This anthology contains autobiographical and fictional short stories and excerpts from longer works by Hispanic-American authors about coming of age. Selections include reflections on Hispanic immigrant life in the United States, family life and relationships, school experiences, sexuality, Catholicism, identity formation, first experiences with death, and the dilemmas of operating in two languages. An introduction, "Soldier of the Culture Wars" (Harold Augenbraum and Ilan Stavans), briefly reviews the histories of ethnic memoirs in the United States and of Latino literature about growing up. Selections include: (1) "Daughter of Invention" (Julia Alvarez); (2) "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" (Oscar Hijuelos); (3) "Silent Dancing" (Judith Ortiz-Cofer); (4) "The Moths" (Helena Maria Viramontes); (5) "Un Hijo del Sol" (Genaro Gonzalez); (6) "An Apology to the Moon Furies" (Ed Vega); (7) "The Ruins" (Patricia Preciado Martin); (8) "The Closet" (Denise Chavez); (9) "Alien Turf" (Piri Thomas); (10) "The Day the Cisco Kid Shot John Wayne" (Nash Candelaria); (11) "Mr. Mendelsohn" (Nicholasa Mohr); (12) "On the Road to Texas: Pete Fonseca" (Tomas Rivera); (13) "Kipling and I" (Jesus Colon); (14) "The Hammon and the Beans" (Americo Paredes); (15) "Pocho" (Jose Antonio Villareal); (16) "The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo" (Oscar "Zeta" Acosta); (17) "First Communion" (Edward Rivera); (18) "Brother Imas" (Rolando Hinojosa); (19) "Golden Glass" (Alma Villanueva); (20) "My Father's Flag" (J. L. Torres); (21) "Being Mean" (Gary Soto); (22) "People Should Not Die in June in South Texas" (Gloria Anzaldua); (23) "The Monkey Garden" (Sandra Cisneros); (24) "The Apple Orchard" (Rudolfo A. Anaya); and (25) "Aria" (Richard Rodriguez). Contains a 164-item bibliography for further reading, and author profiles. (SV)