“His observational and descriptive powers are remarkable, and employed in the service of tales that range from wrenching to humorous.  Peña’s writing here is lyrical, elegant and evocative, conveying history through storytelling, and making tangible the smell of the earth, the ache of overworked muscles, the fierceness of thunderstorms.”  —Texas Observer

 

“This uplifting account by a highly regarded anthropologist describes his life—from his childhood as a migrant worker though his long and distinguished academic career.

                                                                                        —Foreword Magazine

 

“Peña’s chronicle is presented with an endearing mixture of joy, sorrow, courage and uncertainty that captures the true essence of the immigrant experience.  His writing style is clean and concise, and you may find his book hard to put down once you have entered his world.”

                                                                                      —La Herencia Journal

 

“Peña’s vignettes about his childhood, his education and his romantic encounters reveal his tremendous gift for writing and for treating with honor the story of so many born in that era who struggled to live with dignity, who were blessed with an indefatigable will to go where “the ox does not plow.”                                                            —San Antonio Express News

 

“Vignettes of conflict between ethnicities, the difficulty of integrating into American society, family closeness, love, shock, and survival, Where the Ox Does Not Plow is a resoundingly authentic account of a rich and varied life, illustrated with a dozen black-and-white-photographs.”

                                                                                    —Midwest Book Review

 

“Where the Ox Does Not Plow” is an insightful glimpse into an important period of social change, as lived by a man who was transformed by those times.”

                                                                                    —El Paso Times