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Rating: 
Summary: The Truth of Myth
Review: Dr. Tinkle's account of the Battle of the Alamo has, in some ways, been a life-forming book. It was in these pages (as a child in the early 1960s) that the heroic/epic myth of the Alamo became realized to me. What culture (native Celt-German-Texan) had begun in me, and what Disney and the Duke has fueled, became a way of life after reading Tinkle's account of the events now carved in stone in our national conscious. Col. Wm. Barrett Travis' mythical drawing of the line in the courtyard (whether true or not, true mttyh becomes myth made true)became a model for life. The pattern has been repeated dozen's of times: find a worthy cause, draw a line, get massacred. I owe it all to this book. Get a copy if you can.While the recent Texian Illiad by Stephen Hardin, and Stephen Harrigan's The Gates of the Alamo are both good reads (Gates of the Alamo sits on my nightstand, waiting its turn) that do much to shed both historical light on the battle, and dispel popular revisionist histories (the probably forged De la Pena's Diaries being the worst), Thirteen Days to Glory remains my sentimental favorite, the stuff that myths are made of, and fed.
Rating: 
Summary: You are hereby warned-it`s mostly ill-written fiction
Review: Lon Tinkle`s book about the immortal heroes of the Alamo is by now well-known and widely read,but it makes history somewhat more ancient than it needs to be,because it`s written in a sentimental style.We need new books on this subject which bring the men of the Alamo down to earth, like Archie MacDonald`s biography on William Barret Travis did some years ago. He showed how men like these can still be heroes even though they are not clouded in mystery and emotion! Furthermore,Tinkle should have known that history and fiction are two different things.I love Alamo fiction,but this sets out to be scientific research and takes a whole lot of things for granted.We do not know,for example,whether Travis actually met his first wife before the Alamo or whether he brought Rebecca Cummins to the possible meeting with Rosanna Cato. Nice chapter on James Bonham,though,he`s been overlooked for too long.But the book seems careless,and I wouldn`t recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Mythmaking at its Finest
Review: No more mythic a story exists in the history of North America than the siege of the Alamo in 1836. Virtually all Americans, unless they have been living under a rock their entire lives, have been exposed to the myth. In it, a band of less than 200 brave and intrepid men stood fast against insurmountable tyranny and sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom. A trio of great leaders--William Barret Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett--presided over an American Thermopylae. They fought to the last defender, and while they died at the Alamo they held out long enough for General Sam Houston to build the army of the Texas Revolution. In the process a horrendous military disaster was turned, abracadabra, into a political and cultural victory. And many Hispanic freedom fighters such as Juan N. Seguin--first mayor of San Antonio--took their stand as legendary defenders of liberty inside the walls of the Alamo against Mexican strongman Santa Anna alongside their famous comrades. Accordingly, the heroic myth extends beyond the Anglo-American settlers to others in Texas.
This is the mythic story told in Lon Tinkle's masterful recounting, "13 Days to Glory." He recites this master narrative very well. It reads like a novel--and in some ways it is fictional--never failing to engage the reader. In it one learns all of the major elements of the myth:
1. A small group of Texans stand up to Santa Anna's numerous and armed Mexican army. Far from a senseless confrontation with the Mexicans, the defense of the Alamo becomes a delaying tactic making possible the later success of the Texas Revolution.
2. Determined to stall Santa Anna's march to the north the Texans agree to stand and fight to the last man. In a dramatic event, Travis forms up his troops, draws a line in the sand, and asks those who will stand and fight to cross it. All do so except for Frenchman Louis Moses Rose--a veteran of Napoleonic Wars--who leaves the Alamo and is the only source for the "line in the sand" incident.
3. They experience a siege lasting thirteen days and then a final assault comes on March 6, 1836. All 187 defenders of the Alamo died in the final assault, heroically in this master narrative. Mexican casualties range from a low of about 70 killed as reported by Santa Anna (which no one believes) to somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 Mexicans killed. Capture of the Alamo exacted, therefore, an enormous price for Santa Anna.
4. A few weeks later, time gained by the defense of the Alamo, Sam Houston's army surprised Santa Anna at Goliad and scored a great military victory. In the process Texas achieved its independence from Mexico.
If this sounds familiar it is because it is the still widely accepted story of the Alamo. It is ensconced in the interpretation offered at the historic site in San Antonio. It is still the basic account taught to schoolchildren in Texas, and in most other high school history courses. It is the story depicted in many books and in most of the films made about the siege, especially Fess Parker's "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" (1955) and John Wayne's "The Alamo" (1960).
Lon Tinkle's "13 Days to Glory" is a valuable statement of the myth. It is important to recognize that this myth is not so much falsehood--as many people seem to believe--as it is a story about our past that points up the highest ideals of the society. As James Oliver Robertson observes in "American Myth, American Reality" (Hill & Wang, 1980), "Myths are the patterns of behavior, or belief, and/or perception-which people have in common. Myths are not deliberately, or necessarily consciously, fictitious" (p. xv). The story of the Alamo depicted here and in other mythic treatments, is a kind of poetry, about events and situations that have great significance both for those involved and those that follow. Myths are, in fact, essential truths for the members of a cultural group who hold them, enact them, or perceive them. They are sometimes expressed in diffuse ideologies, but in literate societies like the United States they are also embedded in historical narratives such as Lon Tinkle's.
What does the myth of the Alamo say about the culture that has embraced it? Everyone will have individual answers to that question, but let me offer a couple of suggestions. First, the ideology of freedom and democracy as manifested in the United States is heavily wrapped up in it. The idea of American exceptionalism, that American institutions and beliefs are penultimate in human history, finds representation there as well. In addition, the concept of personal sacrifice for a larger, presumably positive goal finds its place in the story. The coming together of a diverse group of people, some of whom intensely disliked each other, for a significant purpose also makes its way into the narrative. Finally, the demonization of "the other," in this case the dictator Santa Anna and his tyranny sets up the defenders of the Alamo as persecuted innocents.
How far to carry these discussions of myth is everyone's prerogative. For fuller explications of the mythic aspects of the story, as well as excellent narratives, I would recommend these four books:
James E. Crisp, "Sleuthing The Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand And Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution" (Oxford University Press, 2004).
William C. Davis, "Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis" (Perennial, 1999).
Stephen L. Hardin, "Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836" (University of Texas Press, 1996).
Jeff Long, "Duel of Eagles: The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo" (William Morrow, 1990).
"13 Days to Glory" is not the "state of the art" in the history of the siege of the Alamo, but it is a very good place to start in any exploration of the mythology of the event.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Absorbing
Review: This is an entertaining, absorbing tale of the Alamo--it is written like a novel. It provides a good rendition of the traditional story--one where valiant, noble Texans fight evil Mexicans. This book is not one to read to get a balanced, in-depth account. For that, read Jeff Long's Duel of Eagles. Read this one for entertainment and to appreciate why the Alamo has stood the test of time as a symbol of the American fighting spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Absorbing
Review: This is an entertaining, absorbing tale of the Alamo--it is written like a novel. It provides a good rendition of the traditional story--one where valiant, noble Texans fight evil Mexicans. This book is not one to read to get a balanced, in-depth account. For that, read Jeff Long's Duel of Eagles. Read this one for entertainment and to appreciate why the Alamo has stood the test of time as a symbol of the American fighting spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Very imformative on the Alamo
Review: Tinkle did his ancestors proud with his rendition of the Alamo story. Revisionists have to hate Tinkle and Lord for their painstaking research and debunking of of Mexican accounts of the struggle. A very strong starting point for Texas affeciandos. The only downside is a lack of follow up on contemporary accounts and the lack of detail on those who were not "big name" participants.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read,.... but
Review: Tinkle's book was originally written in 1958. Not surprisingly, it closely mirrors what I learned as a student in the 1960's in Coach Woldt's Texas History classes. The trouble is, neither one turned out to be very accurate. Sorry, Coach. I don't have any way of knowing, but the way it reads and the information it provides the reader make it quite possible that Tinkle's work may have been used as the primary reference in Texas public school history books on lesson plans pertaining to the Alamo. I shy away from writing harsh book reviews, and will say the book is an enjoyable read and gives good basic information about the account, however; the book does contain a considerable amount of unsubstantiated myths and legends. Tinkle takes a good deal of liberty with things, such as this note in the Appendix:
Page 1. The placing of Daniel Cloud in the bell tower is the author's single assumption in this book as to the position of any character at any specific time. The knowledgeable reader will find Tinkle made many such "assumptions" throughout the book. The release of yet another Hollywood account of the Alamo will likely spawn renewed interest on the events there. If you are such a reader, looking to learn more of the history of the Alamo, there are numerous more accurate sources, such as my favorite on the subject, Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution by Stephan Hardin, Sullivan's Fall of the Alamo, or A Time to Stand by Walter Lord.
Rating:
Summary: A good read,.... but
Review: Tinkle's book was originally written in 1958. Not surprisingly, it closely mirrors what I learned as a student in the 1960's in Coach Woldt's Texas History classes. The trouble is, neither one turned out to be very accurate. Sorry, Coach. I don't have any way of knowing, but the way it reads and the information it provides the reader make it quite possible that Tinkle's work may have been used as the primary reference in Texas public school history books on lesson plans pertaining to the Alamo. I shy away from writing harsh book reviews, and will say the book is an enjoyable read and gives good basic information about the account, however; the book does contain a considerable amount of unsubstantiated myths and legends. Tinkle takes a good deal of liberty with things, such as this note in the Appendix:
Page 1. The placing of Daniel Cloud in the bell tower is the author's single assumption in this book as to the position of any character at any specific time. The knowledgeable reader will find Tinkle made many such "assumptions" throughout the book. The release of yet another Hollywood account of the Alamo will likely spawn renewed interest on the events there. If you are such a reader, looking to learn more of the history of the Alamo, there are numerous more accurate sources, such as my favorite on the subject, Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution by Stephan Hardin, Sullivan's Fall of the Alamo, or A Time to Stand by Walter Lord.
Rating:
Summary: "No rendirse, muchachos"
Review: While profound, Travis's words: "Don't surrender, boys" (spoken in Spanish) - tell only part of this story of the Siege of the Alamo. But because of the circumstances surrounding the battle (no Texan Survivors) there is no way to ever truly know all of the events surrounding those final days. Yes this is not the only book on the subject that one should read if you want a well-rounded impartial view of these events. Regardless it makes for good reading and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Texas revolt and it's ramifications. Many still affecting us to this day.
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