I agree with the authors. To understand their point you must understand who Latinos are (I might mention that E & Z can make the same statement regarding Asians as well).

Latinos are people from Latin America which includes many countries...
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grendines, Trinidad & Tobago
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

The assumption that these people are alike, which is false, is based on the fact that they are stereotyped and treated with a them and us mentality. Did you know that many "Mexicans" in Oregon do not speak any Spanish, but a very different native dialect from their specific regions? This is not well known to the public, neither are their individual beliefs, customs, music, etc. Making groupings by country will give a far more accurate generalization to give to each country (if that is desired) although even within one country like you said Amy, "Everyone has a history and not
everyone has the same history." Which is exactly what you will find if you look at these country's citizens.

The term Latino is far too general (hence the huge country list) to assume any commonalities in culture whatsoever. Many Latin countries speak French or Portugese primarily or native tongues. The Argentinians speak a different form of Spanish than many other countries. The food, the drinks, the music, agriculture, politics, what twist is put on Western religions, all that is immensely different.

The same goes for people that came over from Europe and Africa, yet years of common history (or slavery) has made it so people did not want or were not able to trace their heritage back and practice things that make them as different as Latinos are. The American thing to do has been to leave your culture behind (or we'll hang you, discriminate against you, and make sure the "dream" is a nightmare)(Welcome to America, aren't you glad you came...).

You say that E&Z are saying "that all whites have a common history and all blacks have a common history." Whites in general have lost their European cultures or given them away. Blacks have been violently torn from their African cultures (as well as Native Americans) and have no idea how to trace them back. Alex Haley has riches beyond any money he could ever make and beyond what many blacks will ever attain because he knows his African culture. Whites and Blacks that have been here for generations do share a common history. Many in opposition to one another, but common none the less.

Although this statement is partially true, "we (no matter what race) are a disparate collection of national-origin groups with heterogeneous experiences of settlement, immigration, political participation and economic incorporation into the United States" the things that seperate most Americans are seen as histories of "heterogeneous experiences of settlement, immigration, political participation and economic incorporation" and not current cultures that guide and shape our everyday lives. They are things celebrated once a year or in a few holidays, but not through our individual lives.

Jesus' Peace and Love, Meorah