This is the first detailed inside look at the growth in significance of this increasingly important political block. Journalist José de la Isla takes a hardball look at Hispanic politics from the Nixon presidency up to the current administration of George W. Bush. The Republican and Democrat parties, the key legislation, the political players, the insiders and outsiders, and the various factions (Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubanos and other Latin Americans), all receive equal scrutiny from de la Isla as he unravels over four decades of political action. The book includes footnotes, references and a detailed index