| |
Shop
| |  |
|
Best Sellers | | Home Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution (New Narratives in American History) | |
|  | |  | | | Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution (New Narratives in American History) | | | | | SKU:
9780195163506 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1 business days | | | | | | 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 that are often obscured by both racism and political correctness. This engaging first-person account of historical detective work illuminates the methods of the serious historian who searches for the more complex truths behind the glorious myths.
Beginning with a personal prologue recalling both the pride and the prejudices that he encountered in the Texas of his youth, Crisp illustrates how he discovered documents that have been distorted, censored, and ignored. In four chapters focusing on specific documentary "finds," he 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 Guinness 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 voices from the past that we most need to hear today. An indispensable resource for anyone interested in the Alamo or historical detective work, Sleuthing the Alamo is also ideal for undergraduate courses in historical methodology, southwestern borderlands, the American West, Texas history, American expansion, Mexican-American history, race relations, and Southern history. | | | |
List Price:
| $19.95 | |
Our Price:
| $12.87
& eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
| |
You Save:
| $7.08 (35%)
|
| | |
|
| | Product Promotions | | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | James E. Crisp | | Paperback: | 228 pages | | Publisher: | Oxford University Press, USA | | Publication Date: | February 24, 2005 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0195163508 | | Product Length: | 6.74 inches | | Product Width: | 4.76 inches | | Product Height: | 0.63 inches | | Product Weight: | 0.41 pounds | | Package Length: | 6.6 inches | | Package Width: | 4.7 inches | | Package Height: | 0.6 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.35 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 23 reviews |
| |
| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 23 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 historian's personal story researching the Texas Revolution Dec 11, 2004
By mackattack9988
"mackattack9988"
James Crisp provides a unique account of historical research, written in the first person, about doing documentary research - much like a detective - on various aspects of the Texas Revolution. His approach begins with how he was first exposed to Texas history and all its myth and legend as a schoolboy in Texas. His personal experiences with race and segregation then began to mold his worldview and contributed to his academic study of history. Race and Texas continued to be important themes in his professional pursuits, as one chapter shows how Crisp uncovered the real Sam Houston speech to volunteers at Refugio, a speech much different from the one alleged to have been a racist attack against the Mexican opposition. This episode in Sleuthing the Alamo illustrates how history is often more complex than it appears at first glance (even with hindsight) as a document purported to be a genuine record of Houston's speech and relied on by academics was the product of censorship, mistranslation, and embellishment - by four different parties influencing the document itself for over a century. Uncovering the stories behind the allegedly racist Houston speech solidified Crisp's thesis that race was more a consequence than a cause of the Texas Revolution. The Houston speech "detective story" is just the beginning. No doubt the most controversial part of this book will be what Crisp has to say about the de la Pena diary and the fate of Davy Crockett at the Alamo, a subject to which Crisp is no stranger to controversy. He provides a similar rundown of the Yellow Rose of Texas legend in the afterword, but the final verdict on that legend seems less well settled by comparison, and it appears to in fact remain under investigation. Overall, an extremely readable book that will capture anyone interested in Texas history, the Alamo, the role of legend in culture, and the process of historical documentary research.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Not For The Novice Alamo Reader Mar 17, 2005
By King Richard
"CoeurDeLion"
If you're looking for your basic action-filled tale of land-grabbing "foreigners" valiantly holding their ground for 13 days against the "bloodthirsty" hordes of Mexican soldiers at the shrine of Texas independence, this book definitely is NOT for you. More of a thin, scholarly piece (less than 200 pages of actual text) this is more for the person who knows something about the battle of the Alamo and has read other books on the subject. Crisp's main thesis is well-thought-out; notably that many of the past injustices in Alamo writing have their roots in racist attitudes perpetuated from the 1800's following the fall of the Alamo and which are today, to some extent, still prevalent.
Beginning with his childhood we are shown how even he, a native of Texas, was exposed to those racist attitudes and it was not until his late teens that he came to realize that just because a person's skin is a different color doesn't mean they are a bad person. Yet this attitude, he explains, was what gave the native Tejanos in Texas the proverbial "short end of the stick" when discussing the Alamo. As a result, what we get is more a story of personal discovery and education wrapped around the Alamo narrative.
If you aren't familiar with the controversy surrounding such items as the de la Pena diaries (one Mexican soldier's account of the battle) and are simply looking to find out how good old Davy (he preferred David) Crockett died, there are other books on the market which should no doubt be read first. If, on the other hand, as mentioned before, you're well-versed in the Alamo battle and lore, you'll want to pick up this most recent Alamo book.
Gets 4 stars instead of 5 mostly due to length since it seems there are other areas Crisp could have discussed as well. Eminently readable, you can read it in one sitting with no problem.
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 Mostly for buffs Feb 25, 2006
By Anson Cassel Mills
That Sleuthing the Alamo has no index is a tip-off that this volume is not the sort of academic book usually published by Oxford University Press.
Crisp does two things well here: 1. he carefully unravels the earlier bowdlerizing, mistranslation, and general mishandling of a German memoir of the Texas Revolution by one Herman Ehrenberg, a retelling that puts anti-Mexican sentiments into the mouth of Sam Houston, and 2. he defends the authenticity of a diary of a Mexican soldier, Jose Enrique de la Pena, which (among other merited swipes at Santa Anna) asserts that the general ordered Davy Crockett's murder after the latter was taken prisoner at the fall of the Alamo.
Around these two themes are wrapped the author's musings about his Texas childhood and the racism once de rigueur in Texas elementary schools, as well as speculations about the Yellow Rose of Texas and overly solemn assessments of silly missives Crisp and his predecessors received from amateur defenders of received wisdom about the Texas Revolution.
If you're a Texas Revolution buff and already have a command of its controversies and primary sources, this is an important book. If you have limited interest in Sam Houston's views of Mexicans or in how Davy Crockett died, then you'll probably find Sleuthing the Alamo of marginal interest.
It's a poor historian whose juices don't flow when he's on the hunt for documentary shenanigans. But it takes an unusual one to make a coherent narrative out of the search.
12 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Great example of how the historian's work should be done May 24, 2005
By Andrew S. Rogers
Books like this are one of the reason I love reading history. A partisan of neither the traditional interpretations of Texas history nor of the newer "revisionist" narrative that explains the events of the 1830s as nothing but a race war, Crisp dives deep into some critical primary sources, showing how they have been largely misinterpreted throughout the dialectical debate. Facts may be immutable things, but it's the historian's job to weave them into a narrative (p. 183) and to deliver that narrative to a broader public (p. 188). Facts can only be understood in that broader context. And when our context changes, so too must our narrative. In that sense, this little volume sets off some pretty big explosions in the way Texan history should be understood.
But more than just a great work of history, this is also a memoir that ranks with Martin Gilbert's In Search of Churchill - A Historian's Journey as a sterling example of how a fine historian does his job. In contrast to those who think history can ever be a "nailed-shut" case (Henry Clausen and his Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement come to mind), Crisp displays the curiosity, perseverance, skills -- I'm shocked to discover there are apparently serious writers on early Texas history who can't read Spanish -- and skepticism that kept him digging deeper into the historical record.
This is a fascinating work of history that, to use the obvious and inevitable comparison, is as interesting and exciting as a well-crafted detective story. But it's also a wonderful example of how the historian's work should be performed. For that reason, I would heartily recommend this book, not only to students of the Texas revolution, but to anyone interested in the theory and practice of historiography.
8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Rewriting The Alamo-Again. Nov 18, 2010
By Steve Archer
"Steve"
There is nothing new in this book. "Sleuthing the Alamo" is a carefully and thoroughly researched work. Unfortunately, the book's agenda is not to provide any new evidence of what happened at the Alamo. In fact, the material at hand simply rehashes many of the theories and speculative works that have sought over the years to recount the events of March 1836. What is different about this effort is the oppressive, relentless effort on the part of the author to recast this piece of Texas and American history as largely an exercise in American racism. Every event, every actor on the non-Mexican side is seen through the prism of racism. The author is shameless in his attempt to reinterpret virtually every aspect of the Alamo saga as evidence of crushing racial prejudice on the part of everyone involved. In this 'rexamnining', all the actors on the non-Mexican side of events are driven at their core by a contempt and general lack of respect for both their Mexican allies and opponents. There are no noble motives, no honorable men, simply bad people with no respect or interest in the Mexican population. Prominent among the cast of newly branded principals is Sam Houston, now revealed as a racist of the first order. The Author repeatedly injects himself into the sometimes already cluttered narrative, defending himself and his views. If you are looking for new, factual, insights, this is not the book. If you subscribe to the continuing, progressive goal of degrading and devaluing American history, you will be encouraged by this effort.
See all 23 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| |
| |
| |  | |  |
|
Recently Viewed | You may also like ... |
