Forget the Alamo

The Rise and Fall of an American Myth

De: Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford

Narrado por: Fred Sanders

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.

Pulling for a 4th grade friendly version…

Given that 4th grade and 7th grade history here is stuck learning the Anglo-centric, faux hero version of events, I’m hopeful these authors will consider revising some of the more vulgar realities — cough, cough, Travis’ diary— and produce a 4th grade friendly version of this. My son and his friends at William B. Travis 🙄 TAG school here in Dallas would appreciate it. 🙏🏽

Enlightenment from intelligence

I don't usually download history books, although I should. I am a first generation Mexican/american so I felt that I needed to educate myself. I am glad I did. This book was thorough, unbiased, educational and entertaining. It was so well done and went the right way by not perpetuating a false depiction of white exceptionalism and superiority. It is always refreshing to find that there are people with integrity and a real sense of right and wrong who are willing to dig deep to dispel myths, no matter how long they had been held onto. Not knowing the ethnic background of the authors, but assuming they aren't hispanic, makes this book filled with correct revelations, to be even more compelling because they don't have anything to gain other than the satisfaction of truth-telling. Of course I would have believed the findings of hispanic authors, but I know there are those that would have questioned the authenticity of facts, thinking it would have been self-serving. Thank you for producing a great product that kept me interested and enlightened.

Should be mandatory reading

I already knew a lot of the history in the first half of this book. The details and the people I didn't know of were really fascinating though. I wasn't as conscious of a lot of the early 20th century history surrounding the Alamo and the efforts to prop up the myths. It makes sense though, I wasn't really taught much of this in school. I really wish this book or one like it had been available in high school. I think Texas history class would have been a lot more interesting as a result.

Just wow.

This book completely explains Texas. It’s a fast-moving page-turner of political and historical importance. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Incompetents, Racists and Grifters... sounds right

It came as no shock at all to learn the extent of the deception around the Alamo myth. It's always swirled around with a wink and nudge, common knowledge that it's all made up, like George Washington's cherry tree and glorious American fiction of Custer's Last Stand. But it was surprising to learn of the depth and breadth of incompetence, bigotry and hypocrisy at play. Even to the extent that there were competing Anglo and Tejano fictions to represent the Alamo narrative. And the hilarious grift of the Daughter's of the Republic of Texas. (How corrupt do you have to be to have notoriously shady Rick Perry to turn against you?) It's about time to recognize that Bowie, Crockett and Travis were many things, but heroes, they were most definitely not. Put the term Heroic Anglo Narrative right up there with the Lost Cause Myth and White Christian Supremacy as a stain that needs to be exposed and eradicated.