In Crossing Over, Ruben Martinez puts a human face on the phenomenon as he follows the exodus of the Chavez clan, an extended Mexican family with the grim distinction of having lost three sons in a tragic border incident. Martinez charts the migrants progress from their small southern-Mexican town of Cheran through the harrowing underground railroad, to the tomato farms of Missouri, the strawberry fields of California, and the slaughterhouses of Wisconsin. He reveals the effects of emigration on the family left behind and offers a powerful portrait of migrant culture. (#6774)