13 Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo

Lon Tinkle, the author of THIRTEEN DAYS TO GLORY, must have done the most arduous research for this graphic and vivid description of the siege of the Alamo. This is perhaps the all-time most authoritative print description of the day by day, moment by moment events of the historic struggle for (Texas) independence. This volume represents a masterful effort of research and re-telling. What I do NOT understand is why this book is not available in the gift and curio shop in the Alamo. This shop sells dozens of books of all kinds about the ALAMO, but the most definitive and well-written THIRTEEN DAYS TO GLORY is sadly missing on the shelves. Equally sad is the fact that this classic is currently out of print. I had difficulty chasing down a used paper-back copy of it. John Zanders Houston, TX.

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 myth 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 by.

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.

one of the best written on the fall of the alam

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.