Wallace O. Chariton

This is an interesting book, though sometimes I found it a bit tedious. The author is definitely not a trained historian, but he is dedicated amateur. However, his fierce Texas jingoism (and I am a Texas jingo, but a historian) is sometimes offputting. For instance, he always praises the character of William Barrett Travis, at one point describing him as if he was some sort of saint. Despite his heroism, his valor, his dedication the Texas independence, Travis was a jackass. He piled up debts, left his wife, was, at times, an unscrupulous attorney, a gambler, and he whored around with Mexican washer women in his new Texas home. Same goes with the whole Davy Crockett bit. We will never know for sure if Davy Crockett was executed or died fighting, though the evidence leans towards the former, but his sifting of the evidence in the matter is weak and colored by his biases. (To be fair, many historians who say that Crockett was executed are colored by bias as well.) Still, if you're an Alamo guy, you have this book.… (meer)