An excellent well written book ! Being a descendent of one of the early pioneers of South Texas, this book really open up my eyes on how our early ancestors used the natural resources around them to built their homes and where proud of them. It also describes how the unity in the family helped them cope with the struggles of goverment changes. This book takes you back in time as if you where there to see it. This is a book everyone who is interested in early South Texas History must read. My hats off to Andres Tijerina.

Tijerina states that, "Tejanos founded the ranching frontier on their land grants... were the founders of the State of Texas". I agree that only Tejanos have lived and fought under six flags and that Tejanos are here to stay. Tejano Empire is a bold book, well documented, and difficult to lay aside once opened by a reader. Stories handed down for generations are finally put into print. Beasley's sketches depict tejano stories that will live forever. Bravo - Andres Tijerina and thank you.

Being a descendant of a pioneer ranch family in Duval County since the 1860's, Rancho San Buenaventura; after reading Tejano Empire it brings out the spirit of my greatgrandfather's and so many other rancheros of that era's way of life. I think this book will bring back self confidence to the many families in South Texas with ranching roots. With this book Tijerina helps fill the void of the much neglected history of the ranchos in South Texas from a Tejano point of view. The beautiful illustrations by Ricardo M. Beasley and Servando Hinojosa are also an additional plus. A definite book to add to anyones collection if you're into Texas history.

Popular histories of Texas abound with self-legitimizing grand narratives and myths and written by arm-chair historians whose sole qualification sometimes is that they are multiple-generation Texans. Some extoll the inexorability of the westward expansion of the Anglo-Celt pioneer, or the defense of self-described legends, or even minimize the impact that the Tejano had on Texas and Texan culture. All is not bleak, though. Reviewing my daughter's junior high Texas history text, I see that there have been quantum improvements in the way Texas history is presented, compared to the way it was presented when I was in junior high, a generation ago. More recent scholarly works have been synthesized into these texts to present a more balanced and more historically accurate representation of the past. It is scholarly studies, such as Tijerina's Tejanos & Texas Under the Mexican Flag, that are ever so slowly working their way up into the historiographical consciousness and providing the information for better school texts and hopefully more accurate popular history.

Professor Tijerina begins his book by challenging Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis and Walter Prescott Webb's variation on the Turnerian theme that the Anglo-American character and the historical development of Anglo-American culture was indelibly shaped by the frontier and westward expansion. Tijerina argues that there were other forces also at play that Turner's and Webb's theses did not take into account . As Francis Bannon reminded us a generation ago, "nowhere in the [Spanish] Borderlands was the Anglo-American a pioneer." Using assorted primary sources as well as secondary works, Tijerina traces the history of Tejanos during this short but chaotic period in Mexican Texas history. The author describes the basic institutions of Tejano life and culture and how a two-way cultural exchange resulted when the Tejano and Anglo-American frontiers intersected. "Because Texas was the first Mexican state settled by the Anglo-American tide, Texas probably had a greater influence initially on the westward-moving frontier," Tijerina tells us, and therefore provided one of the shaping factors of the historical development of the West.

Affirming Bannon's admonition, Tijerina finds that "Tejanos had a significant and lasting influence in the history of Texas. They gave unique reality to the larger historical forces centering on Texas in the early nineteenth century. When international events brought changes to the political status of Texas, Tejanos provided a vital continuum. Their local laws gave meaning and movement to national legislation. Their culture, their lives, their problems, and their solutions contributed much to the historical character of Texas." Therefore, the author concludes that "...the history of Texas can never be complete without the story of her original founders-the Tejanos."

Tijerina's book not only fills an historical lacunae that's been far too long ignored, but provides a compelling and surprising, to many, interpretation of cultural exchange between the Tejano pioneers and the newly arrived Anglo-American. A Vietnam verteran who flew combat missions, Andrés Tijerina holds degrees from Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas.

Dr. Tijerina is notorious for his didication to and knowledge of Texas history. i havent read the book, but i am in his class and i have never had better instruction in history. If you are doing research in the area of Texas, he is your man.

Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life At Ranchos San Jose And El Fresnillo by Andres Saenz (Professor of History, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas) is the story of the author's family (the Saenzes and the Lopezes) who established San Jose and El Fresnillo during the 1850s and 1860s. Drawn and composed from interviews, historical records, visits to historical sites, and more, Early Tejano Ranching presents a fascinating picture of life in the past, the daily work of ranching, the labor of self-sufficient families who struggled to surviving against drought, wild animals, and even Indian attacks. Early Tejano Ranching is solid and highly recommended representation reflecting the history and heritage of Texas. Also highly recommended is Professor Saenz's earlier work, Tejano Empire: Life On The South Texas Ranchos (0890968349)