Winner, Clotilde P. Garcia Tejano Book Prize and Texas Institute of Letters Most Significant Scholarly Book Award "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 "With stunning research and a crisp narrative, Jerry Thompson takes us beyond Juan Cortina's famous 'war' against Anglo-controlled Brownsville and into Cortina's tumultuous life as a war lord on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. At last we have a full-scale biography of this fascinating figure, whose strong sense of justice for his people was matched only by his opportunism and ambition." - David J. Weber "Cortina is meticulously researched, masterfully balanced, and lucidly written. In contrast to previous monographs on Cortina, Cortina relies heavily on primary sources housed in many depositories in Mexico and it offers as much treatment to Cortina's involvement in Texas history as it does to his participation in events in Mexico." - Arnoldo De Leon Jerry Thompson, a Regent's Professor of history at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, holds a doctorate from Carnegie-Mellon University.