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■ The Victim Myth. Every immigrant group arriving in America has struggled to escape the lower tiers of the economic ladder. The Hispanic population is currently making progress in this regard, notwithstanding assertions by a vocal Hispanic minority that their group suffers from discrimination, and even though a relatively small number of Hispanics graduate from college or become eligible to vote. In Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books, $23, 208 pp.), Linda Chavez offers a fresh perspective on the attitudes of this fastest growing segment of the population.

Mrs. Chavez contrasts the history of Hispanic Americans with that of black Americans. Blacks, she reminds us, were forcibly brought to this country and faced real adversity and discrimination. Hispanics, on the other hand, have come here in search of a better life, and have faced the same levels of discrimination faced by virtually all other immigrant groups during the height of their settlement. She puts it bluntly: “Hundreds of thousands of Latin immigrants come to the United States each year to work—not to collect welfare payments or unemployment, not to participate in affirmative action programs . . .”

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■ The Victim Myth. Every immigrant group arriving in America has struggled to escape the lower tiers of the economic ladder. The Hispanic population is currently making progress in this regard, notwithstanding assertions by a vocal Hispanic minority that their group suffers from discrimination, and even though a relatively small number of Hispanics graduate from college or become eligible to vote. In Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books, $23, 208 pp.), Linda Chavez offers a fresh perspective on the attitudes of this fastest growing segment of the population.

Mrs. Chavez contrasts the history of Hispanic Americans with that of black Americans. Blacks, she reminds us, were forcibly brought to this country and faced real adversity and discrimination. Hispanics, on the other hand, have come here in search of a better life, and have faced the same levels of discrimination faced by virtually all other immigrant groups during the height of their settlement. She puts it bluntly: “Hundreds of thousands of Latin immigrants come to the United States each year to work—not to collect welfare payments or unemployment, not to participate in affirmative action programs . . .”