Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth

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 Texans of Mexican origin 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 us how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness.

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.

About the Author

Bryan Burrough is the author of six books, including The Big Rich, Days of Rage, Public Enemies, and the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Barbarians at the Gate.

Chris Tomlinson is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News and the author of the New York Times-bestselling Tomlinson Hill about his family’s slave-owning history in Texas. From 1995-2007, he reported from more than 30 countries and nine wars for the Associated Press.

Jason Stanford is a writer whose bylines have appeared in Texas Monthly, the Austin-American Statesman, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, the Texas Tribune, and Texas Highways. The former communications director for Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Stanford previously worked as a political consultant and helped elect or re-elect more than 30 members of congress. He now publishes a weekly newsletter called The Experiment.

Author Residence: Austin, TX