The King of Adobe

“A timely biography written with conscientious depth and detail, covering the full extent of [Tijerina’s] life with an objective clarity. A great read for anyone interested in New Mexican history or civil rights.”—Taos News

“Oropeza’s work is meticulous in detail, incisive in analysis, and provides another facet of the rich history of Mexican people on the American side of the border. . . . This welcome biography significantly contributes to our understanding of the Chicano movement and of the Mexican American struggle for liberation.”—Southwestern Historical Quarterly

“A book that should be of abiding interest to New Mexicans.”—Albuquerque Journal

“Oropeza’s in-depth research delves into the personal life and motivations behind this civil rights legend to present a portrait of a complicated man with a background of religious separatism. . . . Oropeza’s biography also offers a valuable lesson on what it took to form a resistance that evolved into a national movement during a critical struggle for racial and social justice.”—NBC News

“This scholarship challenges other writings and books on how Tijerina impacted the construction of the Chicano/a movement generation as Oropeza incorporates historical accounts, oral interviews, and primary materials to provide a strong, in-depth review and analysis of the prominent activist’s life. . . . Every library should obtain a copy of this book for those studying the Chicano/a movement in particular or social movements more broadly.”—CHOICE

“A long-overdue and much-needed biography. Oropeza captures the complexities of a man central to the Chicano movement and Chicano history.”—Matt Garcia, author of From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement

“A deeply compelling biography of a consequential figure in modern U.S. history. Oropeza reveals Tijerina not only as a protest leader and organizer but also as a tragically flawed human being and an intellectual whose ideas about settler colonialism are today in wide circulation. Mandatory reading for anybody who wants to understand the history of race in America or the West after World War II.”—Benjamin H. Johnson, author of Escaping the Dark, Gray City: Fear and Hope in Progressive-Era Conservation

“While the 'Great Man' theory of history was a nineteenth-century phenomenon, its remnants linger today. We still sanctify certain historic figures; our sin is being unable to blend the saint and the sinner into their complete personhood. We, our children, and the discipline of history are the poorer for it. Lorena Oropeza mined an enormous amount of primary and secondary material to give context to Reies López Tijerina’s contributions to Chicano history and the price paid by those who traveled his path with him. When teaching the history of the Chicano movement, it is important to me that my students emerge with an empathetic relationship to the collective Tijerina: the man, his family, his followers, and those who schooled him. The King of Adobe is a major step in that direction.”—Maria Varela