was published just before the pandemic, so it is more a force than ever and allows the reader to analyze the present health collapse with an eye on the past. 

4. What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era

Pulitzer-Prize winner and Washington Post book reviewer, Carlos Lozada set himself a challenge to read everything that had been written about President Donald Trump since the 1980s, coinciding with the start of his presidential campaign in 2015. The result was 150 works about the former president and the 'Trump' era that reflect the low moments of American democracy with a lot of humor.

5. Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America

In this book, Emmy-winning journalist María Hinojosa tells the story of immigration in the United States through the experiences of her family and her extensive experience as a reporter, portraying in a moving and honest way, a country in crisis and its protagonists, who are usually ignored by the media.

From stories of hope in the South Bronx to the victims of the War on Terror and the first U.S. detention camps, Hinojosa puts into words both the highs and lows of the Latino future in the U.S. and does so in a very intimate and humane way, making visible those who for many years were not. 

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