The Search for Pedro's Story
by Marian L. Martinello and Samuel P. Nesmith

The Search for Pedro's Story recreates the life experiences of Pedro Péres, a leather jacket soldier in the Spanish colonial army in eighteenth-century Texas. Each chapter begins with a signpost related to one of Pedro’s roles and ends with a fictional account of an event in Pedro’s life based on the findings. Martinello looks at how odinary people lived as a way of learning about history rather than focusing solely on heroic deeds and people. Fragments of real life are pieced together from things Pedro knew, including taming a mustang and playing cards. The book suggests how to ask questions, seek sources, and make sense of findings that history, especially the history of the ordinary, demands.

Marian L. Martinello, professor emeritus, College of Education and Human Development, the University of Texas at San Antonio, developed and directed the Interdisciplinary Studies degree and teacher certification program at UTSA. She was UTSA's first Minnie Stevens Piper Professor in 1982 and recipient of several teaching awards during her university career. Martinello is author of The Search for Emma's Story and other education titles on inquiry teaching and learning.

Samuel P. Nesmith, who collaborated with Dr. Martinello, was a curator at the Alamo in San Antonio and researcher and curator at the Institute of Texas Cultures. He is now owner and curator of the Texas Museum of Military History.