PATRIOTS The Men Who Started the American Revolution<i> by A.J. Langguth (Simon & Schuster: $22.95; 637 pp.) </i>

In “Patriots,” Langguth gives the making and winning of the American Revolution in all its glory, gore and moral frailty. A spicy, toothsome work of American history.--Jody Powell

RAINBOW’S END by Genaro Gonzalez (Arte Publico Press: $8.50, paper; 227 pp.) “Rainbow’s End” captures the ambiente of a borderland household:

a grandfather who swam across the Rio Grande in the 1930s, Vietnam vets and smugglers.--Tom Miller