(2006) One Nation, One Standard: An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups, By Herman Badillo (U.S. First Puerto Rican-born Congressman). (ISBN: 9781595230195)

Book Description: Sentinel / Penguin Group, New York, NY, U.S.A., 2006. First Edition Thus. Number line on copyright page reads (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2), First Printing Thus. Cyan Hard Cover Boards and White Spine With Black Text. 228 pages, 5.75" x 8.5" tall, .75" thick. Fine. Not price clipped. Real nice copy of book and dust jacket.

Book Condition: Fine. Pages are clean, very tight & bright. No ink names, tears, chips, foxing etc. Book has No Previous owner's name on the inside cover, strong spine and appears unread. Book corners are slightly bumped. This used book is NOT an ex-library edition, not a remainder nor a BOMC edition.

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. NON price-clipped DJ [$23.95 US]. Slight wear on surface and edges. DJ glossy and colorfully designed with color photo of children saying Pledge, praise on back from Mario Cuomo, Edward Koch and others.

About This Book: Why arent Hispanics succeeding like Asians, Jews, and other immigrant groups in America? Herman Badillo's answer is as politically incorrect as the question: Hispanics simply dont put the same emphasis on education as other immigrant groups. As the nations first Puerto Ricanborn U.S. congressman, the trailblazing Badillo once supported bilingual education and other government programs he thought would help the Hispanic community. But he came to see that the real path to prosperity, political unity, and the American mainstream is self-reliance, not big government. Now Badillo is a champion of one standard of achievement for all races and ethnicities. In this surprising and controversial manifesto, you will learn: * Why Hispanic cultures trouble with education, democracy, and economics stems from Mother Spain and the five-hundred year siesta she induced in Latin America. * Why the Congressman who drafted the first Spanish-English bilingual education legislation now believes that bilingual education hurts students more than it helps. * Why social promotion putting minority students self-esteem ahead of their academic performance and then admitting them to college unprepared continues to this day, despite the systems documented failures and injustices. * How self-identifying as Hispanic or white or black undermines achievement, and what lessons we can learn from Latin American countries, where ones race is irrelevant. With Central and Latin America exporting a large portion of their poor, Hispanics are on the way to becoming a majority in the United States... but one with all the problems of a minority culture. Badillos solution to this problem relies ontraditional values: hard work, education, and achievement. His lessons are important not only for Hispanics but for every American.

Synopsis: Herman Badillo tells it to us straight, for here in this controversial book, he takes a stand for his community by demanding that Hispanics be held to the same high standards as all other Americans. As the nation's first Puerto Rican-born U.S. congressman, the trailblazing Badillo supported bilingual education and other government programs that he thought would help the Hispanic community, however he feels like the real path to prosperity and the American mainstream is self-reliance instead of big government, and here shares his views, as well as why Hispanic culture's trouble with education, democracy or economics stems from Mother Spain and the 'five hundred year siesta' she induced in Latin America.

About The Author: Herman Badillo (born August 21, 1929) is a Bronx, New York politician who has been a borough president, United States Representative, and candidate for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Puerto Rican to be elected to these posts and be a mayoral candidate in the continental United States.

Early years: Badillo was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. When he was 11 years old, both of his parents died of tuberculosis and he was sent to live with his aunt in New York City. After graduating from the public school system, Badillo attended and earned a Bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1951. In 1954, he received an LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School graduating first in his class. The next year he was admitted to the New York State Bar. In 1956, he also became a certified public accountant.

Early political career: In 1958, Badillo joined the "Caribe Democratic Club" and has since then held various offices within the City and State, including Bronx Borough President in 1965. Prior to becoming the Borough President, he served as New York Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development.

U.S. House of Representatives: In 1970, Badillo was elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York's 21st District in the South Bronx, thus becoming the first Puerto Rican to so serve. He was also re-elected for three subsequent consecutive terms. He was also a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

In 1976 he was challenged by South Bronx Councilman Ramon Velez in a contest for the Democratic Party nomination for Congressman of the 21st District. Badillo, however, was reelected easily with 75 percent of the vote. In December of that year, he was one of the five Latino members of Congress who established the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Largely by his efforts, job training for unemployed non-English speaking citizens were included in the "Comprehensive Manpower Act of 1973".

Badillo also served on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, and the Small Business Committee where he had a seat on the Minority Enterprise and General Oversight Sub-committee. During his time in office he supported legislation intended to counteract various types of discrimination including age and marital status discrimination in employment.

Although he would later become a vociferous opponent of bilingual education, as a congressman Badillo was one of the first champions of funding for bilingual education programs. Some proponents of bilingual and ESL education, and opponents of English immersion, have attacked Badillo for his newfound opposition to Spanish-language teaching. He was also a critical player in the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and the inclusion of its language access provisions. During his tenure in Congress, he became an important national spokesperson for federal investment in urban centers.

Mayoral campaigns: He sought unsuccessfully the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York in 1969, 1973, 1977, 1981 and 1985, coming closest on his second try, when he was defeated by then-New York City comptroller Abe Beame in a runoff primary. In 2001, Badillo unsuccessfully sought the Republican mayoral nomination, losing badly to billionaire businessman and political neophyte Michael Bloomberg, who would later prevail in the general election.

Deputy Mayor of New York City: Badillo resigned from Congress on December 31, 1977 to become deputy mayor of New York City under Mayor Ed Koch, a position he held until September 1979. Badillo was one of seven deputy mayors appointed by Koch for the first portion of his administration. As a deputy mayor, Badillo handled labor relations and community outreach for Koch. In a major public disagreement with Mayor Koch over the lack of support for his program to revitalize the South Bronx, Badillo resigned his post. Some argue that Badillo made a major career mistake in giving up his Congressional post for this appointed position under Mayor Koch.

Post City Hall career and State Comptroller campaign: After leaving City Hall, Badillo worked as an attorney in New York City. He supported Mario Cuomo for governor over Koch during the 1982 Democratic Primary. In late 1983 Cuomo appointed Badillo Chairman of the State of New York Mortgage Agency. In 1985 Badillo considered a bid for mayor against Koch in the Democratic Primary. In 1986, Badillo was the Democratic nominee for New York State Comptroller, losing to Republican incumbent Edward Regan. During these years Badillo was also active in Presidential politics, supporting Alan Cranston for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 1984 and Michael Dukakis in 1988.

City Comptroller campaign: In 1993, Badillo, though still a Democrat, campaigned for Comptroller of New York City on a "fusion" basis with Republican Rudy Giuliani. He also sought the Democratic nomination, but finished third, behind Alan Hevesi and the incumbent Comptroller, Elizabeth Holtzman. In the general election, although Giuliani won the mayoralty, Badillo lost to Hevesi. For the general election, Badillo was the nominee of the Republican and Liberal Parties.

Giuliani Administration and CUNY Chairmanship: Badillo had a series of jobs with the Giuliani administration, he serving as the mayor's Special Counsel on education policy and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York.

In his capacity as Giuliani's education advisor, Badillo advocated increased Mayoral control of the public schools and a revamped curriculum; he was also Giuliani's liaison to the City's Board of Education. As CUNY Chairman, Badillo organized a successful effort to end open enrollment and revamp the curriculum. These actions gained him some support among conservatives, but alienated him from the mainstream of the Puerto Rican political leadership, which had been his traditional base.

New book: His first published book, written at age 77 and released on December 28, 2006, One Nation, One Standard: An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups, Penguin (December 28, 2006), hardcover, 256 pages, ISBN 1595-23019-X, ISBN 13 978-1595-23019-5, generated major controversy within the Latino community before it was even published because of an inflammatory article in the New York Post (Dec. 19, 2006, p. 8) announcing its release. In the book, Badillo criticizes what he perceives as a lax work ethic among Hispanics, who he contends do not value education as much as other historically impoverished, but successful, immigrants, such as Asian-Americans.

In contrast to the support he gave to bi-lingual education during his early career, his book attacks what he describes as obstacles to assimilation, such as bilingual education, and urges Hispanics to eschew government solutions and adopt instead the cultural values that have made previous generations of American immigrants prosperous and successful. His view is that Hispanics will soon make up 25% of the population of the United States and that their failure to excel would be tragic for them and the nation.