Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue: Fred Ross Recalls -- Book I: SEEDS IN THE DESERT -- 1 A Step to Freedom -- 2 Carving a Homestead -- 3 Either Drought or Flood -- 4 Dichos and Consejos -- 5 A Need for Faith -- 6 A Violent Death -- 7 Tragic Summer -- 8 No Longer Free -- 9 Losing the Ranch -- Book II: UPROOTED AND ADRIFT 1939-1952 -- 1 Easy Prey -- 2 Get Out If You Can -- 3 Between the Dirt and the Sky -- 4 Labor Contractors -- 5 Like Monkeys in a Cage -- 6 Mired in Mendota -- 7 A Trail of Crops -- 8 Unions and My Father -- 9 Pachuco Days -- 10 Marriage -- 11 My Education Starts -- Book III: CRUSADERS IN THE BARRIOS June 1952-March 1962 -- 1 Fred Ross -- 2 Are You a Communist? -- 3 Problems and Power -- 4 A Secret Trial -- 5 Negreroes -- 6 Oxnard's Burning Issue -- 7 Getting the Proof -- 8 A Victory That Failed -- 9 "I Resign" -- Book IV: THE BIRTH OF THE UNION April 1, 1962-April 10,1966 -- 1 The Power of Agribusiness -- 2 How Will We Eat? -- 3 We Begin to Grow -- 4 The Black Eagle Is Born -- 5 A Strike in the Roses -- 6 The Grape Strike Starts -- 7 Where Harassment Backfires -- 8 Recruiting Volunteers -- 9 National Spotlight -- 10 Pilgrimage to Sacramento -- 11 Schenley Signs a Contract -- Book V: VICTORY IN THE VINEYARDS April 1966-July 29, 1970 -- 1 Praying for DiGiorgio -- 2 A Question of Elections -- 3 A Merger and a Vote -- 4 The Arvin Story -- 5 Teamster Coup -- 6 Boycott Grapes! -- 7 The Power of Nonviolence -- 8 The Miracle of the Fast -- 9 "To Be a Man Is to Suffer for Others" -- 10 The Spirit of Martyrs -- 11 Perils and Pressures -- 12 The Eagle Is Flying -- 13 First Cracks in Delano -- 14 A Surrender and a Challenge -- Book VI: NEW FIELDS, OLD ENEMIES July 30, 1970-November 1971 -- 1 Message at a Wedding -- 2 A Secret Letter -- 3 A Fast That Failed -- 4 "The True Teamster Position" -- 5 Bedlam in Delano.

6 War Is Declared -- 7 A Fork in the Road -- 8 Violence -- 9 "Concentrate on Chiquita!" -- 10 Enter the Goons -- 11 Ambus -- 12 "Clever Tactical Reasons" -- 13 Forced to Boycott -- 14 Inside Salinas Jail -- 15 Secret Lettuce Talks -- Book VII: TARGET FOR DESTRUCTION 1971-May 1975 -- 1 Assassination Plot -- 2 The Power of People -- 3 La Causa in Florida -- 4 Two Showdowns -- 5 Dangerous Alliances -- 6 "Everything Is Going to Go to the Teamsters" -- 7 A Pattern of Violence -- 8 Filling the Jails -- 9 "Two Men Are Dead" -- 10 Teamsters Go All Out -- 11 The Best Source of Hope Is the People -- 12 A Very Important Lesson -- 13 Surprise in Sacramento -- 14 Saying Yes to Man's Dignity -- Postscript: Hay Más Tiempo Que Vida (There Is More Time Than Life) -- Afterword -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.