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This brief biography of César Chávez documents the life of one of the most important labor organizers of the last half of the 20th century — a reformer and activist who personified the American struggle for democracy. His story is told through an evocative biographical essay accompanied by several types of documents: Chávez in his own words, Chávez in the words of his contemporaries, Chávez as seen by historians in a group of secondary sources, and finally a visual portfolio of 20 photographs and cartoons. The secondary sources focus on critical questions about the labor unions he helped to found and the impact he made on the Chicano population as well as the rest of the world. All of these materials are accompanied by a helpful chronology, bibliographic essay, and questions for consideration.

Richard W. Etulain was professor of history and director of the Center for the American West at the University of New Mexico from 1979 to 2001. He is now a full-time researcher and writer residing in Portland, Oregon, specializing in the history and literature of the American West. He has written or edited forty books, including The American West: A Twentieth-Century History (1989, coauthored with Michael P. Malone); Re-Imagining the Modern American West (1996); Researching Western History (1997, coedited with Gerald D. Nash); Telling Western Stories (1999); The Hollywood West (2001, coedited with Glenda Riley); and New Mexico Lives: A Biographical History (editor, 2002). He is also editor of Does the Frontier Experience Make America Exceptional? ( Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999). He has served as president of both the Western Literature and Western History associations.