This reprint of 13 Days to Glory, timed to appear with John Wayne’s “The Alamo” and the Sunday supplements, is a familiar story. Professor Tinkle utilizes well-known literary devices, the flashback and thumbnail sketches of Bowie, Travis, Santa Anna, Crockett, Bonham, and Fannin. Here he is effective for the story has drama, emphasizes heroism, and is appealing.
The book is equipped with photographs, a sketch of the Alamo under fire, an Alamo calendar, a list of principal sources, and a section entitled notes. The system of notation is to be particularly deplored. Verification of sources is impossible, and the author does not cope successfully with the problem of the size of Mexican forces.
The story seems to have missed a great opportunity to shed fresh light on the tragedy from original Mexican sources. Nor is the balanced historical perspective of William Binkley, William Hogan, and Marquis James evident. The significance of the Alamo is beyond dispute in relation to the Texas Republic but the incident should be more carefully placed in its broader relationship to United States’ history.
Serious scholars will regret the lack of new material and fresh interpretation by someone as well qualified as Lon Tinkle.
