William C. Davis
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By: HarperCollins Publishers
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
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.William C. Davis, a distinguished Civil War historian and biographer, illuminates the great western migration of the early 19th century through these remarkable figures -- representative of the three distinct types of men responsible for pushing American civilization west of the Mississippi.
Through tremendous research and with unprecedented access to Mexican military archives, Davis strips away the many layers of myth, legend and fable that surrounded Crockett, Bowie and Travis during their lives and, even more emphatically, after their deaths, portraying them as they really were -- heroic and unheroic, of great stature and deeply flawed, law abiding and lawbreaking.
Crockett stood for the thousands who were always on the edge of the wilderness, for whom no home was ever permanent. Bowie epitomized those who invariably followed'the entrepreneurs and exploiters, the men who profited, often outside the law, and moved on to the next potential bonanza. And Travis was the man of community and society, the lawgiver, the town builder, even the founder of a state or nation -- one of the millions who came to stay and create.
Though Travis, Crockett and Bowie came from different backgrounds and began their lives in different parts of the country at different times, they were united by their Scots-Irish heritage; by the restlessness and ambition that kept pushing them west to the frontier, which moved with them; by their involvement in the Texas settlement and revolution; and most famously by their meeting at the crossroads of the Alamo in the swift and deadly battle of March 6, 1836.
Because of their reputations and actions, these three men are deservedly the most legendary heroes of the Alamo. However, Davis has uncovered and reconstructed much of what actually happened, and he frequently challenges or debunks other versions of the battle, which have prevailed for more than a century.
Revealing, persuasive and controversial, Three Roads to the Alamo makes a significant contribution to American history and permanently changes and deepens our understanding and perception of the Alamo and these three American icons.Three Roads to the Alamo is a Main Selection of the History Book Club, an Alternate Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and an Alternate Selection of the Quality Paperback Book Club
