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The Rise and Fall of an American Myth
by Bryan Burrough
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.
"A zesty, journalistic, half history, half sendup about the battle of the Alamo and the myths that cling to it ... Burrough, Tomlinson, and Stanford, all Texans, succeed brilliantly in their intent ... this lively book is sure to cause plenty of interesting conversations in Texas. An iconoclastic, romping, bull's-eye volley at an enduring sacred cow—popular history at its most engaging and insightful." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Substantive yet wryly humorous ... Skillfully drawing on primary and secondary sources, the authors show that Stephen F. Austin, who established a colony of American settlers in Texas in the 1820s, fought to protect slavery from Mexican legislators' desire to abolish it, and that the independence movement was focused on preserving Texas's slave-based cotton economy. Enriched by its breezy tone and fair-minded approach, this is an essential look at the Alamo from the perspective of today's racial reckoning." —Publishers Weekly
"Engrossing." —Wall Street Journal
"Lively and absorbing ... Much of the fun of the book derives from how deftly it strips that varnish off and demolishes the prevailing (white) racist shibboleths—in particular, what the authors call the Heroic Anglo Narrative of Texas history." —New York Times Book Review
"Lively, entertaining and well-researched ... The greatest surprise of Forget the Alamo is its clear-eyed explication of the ways politicians, educators, writers, filmmakers and TV executives used the Alamo to serve whatever message they were promoting." —Houston Chronicle
"Riveting ... The narrative flows seamlessly as it explores the complicated legacies of Stephen F. Austin, known as the Father of Texas, and Sam Houston, the first and third president of the Republic of Texas, as well as the many places and institutions named in their honor. Bringing Mexican voices to the forefront, the authors argue that it is necessary to diversify perspectives in order to create a comprehensive historical narrative of Texas, and especially San Antonio. Not only an essential work of Texas history, but popular history at its best. The book shines when detailing the power of telling one's own story." —Library Journal
This information about Forget the Alamo was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Bryan Burrough is the author of six books, including The Big Rich, Days of Rage, and Public Enemies, and a coauthor of the number one New York Times bestseller Barbarians at the Gate.
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