Ilan Stavans is a prodigious reader and listener and . . . his essaycollectionlively and intelligent eclectic sharptongued yet fairmindedis amarvelous survey of... » 

Ilan Stavans is a prodigious reader and listener and . . . his essaycollectionlively and intelligent eclectic sharptongued yet fairmindedis amarvelous survey of cultural matters that most of us imagined that we knewabout but really didnt.Peter MatthiessenIlan Stavans . . . has the sharp eye of the internal exile. . . . this bookexamines the conflicts and contradictions of that frontier where Kafka meetsNAFTA.John Sayles author of Los Gusanos and director of Lone StarThis volume by Ilan Stavans . . . is a display of absolute devotion andpassion. It evinces a singular mastery of the craft of the essay and reachesunexpected levels of depth.Alvaro MutisStavans opens to the reader the doors of a world or several worlds. He isnot only a keen essayist he is also an excellent fiction writer asdemonstrated by the short stories in this volume. In short Ilan Stavans givesus a comprehensive and affectionate panel of human and intellectual profiles ofour times.Moacyr ScliarIlan Stavans is the rarest of North American writershe sees the Americaswhole. Not since Octavio Paz has Mexico given us an intellectual so able toviolate borders with learning and grace.Richard RodriguezIlan Stavans may be our most savvy reader. The we in that sentence providesa space in which many groups can truly identify. He is a brilliant participantand reader of Mexican Latin and South American literature and culture.Sander L. Gilman The University of ChicagoStavans is bold engaging refreshingly agile as narrator and essayist andthis book is a most impressive accomplishment. . . . Latino arts willembraceStavans challenge of irony and multiple identities.Doris Sommer Harvard UniversityIlan Stavans is one of the foremost Latino scholars and here his best essaysare collected into one volume. From Selena and Subcomandante Marcos to Cisnerosand Paz these «