Time to Stand

While waiting for a flight out of the San Antonio Airport, I happened across this book at the bookstand. I had just been at the Alamo itself days before and came away feeling like I needed to know more. (The Alamo had been somewhat crowded, and my wife and I had taken a brief self-guided walking tour of the site, with just the Alamo's park pamphlet as our guide......even more brief.) I had asked the lady at the bookstore if this was a good book on the events at the battle of the Alamo. She stated that it was probably one of the better ones, since she had sold more copies of it in the shop than any other, and suprisingly was a reprint from the early 60's, and still going strong. The book was fantastic. It was one that I had to read cover to cover, including the incredibly long "sources" list near the back. Walter Lord did his homework and then some. With all the available books about the Alamo out there, this one is a must read. Now, I just wish I had read this book before venturing to the Alamo. I would have spent three times the amount of time there, and appreciated more of where I was walking.

The battle of the Alamo is currently being fought all over again between Traditionalists, who present the "Texans as heros" view, and Revisionists, who view this heroic view with post-modern skepticism. Why is it being re-fought, and what is at stake? Simply, because the viewpoint that prevails will impact current social attitudes towards multi-culturism and racial diversity - a central motif of current American politics. Once again, the battle is fierce - with no mercy, and no prisoners. Deguello! It is almost impossible to find an objective presentation of the facts without this modern political spin. As a remedy, I recommend the following considerations, before reading any book about the Alamo:1.) Mexicans and Texians were at war. Both sides had extremely prejuidiced views of the event - such is war. These extreme views are the source materials for ALL writers of the history of the battle.2.) All but a few of the Texians that were present at the battle died without telling their stories. The Mexican view had far more voices left afterwards to tell their version. Even so, the Texian's version has usually prevailed.3.) Eyewitness reports are extremely contradictory. This is not suprising, considering that the climax events occured in the dark, within a small walled compound filled with black powder smoke, erupting cannons, fire, confusion, screams, panicked soldiers, etc.4.) In a sentence, the war was between extremely independently minded American pioneers (regardless of their various personal agenda) and an army serving the will of an extremely controlling Mexican President (seeking rigorously centralized government power). In the simplest sense, the fight was between men who wanted minimal government influence on their lives, and a government who wanted maximum influence and control on their lives. (Somehow, this story always repeats itself.) Nonetheless, as with all historical events, something of a coherent story can be tickled out of the confused mass of information. A good detective can "triangulate" the most probable facts of the event, if he or she approaches the information with common sense and a minimum of personal agenda. I have read all but a few of the books available on the Alamo, and can attest that Walter Lord does one of the better, most complete, jobs of reporting the event objectively. He also does it within the shortest space - "A Time to Stand" is a comparatively brief book.Revisionists will tell you that this book is "fluff", or biased - usually because they have a different bias they want to sell you. Beware the "historian" that has found "new information", has a "new and improved analysis", or who applies modern worldviews to an age when people saw the world differently. There is nothing new about rewriting history for political ends. Walter Lord's "A Time to Stand" is the standard. Read it first, before you sample the works of the combatants in the new battle of the Alamo. And read it before you wa

"A Time to Stand" was the first book about the Alamo I ever read (some forty years ago). With adrenalin still pumping after seeing the John Wayne film, I was desperate to know more. Now the adrenalin pumps every time I read this great book. Though other more recent books present more updated material, most "Alamophiles" agree that Walter Lord's version is the "Holy Grail" of all Alamo publications. Any person who reads other books on this subject, but fails to read "A Time to Stand", is getting only part of the story.

As a writer, Walter Lord has written the history of some of history's most epic stories, from the sinking of the Titanic to the American victory at Midway. It seems the better the drama, the better his prose. He retells the story of the battle for Texan independence from Mexico the treatment it deserves, in the process seperating fact from myth. The story of the Alamo is of course exciting, but I found Sam Houston's victory over Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto even more interesting. This is a great history book from one of the best history writers of the 20th century.

even though this book was writtin in 1961, it is still the father of all alamo books,this man is a true historian. some "new" facts may have come out since then but this is a true and balance account of the story. if you only buy one alamo book, this is the one to get.