“Thompson’s book provides not only a powerfully written history of a Mexican American who symbolizes ‘resistance to oppression and intolerance,’ but also a clear, cogent explanation of the relationship between the United States and Mexico as they face each other across the Texas border.”—Journal of American History
“Jerry Thompson has produced the definitive work on one of the most controversial and influential Mexicano/Tejano figures of Texas and Southwestern history . . . . With stunning clarity and balance, Thompson has provided a much-needed narrative interpretation that brings to life one of the more colorful figures of Texas, Border, and Chicano histories.”—Hispanic Outlook
“Jerry Thompson has performed a difficult feat: comprehensively examining a life that had almost as many turns as a circle.”—Journal of Southern History
“This is the most well-researched and thorough account of Juan Nepomuceno Cortina’s life that we have. . . . This book certainly shows that Cortina ‘established his niche in the grand sweep of time,’ but it will be left to other scholars to follow the many trails hinted at by Thompson.”—Western Historical Quarterly
“Jerry Thompson’s sympathetic but balanced biography is a ‘must read’ for all students of Texas history and Anglo-Hispanic relations.”—East Texas Historical Journal
About the Author
JERRY THOMPSON is a Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M International University in Laredo and a past president of the Texas State Historical Association. He is also the author of Tejanos in Gray: Civil War Letters of Captains Joseph Rafael de la Garza and Manuel Yturri, winner of the 2011 Tejano Book Award.
Praise For…
"The two decades that Jerry Thompson devoted to studying Juan Cortina's life have produced a significant contribution to historical literature. Thompson reveals Cortina to be not only a man who was shaped by history but also one who helped shape the history of two nations."--Military History of the West — Military History of the West
"Cortina's life was much more complex than commonly understood, and a major and exciting contribution of this book is its account of the role that Cortina played in the Mexican War against the French Intervention as well as the American Civil War."--Hispanic Outlook — Hispanic Outlook
“This book is meticulously researched by a master historian who has a deep, profound understanding of 19th-century history along the Texas-Mexico border. It therefore provides a historically sound biographical portrait permitting readers to understand the complexity of both Juan N. Cortina and the border country that produced him.”--Choice — CHOICE
“Thompson’s book provides not only a powerfully written history of a Mexican American who symbolizes ‘resistance to oppression and intolerance,’ but also a clear, cogent explanation of the relationship between the United States and Mexico as they face each other across the Texas border."--Journal of American History — The Journal of American History
“Jerry Thompson’s sympathetic but balanced biography is a ‘must read’ for all students of Texas history and Anglo-Hispanic relations.” --East Texas Historical Journal — John D. Huddleston
“This is the most well-researched and thorough account of Juan Nepomuceno Cortina’s life that we have . . . . This book certainly shows that Cortina ‘established his niche in the grand sweep of time,’ but it will be left to other scholars to follow the many trails hinted at by Thompson.”--Western Historical Quarterly — Western Historical Quarterly
“Jerry Thompson has performed a difficult feat: comprehensively examining a life that had almost as many turns as a circle.”--Journal of Southern History — The Journal of Southern History
“[Thompson] readily underscores the racial prejudice within Anglo leaders… This biography… is proof that a century and more after the events, the historian who is willing to devote years of research on both sides of the border into documents as el as state and national archives, can produce and outstanding biography. Lovers of the history of the Wild West as well as Mexican and Civil War buffs will find this work a treasure.” –Chuck Parsons — Chuck Parsons
