In fall 1969, 71 Mexican Americans broke through a racist status quo in undergraduate enrollment at virtually all-white Stanford University. The entry of the Chicanos, along with a similar number of African Americans, set in motion a diversity transformation with the start of affirmative action. Similar change also occurred at other U.S. universities, but here, for the first time, the Chicanos’ poignant personal journeys spring to life. As the Chicanos fought through culture shock and racism to establish their presence at Stanford, all hell broke loose on campus with the Black, Chicano and women’s movements demanding change, and Vietnam war protesters battling university policies and police billy clubs. The book’s heartbeat pulsates with the students’ recollections of angst and joy, challenges and rewards, struggles, romances and dreams that came true. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to examine affirmative action once again in fall 2022, author Frank Sotomayor offers a timely illustration of why affirmative action was created and how it unfolded at a major U.S. university. Sotomayor was co-editor/writer on the 1983 Latino series at the Los Angeles Times, which