"Alonzo makes judicious use of census records, tax rolls, and probate records to trace the evolution of Hispanic families who formed this community for more than five generations. . . . He forcefully dispels the myth that the area of Texas between San Antonio and the Rio Grande was a 'no man's land' prior to Anglo-American settlement."—Choice
"The book is a valuable addition to those publications that continue to strengthen the New Western History."
—Great Plains Quarterly
"...a masterful overview of the region's historical heritage beginning with the settlement of the river villas under colonizer Jose de Escandon in the mid-eighteenth century."
—East Texas Historical Association