Alamo: Books, Audiobooks, and eBooks owned by Avn Tech Library

A New York Times bestseller! "Lively and absorbing. . ." - The New York Times Book Review "Engrossing." -Wall Street Journal "Entertaining and well-researched . . . " -Houston Chronicle Three noted Texan writers combine forces to tell the real story of the Alamo, dispelling the myths, exploring why they had their day for so long, and explaining why the ugly fight about its meaning is now coming to a head. Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it's no surprise that its myths bite deep. There's no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos--Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels--scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico's push to abolish slavery papered over. Forget the Alamo provocatively explains the true story of the battle against the backdrop of Texas's struggle for independence, then shows how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. In the past forty-some years, waves of revisionists have come at this topic, and at times have made real progress toward a more nuanced and inclusive story that doesn't alienate anyone. But we are not living in one of those times; the fight over the Alamo's meaning has become more pitched than ever in the past few years, even violent, as Texas's future begins to look more and more different from its past. It's the perfect time for a wise and generous-spirited book that shines the bright light of the truth into a place that's gotten awfully dark.

The dramatic story of one of the most famous events in Texas history is told by Ben H. Procter. Procter describes in colorful detail the background, character, and motives of the prominent figures at the Alamo--Bowie, Travis, and Crockett--and the course and outcome of the battle itself. This concise and engaging account of a turning point in Texas history will appeal to students, teachers, historians, and general readers alike.

J.R Edmondson's The Alamo Story: From Early History to Current Conflicts is the millennium's first book to thoroughly examine the famous "Shrine of Texas Liberty" from its origin as a Spanish New World mission to its modern status.

In Sleuthing the Alamo, historian James E. Crisp draws back the curtain on years of mythmaking to reveal some surprising truths about the Texas Revolution--truths often obscured by both racism and "political correctness," as history has been hijacked by combatants in the culture wars of the past two centuries. Beginning with a very personal prologue recalling both the pride and the prejudices that he encountered in the Texas of his youth, Crisp traces his path to the discovery of documents distorted, censored, and ignored--documents which reveal long-silenced voices from the Texan past. In each of four chapters focusing on specific documentary "finds," Crisp uncovers the clues that led to these archival discoveries. Along the way, the cast of characters expands to include: a prominent historian who tried to walk away from his first book; an unlikely teenaged "speechwriter" for General Sam Houston; three eyewitnesses to the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo; a desperate inmate of Mexico City's Inquisition Prison, whose scribbled memoir of the war in Texas is now listed in the Guiness Book of World Records; and the stealthy slasher of the most famous historical painting in Texas. In his afterword, Crisp explores the evidence behind the mythic "Yellow Rose of Texas" and examines some of the powerful forces at work in silencing the very voices from the past that we most need to hear today. Here then is an engaging first-person account of historical detective work, illuminating the methods of the serious historian--and the motives of those who prefer glorious myth to unflattering truth.

Osprey's examination of the Battle of Alamo (1836), which was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). On the morning of 6 March 1836 around 1,100 Mexican soldiers under Generalissimo Santa Anna stormed a small mission outside San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered the garrison of around 200 Texans. It was not a large battle but its significance vastly outweighed its size for the name of the mission was the Alamo. Less than two months later Santa Anna's force was smashed at San Jacinto by a volunteer army whose battle cry was "Remember the Alamo." Stephen L Hardin details the climactic 1836 campaign which won Texas her independence.

Eyewitness to the Alamo is the actual account of the siege and Battle of the Alamo by those who were present during the attack. This book is the first complete accounting of the Battle of the Alamo by one of our country's foremost authorities on the event.

Texas military historian Huffines assembles extracts from letters and other primary, or at least contemporary, sources to detail the activities and thoughts of the defending Texans and attacking Mexicans during the fatal 13 days in February and March 1836 that have become part of US mythology.

It was a small war; probably no more than 2,500 men were ever engaged in a single action, both sides taken together. It was a short war too, lasting only about seven months. And it was fought in what was, at the time, one of the most obscure corners of the earth. Yet the Texas War for Independence has become a heroic conflict of legendary proportions.Very few balanced accounts of Texas' epic struggle for independence have been written. Here historian Albert A. Nofi provides a splendid chronicle of the events and personalities of the war. He clearly explicates the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, carefully exploring the legends that have grown around them, and exposing the truth behind the myths. The Alamo offers a strategic and tactical analysis of the war, technical information about the weapons used by both sides, strength and casualty data, orders of battles, information on the financing of Texas freedom, portraits of both Texan and Mexican personalities, and the story of a little-known war at sea. Also included are maps of military movements, the most detailed tactical map of the Battle of San Jacinto available to date, and a number of fascinating illustrations. The Alamo is military history at its best: a social, political, economic, strategic, and tactical examination of the Texas War for Independence, one of the most dramatic episodes of America's colorful past.

Beginning with tribal wars among Native Americans before Europeans settled Texas and continuing through the Civil War, the soil of what would become the Lone Star State has frequently been stained by the blood of those contesting for control of its resources. In subsequent years and continuing to the present, its citizens have often taken up arms beyond its borders in pursuit of political values and national defense. Although historians have studied the role of the state and its people in war for well over a century, a wealth of topics remain that deserve greater attention: Tejanos in World War II, the common Texas soldier''s interaction with foreign enemies, the perception of Texas warriors throughout the world, the role of religion among Texans who fight or contemplate fighting, controversial paramilitary groups in Texas, the role and effects of Texans'' ethnicity, culture, and gender during wartime, to name a few. Texans at War, fourteen scholars provide new studies, perspectives, and historiographies to extend the understanding of this important field. One of the largest collections of original scholarship on this topic to date;Texans and War will stimulate useful conversation and research among historians, students, and interested general readers. In addition, the breadth and originality of its contributions provide a solid overview of emerging perspectives on the military history and historiography of Texas and the region.

San Antonio Texas, 1836. A Mexican army led by Santa Anna attacks a small fort called the Alamo. Disputes still rage over what exactly happened and why. In a combination of historic and cultural analysis, historians Randy Roberts and James S. Olson blend a narrative of the battle, told from both an Anglo and Mexican perspective. They draw from a wide range of sources, including documents from Mexican military archives and pages from the famous diary of Jose Enrique de la Pena. The events of the Alamo pose a few questions: Did Davy Crockett really die a hero, or did he surrender before a summary execution? And why have Americans built a shrine for an event that lasted just 90 minutes, and inflated it into one of the country's biggest tourist attractions? A full explanation of the San Antonio encounter requires a peeling back of many layers. Roberts and Olson retell the story of a great American myth, and show how and why it endures.

Lon Tinkle tells the day-by-day story of how 182 men fought a losing battle but won for their cause an almost unparalleled measure of fame. As the days of the siege are described, the author cinematically flashes back to pivotal points of destiny-the circumstance that led each person to be inside the walls of the abandoned mission late in the winter of 1836. Susanna Dickinson, captured after the mission fell, recalls the day she headed for a wedding and wound up eloping to Texas with the intended groom, an old flame of her own. Travis left Alabama under a cloud, having privately admitted to committing a murder. Bowie, having lost his wife, children, and wealthy in-laws to a cholera epidemic, now devoted his energies to saving his extensive landholdings in Texas. Crockett, stung by the loss of his seat in Congress, concluded to light out for the territory of Texas, where land prices were one-tenth of those in America but where American frontier traditions again had to be secured through revolution.

In this book, Phillip Thomas Tucker, after deep research into Mexican accounts, informs us that the traditional myth of the Alamo is inaccurate. Most of the Alamo's defenders died in break-outs from the fort, cut down by Santa Anna's cavalry that had been pre-positioned to intercept the escapees.

A fascinating and informative analysis by a distinguished military historian of the 100 most influential battles in American history, presented in an accessible, ready-reference format. * Introductory overview essay helps create a conceptual framework for readers * A list of "further reading" selections with each entry and a full bibliography identify avenues to further study * Fact boxes throughout the text provide quick, essential information for each battle

Much of the true story of the Alamo has been shrouded in myth for 150 years. This comprehensive encyclopedia provides thorough entries for the people, places and events of the Texan Revolution, using both American and Mexican resources.'

The Battle of the Alamo is one of the most dramatic moments in American history. Poet, novelist, and historian John Myers Myers gives us a fascinating account of this American event, complete with authentic details.

In the early 1830s Texas was about to explode. Although under Mexican rule, the region was home to more than 20,000 U.S. settlers agitated by what they saw as restrictive Mexican policies. Mexican officials, concerned with illegal trading and immigration in Texas, were prepared to fight hard to keep the province under their control. Caught in the middle were the area's 4,000 Mexican Texans or Tejanos who were forced to choose a side. The conflict pitted brother against brother and devastated the community. This film shows the Tejano gamble for a more prosperous future in an independent Texas proved tragic."

Controversy has always been part of the history and legend of the Alamo. Whether they hold traditional or revisionist views, people are passionate about their opinions. See the true story of the Alamo in this fascinating documentary.

William Chemerka, founder of the Alamo Historical Society, helps What Went Down re-create a view from above that was impossible to see in 1836. Chermerka's encyclopedic knowledge of all things Alamo, a site tour to the Alamo, and stories shared by the descendents of the event, combined with CGI and 'green screen' movie special effects, combine to create an aerial view of the final moments of the attack, as the Texans made their last stand.

Three Roads to the Alamo is the definitive book about the lives of David Crockett, James Bowie and William Barret Travis—the legendary frontiersmen and fighters who met their destiny at the Alamo in one of the most famous and tragic battles in American history—and about what really happened in that battle.