A Dictionary of Mexican American History, edited and compiled by Matt S. Meier and Feliciano Rivera, is the most recent guide to the growing field of Chicano scholarship. Its purpose as stated by the editors is to provide a useful, basic guide for a wide audience, which might include high school and college students, librarians, and scholars (p. ix). In meeting this goal, the editors compiled a broad range of informative entries that are not solely historical in nature, but include culture, literature, legislation, Mexican related topics, and so forth. Chronologically the entries stress the period from the Texas revolt against Mexico in 1835 to the beginning of the decade of the Hispanic in 1980 (p. ix).

The entries themselves are, for the most part, concise, informative, and well written. Although certain of the information contained is easily available in general works on the Chicano, many entries include materials not readily found in one source. Many of the entries include useful references for those who would like to pursue the topic further. The list of the contributors to the dictionary is most impressive and includes many of the most noted scholars of Mexican and Chicano affairs.

Three important appendixes complete this reference guide: a bibliography of general works, a chronology of Mexican American history, and the complete text of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Protocol of Querétaro.

In summation, A Dictionary of Mexican American History proves to be an important and most useful guide to the Chicano experience for both the general reader and the specialist.