Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas

by Jerry D. Thompson

“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 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

344 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2007

Reviews

[Ernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on the complex man Cortina was.

My grandfather would always told me stories of Juan Cortina. Enjoyed filling out the picture of Cortina. I found him to be a man who started a fight for the right reasons but his personal faults tainted the justice he sought.