Camarillo is without a doubt the top Chicano historian in the United States...Chicanos in a Changing Society is the best treatment of race and ethnic relations in the historical development of the United States Southwest. It tells a rich and complex story of how California's mexicano population was deprived of its land, politically disempowered, and socially segregated into ethnic enclaves or barrios. Camarillo got the story right to the very last detail.
-- Ramón Gutiérrez, University of California, San Diego

When first published, Chicanos in a Changing Society was 'among a handful of historical monographs' which focused on Mexican America. [Camarillo's] analysis generated interest and provided challenges which led to further investigation. Much more has since been written about what was then once lost and ignored Chicano history. Re-publication of Camarillo's groundbreaking study is a recognition of its lasting importance.
-- Race Relations Abstracts

Camarillo's compelling analysis of the forces that pushed mexicanos in Southern California into dead-end jobs in segregated neighborhoods rests on such a solid base of evidence that his conclusions remain as valid today as when his pioneering study first appeared.
-- David J. Weber, Southern Methodist University