Started reading this morning and finished this afternoon. Published in the early 90's and told as a series of real stories, this book reports the lives of people living in and around Tijuana and the border between Mexico and California.

An eye opening look at life for the many poverty stricken people living just over the Mexican border told by someone who witnessed the struggle first hand. Luis Alberto Urrea is a journalist who spent most of his life living in California, but he has also done quite a bit of missionary work in this horribly depressed area near Tijuana. He tells the story of many individuals he met, helped, lost and found in his work, distributing food and helping the charity to better some lives, if only a littl...

A timely reread. Urrea's on-the-ground report doesn't pull any punches. This one and his "The Devil's Highway" -- which I just started (another reread) -- are indispensable nonfiction accounts of what it's like to live along and cross the border. In starting last month a reread of "Across the Wire," and taking in anew Urrea's volunteer work and its impact, I was inspired to hook up with the New Sanctuary Coalition and train to do Immigrant Accompaniment. If you're looking to do more than merely

From the Author's Preface:"This is a book of fragments, stories of moments in the lives of people most of us never see, never think about, and don't even know exist. . . . I offer an introduction to the human value in these unknown lives, a story of hope in spite of the horror and pain. What you read here happens day and night; the people you meet here live minutes away from you. Learning about their poverty also teaches us about the nature of our wealth."

A non-fiction classic. Brutal and beautiful.

Learned about this book after reading Devil's Highway--a book by the same author. Just as the Devil's Highway tugged at my heart this one did, too.

Luis Alberto Urrea gives readers a vivid description of what life is like for those living in the dirty, vermin-infested, & often violent "dompes" (garbage dumps) of Mexico. I thought I knew hardship growing up, but after reading Urrea's tales of misery, I realized my life could have been worse. I was blessed enough to be born on the "right side" of the border, a clueless Mexican American. Yes, I learned all about my culture as far as music, food, language, & holidays; but I had no idea of the s...

Since my enthusiastic reception of Urrea's 'The Hummingbird's Daughter,' my Dad has cheerfully assigned a couple of collection of essays by that author to me. It's an assignment I have cheerfully met, although I can't say reading this one was always cheerful. Just across the border in Tijuana, his home town, Urrea worked with evangelical missionairies to give aid to people living in the most severe kind of poverty--the kind of poverty we associate with India or Africa, not somewhere next to San

Mexican border towns are strange, confusing, and sometimes wonderful, and Luis Urrea takes us there. His essays in Across the Wire, exemplify that jumble of emotions and experiences that make up a land caught between so many different dominating factors - money, poverty, politics, and race, to name but a few. With his elegant non-judgmental style of writing Urrea portrays the residents of garbage dumps, forgotten barrios, shantytowns, and abandoned hillside houses filled with glue sniffers. Some...

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for

Great read. Everything I've read from Urrea is excellent. This is my first non-fiction from him and he delivers a wrenching, window to the reality of poverty near the border. I found this copy at a goodwill and it was signed. So sweet! ... of course my son, who's 10, dropped in the tub, and got it wet. :( I was on the last 20 pages before finishing it. Yes that happened...so I clearly had to disown him. :)

I had to use several of the chapters in this book for a social psychology essay. I decided to read the entire book and was not disappointed. I really enjoyed Urrea's writing style. He mixes his personal experiences with in depth character analysis of the people he interacted with. I think this book is necessary reading for anyone who lives in an American state near the border of Mexico. This book gives a unique account of the lived experiences of Latinos living in the borderlands that is much to...

Urrea tells stories from his time spent working as a translator for missionaries in and around the Tijuana garbage dumps. The author wasn't doing it for God, but for the people, as he got sucked into it by a charismatic man named Pastor Von:One of Von's pep talks revolved around the unconscionable wealth in the United States. "Well," he'd say to some unsuspecting gringo, "you're probably not rich. You probably don't even have a television. Oh, you do? You have three televisions? One in each room...

A series of vignettes from this Tijuana born writer, shows a heartwrenching and often difficult to read portrayal of poverty and the struggle for life on the border.

Excellent memoir of the author's time in the trenches of good samaritan work for the most impoverished on the border. Though written in the early 90's, it is still very relevant today. The author has gone on to write many excellent novels and works of non-fiction since. This gives you a great sense of where he comes from and the challenges facing those navigating the nebulous border world between U.S. and Mexico.

5 stars. Even though the author’s writing and storytelling have improved vastly in the 25 years since the writing of this book, it still contains lines that are so magical ... so stunning ... so jarring ... that it warrants a 5 star rating (and this long sentence).

I found this book stuffed in a cabinet at work and read it during breaks. It is a series of portraits: easy-to-read vignettes telling tiny parts of the stories of some of the poorest people on the Mexican side of the border. It is from the 1990s, and sometimes seems purposefully vulgar and other times pretentious, but the critical takeaway is that it is terrifying.

I had to read this for an university social work class. While full of crass language and unpleasant stories, I found it full of important information that helped me to better understand a side of immigration that Americans should know. I wouldn't want to read it again, but I will never forget some of the lessons I learned. Many of Urrea's experiences are heartbreaking.

Though written 25 years ago, this little book stands as a huge testament to the realities of border life in Tijuana, Mexico. Even this many years later, these true stories are timely and important. If you haven't read any of Urrea's books, you are missing out on some pretty profound experiences written in almost perfect prose. I studied writing with Luis for five days at a writer's workshop in Tomales Bay, California, last fall because I wanted to glean some of his magic. Before you read any oth...

Having read Urrea'S BOOK hOUSE OF ANGELS I understand where his characters come from, his family. This book is about Tijuana, Mexico and the unbearable life of the refugees living in misery and poverty. It's right across the US border and it's a different world. As I read his narratives I felt sick to my sick because of the sub human conditions that these people live in, anger at our government for the immigration policies, and ended by just wanting to cry when I read his Christmas story. Luis U...