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Book Review: “Devil’s Highway, A True Story”
“Devil’s Highway, A True Story” by Luis Alberto Urrea, Back Bay Books, New York, September 19, 2005, 272 pages, Reviewed by ABC ABC.
This book was selected for the review because of the importance of the matter it seeks to address. The book provides a non-fictional story of the problem of immigration in the United States. I selected the book because it gives a real account of the dangerous journey by illegal immigrants across the route that is referred to as the “Devil’s Highway.” The fact that the story provides the real cases of the dangers involved in immigration presents a compelling reason why I could not avoid this book.
The book is more compelling because of the competency of the author. The award winning author, Luis Alberto Urrea is an American poet living in Chicago, but was born in Tijuana. He was born in 1955 of a Mexican father and an American mother. This gives him the multicultural experience that qualifies him to tell the story about the immigration from Mexico. He attended undergraduate studies at the University of California and graduated and graduated from the University of Colorado. What strikes most is that he served as a relief worker in Tijuana, making his understanding of the humanitarian problems that he writes about in the book. The award winning author was named in the Latino Literature Hall of Fame after writing thirteen words for this and other works.
The thesis of the book is that; the story of the 2001 shows the dangers that illegal immigrants undergo to seek a better life in the United States. Luis Alberto Urrea presents a case of the 2001 experience of the 26 Mexicans to illustrate how many immigrants die in the desert and many other conditions that are exemplified by the “Devils Highway” route.
By writing this book, Luis Alberto Urrea achieved its intended purpose. He achieved this purpose through the presentation of the tragic events of the 2001 immigration of the 26 Mexicans over the dangerous route to the United States. The book uses the events to describe the exact problems that the illegal migrants face. The author tells of the tragedy of crossing the deadliest region of the Arizona that is feared by the border patrol. This gives the truth, not only of the larger boarder death in the immigration experience, but also a heartbreaking journey of illegal immigrants.
The author achieves the purpose through the results that the book impacted on the world, and not just the American and Mexican scene. The book caused a serious international attention as the tragedy sparked the need to get concerned about the plight of the immigrants. Also called the Wellstone 26, the illegal immigrants shed the light on the problem of immigration in the United States and the danger it poses. More importantly, the book scored its goal because it opened the window through which the controversial relationship between the United States and Mexico can be explored.
The first chapter presents the scenario and introduces the 26 men who become the subject of the purpose of the book. In the second he presents the concept of the cross they had to carry while the third chapter explores the challenges with the authorities, such as the border control (Urrea, 2005). The preceding chapters further achieve the purpose of the book by describing the reasons, circumstances and subjects that brought the 26 men to cross the border. This is because the book is based on the individual subjects that Luis Alberto Urrea presents in the account of the 26 men.
In the final chapters, Urrea develops the purpose of the book by explaining the financial resources that are allocated to stop the illegal border crossings. This gives the impact that the book made in the United States. The book called for action as the survivors faced a different fate. According to chapter sixteen, the survivors were considered as heroes. At the same time, the chapter provides details of those who ended in jail, such as Mendez. This gives a concluding closure of the account and a book that fulfills its purpose.
One striking reason why Luis Alberto Urrea successfully achieves his thesis in the book is the presentation of the perception that immigrants have about the whole experience. In the book, Luis Alberto Urrea paints the picture of the 26 men and how they viewed America as the land of opportunity. They perceived that life would be better for them in the United States and dared the troubles of illegally travelling to the country (Urrea, 2005). It is this hope and desire for a better life that powers these men to attempt the dangerous crossing of the boarder, and perhaps to successfully cross for the 12 men who made it.
In summary, the book presents a compelling account because of its focus in a true story. The thesis of the book reads in the advantage of the true account and the authenticity of the case in the historical and social context. By providing the true account of the 26 Mexicans, Urrea has successfully presented the state of illegal immigration into the United States across the Mexican border. Therefore, the book is recommended for all the people would want to understand the problem of illegal immigrants.
Reference
Urrea, L.A. (2005). The Devil’s Highway: A True Story. New York: Back Bay Books