Book Rec of the Day 3/6/2007

California was Mexican territory until 1848, when the process of statehood began. The Squatter and the Don is a saga of two families in San Diego around the time of annexation. The Alamars are upper-crust Mexicans; the Darrells have just relocated from the East Coast. Their struggles in love and establishing themselves form the basis of a rich, important novel by one of the first celebrated Latina writers. Required reading for all Californians; a pleasure for all readers.

THE SQUATTER AND THE DON, by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton (1885; Modern Library, 2004)