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Title: The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan, Henry Leyva ISBN: 0375415599 Publisher: Bantam Books-Audio Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.39
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: I should have waited to read this book, first of all. I'm probably too young to appreciate it, but being a 6th or 7th generation Texan and having taken Texas History in school this year and being really inspired (not to mention having a slight crush on William Barret Travis, like apparent multitudes of other women) I decided to read it. For the most part, it is all right, but I was really disturbed by a few things.
It was extremely graphic, which during the battle scenes is necessary and important, but many descriptions veer into the territory of "did we REALLY need to know that?", especially the ever-present obsessions with sex and bodily functions. No more needs really to be said.
One thing I noticed was how impersonal the whole thing was. The fictional characters are dry and not at all compelling, and I found myself skimming through the sections where they appeared. Getting to know the historical people better was why I wanted to read it, but the author is so concerned with exposing their faults and weaknesses that he doesn't make them into real characters, just wants to shock people with how bad they were. Especially, the author seems bound and determined to throw as much dirt on Sam Houston as possible. I see some of his points, and no one is as heroic as legends paint them, but Houston was a brave and honorable man (just look at how he stood up to everyone else in Texas who wanted secession) whose faults couldn't overshadow his inner greatness. Harrigan is just plain mean in this respect. And by the way, Houston's wife left HIM not the other way around.
I'll admit, this book was actually very good and really grabbed my attention. The author did a good job in portaying both sides of the conflict. But the truth is, you can't mess with people's legends unless you can make new ones, and Harrigan can't.
Up to some point, I guess, the heroic Alamo myth ought to be told truthfully, but the truth is there WAS heroism and bravery, not just a bunch of selfish cowards whacking each other's heads off. I would have like to hear more about the rest of the Revolution, especially (ahem) Gonzales...oh well.
The bottom line is, people need to believe in heroes and legends and freedom. These things do exist, no matter how flawed the people are who achieve them. And the Alamo is certainly not a spotless shrine to glory, it is a place where awful things happened. But these things became great through the memories of generations, and where there's smoke there's fire. We will always believe in the greatness of the Alamo and its less-than-perfect-heroes, no matter how revisionist our historical novels.
Rating: 5
Summary: A masterpiece of suspense and information.
Comment: This historical novel tells the harrowing events of the 1836 battle of the Alamo; and it does so with admirable objectivity, showing the Mexican as well as the American side. Americans tend to improvise a one-sided epic and glorify Jim Bowie, William Travis, and David Crockett as noble heroes, whom Webster's Dictionary misnames "US soldiers". This is a misnomer because these characters were rebels and insurrectionists, not fighting for the U.S., but for grabbing land from the legitimate state of Mexico. "Land pirates" would be a more correct term. No wonder then that Santa Anna, the off-and-on-again "el presidente" and commander-in-chief, hoisted the red flag over the town of Bexar. Harrigan's story abhors stereotypes, depicts American and Mexican cruelty alike, and shows an objectivity some might rightly call raw realism. Certainly, this isn't a book for queasy stomachs. Still, there is a margin of love and beauty: the dedication of a mother to her strong-minded son, the care extended to the hurt and dying, and the splendor of nature - if and when she's in the mood, which is not too frequently. In any case, omnipotent nature assigns human action its trivial place in the universe and its ephemeral span in history. Apparently Harrigan knows a good deal about botany, and through the character of Edmund McGowan, sprinkles interesting information about Texan flora. These and other tibits of information,(ie. the raiding Comanches), enrich the novel and give it the texture of reality. Rarely has historical fiction been so well written and suspensefully presented. A masterpiece!
Rating: 5
Summary: A very good read
Comment: The Gates of the Alamo is a work of fiction set against the turbulent Texas Revolution and the Alamo in particular. While I am not normally a fan of ficticious works dealing with Texas history this book is the exception. Mr. Harrigan has done his research and taken us into the thirteen day siege in ways few have imagained. This is not Walt Disneys version. The characters are well thought out and human, their decisions are not always the right ones and life does not always have a happy ending. Seen through the eyes of both men and women, Anglo and Hispanic, soldiers and civilians Harrigan takes us through the horrors of war and lets us see that while the Alamo was heroic it wasn't antisceptic and battles really do bring out the worst in its participants. The author has taken the time to understand the different mind sets and attitudes concerning the Texas independence movement and has interwoven them into an interesting story that can be depended on to keep a readers interest and actually inform on many points. Mr. Harrigan has incorporated into his book recently discovered information about the battle that until now only serious researchers and Alamo historians have been aware of adding a deeper understanding of the siege to the casual reader. All in all a very good read that is enjoyable, disturbing, informative and highly recommended
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Title: The Borderland : A Novel of Texas by Edwin Shrake ISBN: 0786884932 Publisher: Hyperion (Adult Trd Pap) Pub. Date: 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle by Alan C. Huffines, Gary S. Zaboly ISBN: 1571681949 Publisher: Eakin Publications Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Mentor Book of Major American Poets by Oscar Williams, Edwin Honig ISBN: 0451627911 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 1962 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: A Line In The Sand by Randy Roberts, James Olson ISBN: 0684835444 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 2001 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Three Roads to the Alamo : The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis by William C. Davis ISBN: 0060930942 Publisher: HarperCollins (paper) Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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