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.

First published in 2000, J. R. Edmondson's The Alamo Story: From Early History to Current Conflicts thoroughly examines the famous "Shrine of Texas Liberty" from its origin as a Spanish New World mission to its modern status. It has been lauded as the “best" and "most readable” of all historical accounts devoted to the legendary mission-fortress. The original edition has been celebrated for over twenty years for its comprehensive approach to Alamo scholarship and for presenting the famous battle in the context of both American and Mexican history. This second edition of The Alamo Story includes new information about the battle and those involved, including expanded stories on the roles of minorities and some illustrations by noted artist Mark Lemon. The book also features a new chapter on Benjamin Rush Milam's assault on San Antonio with only three hundred Texians, the battle that set the stage for the siege of the Alamo less than three months later. And there is an extensive epilogue on the present-day conflicts about the physical Alamo compound, as historic preservationists clash with political and popular opinions in San Antonio.

Excerpt from Memoirs of Mary A. Maverick Samuel Augustus Maverick, my husband, was born July 23rd, 1803, at Pendleton, South Carolina. His parents were Samuel Maverick and his wife Elizabeth Anderson. She was the daughter of General Robert Anderson, of South Carolina, and of Revolutionary note, and his wife Ann Thompson of Virginia. Samuel Maverick was once a prominent merchant of Charleston, S.C., where he had raised himself from the almost abject poverty, to which the war of the Revolution had reduced his family, to a position of great affluence. It is said of him that he sent ventures to the Celestial Empire, and that he shipped the first bale of cotton from America to Europe. Some mer cantile miscarriage caused him subsequently to withdraw from, and close out, his business, and he retired to Pendle ton District* in the north west corner of South Carolina, at the foot of the mountains. Here he spent the balance of his days, and invested and speculated largely in lands in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

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.

Although The Alamo fell in the early morning of March 6, 1836, the death of the Alamo defenders has come to symbolize courage and sacrifice for the cause of liberty. The memories of James Bowie, Davy Crockett, and William B. Travis are as powerful today as when the Texan Army routed Santa Anna to the cry "Remember the Alamo!" This book is more than a tribute to those who fell defending the mission. It is a thoroughly researched, vividly illustrated, objective description of the circumstances building up to and leading from that stand. By using contemporary writings, this history describes the political and military organizations of both sides, the weapons and equipment available to them, and the enduringly famous personalities involved, creating a vivid picture of this dramatic battle and the period in which it was fought.

Describes the history of the Spanish missions in the San Antonio, Texas, area, now preserved as the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.