Books with author Steve Bender

A fast-paced psychological & legal thriller. Set during the '92 Los Angeles Riots, racial tension is high as gangs rule the inner city streets. Two over-the-hill security guards attempt to bring calm to one of the roughest neighborhoods of Compton, California. Eddie Curtain, a successful white businessman, sees a seemingly mundane jury duty summons cross his desk. Called to serve on the jury in the trial of a brutal gang-related murder - his life will never be the same. Would yours?

"Courageous." -Ilan Stavans, author of Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez came from opposite sides of the tracks of race and class that still divide Americans. Both optimists, Kennedy and Chavez shared a common vision of equality. They united in the 1960s to crusade for the rights of migrant farm workers. Farm workers faded from public consciousness following Kennedy's assassination and Chavez's early passing. Yet the work of Kennedy and Chavez continues to reverberate in America today. Bender chronicles their warm friendship and embraces their bold political vision for making the American dream a reality for all. Although many books discuss Kennedy or Chavez individually, this is the first book to capture their multifaceted relationship and its relevance to mainstream U.S. politics and Latino/a politics today. Bender examines their shared legacy and its continuing influence on political issues including immigration, education, war, poverty, and religion. Mapping a new political path for Mexican Americans and the poor of all backgrounds, this book argues that there is still time to prove Kennedy and Chavez right.