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Orange County: A Personal History (2008)

by Gustavo Arellano(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1416540040 (ISBN13: 9781416540045)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Scribner

review 1: A really enjoyable book that tells two stories: The people and things that made an important part of southern California what it is today, and the story of a Hispanic family living in and becoming part of the American culture. I learned a lot of interesting things about Orange County and the people who live there, and I enjoyed reading about a family whose experiences are very similar to mine - change a few names and places, and it could be my story as easily as it is Gustavo's. There are proably many other books covering this territory, but I doubt there are many that are this fun to read.
review 2: I enjoyed Gustavo's book. He really let you into his family history, and explained Orange County in a way that is outside of the media's perception.As seems to be... more typical in life, my favorite thing and least favorite thing were the same. That is that once he got to his own life, he was literally writing about a world twenty minutes from where I grew up. Only two years older than me, Gustavo wrote about a completely different culture than what I knew in Newport. This was amazing and something I enjoyed thoroughly. However, as someone who grew up in a completely different part of Orange County, I felt as though my world wasn't represented properly. Newport is brushed aside as a snobby home of cougars, and Costa Mesa as jealous of Newport. I learned more about Anaheim and the surrounding areas than I'd known previously, but I think for a history of Orange County, I wanted more.Great memoir of his life and his family. Wonderful information about immigration and culture in a part of Orange County. Could have done with either a lot more, or less history on Orange County itself. less

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