Las Tejanas: 300 Years of History is the story of, in the words of its introduction, "women of Spanish-Mexican origin in Texas" (xv). Well researched and written by Teresa Palomo Acosta and Ruthe Winegarten, the non-fiction work attempts to fill in the gaps in the literature on Tejanas while capitalizing on recent primary source discoveries. The work offers a comprehensive look on women of Spanish-Mexican origin in all aspects of life from their origins as Natives to recent political advancements of Tejanas in the United States. A fine accomplishment, there is great evidence and detail and no area regarding these women is excluded from the work. While there is little theme to Las Tejanas, as sections are often unrelated, short, and disjointed, the general idea is the advancement of the women of Spanish-Mexican origin from their earliest days to their liberated accomplishments of the present. The authors accomplish this theme offering little analysis or bias and offer little of their own commentary in the work. Thus Las Tejanas reads almost as a fact sheet or a non-opinionated textbook, but the excellent level of detail and the scope of coverage make it an admirable work on the subject of Tejanas.
             It is difficult to summarize a work as broad in scope as Las Tejanas because the work covers nearly every conceivable aspect of these women of Spanish-Mexican origin. It, however, begins with an important introduction that defines the term and the importance of this study. This is critical that in reading this work, one understands the definition of who is being discussed as well as why it is important and where this work stands in relation to other literature on the subject. The authors use the term "Tejana" "to define the woman who is the study of their subject," but there also are some related terms (xvi). In general, it is very clear who the subject is at this is important as is the aim of the boo...