Alamo Bibliography

Selected Bibliography of Currently Available Items about The Alamo Prepared by the DRT Library Collections Staff

Classics- These volumes have been an essential part of Alamo historiography for many decades.

Castañeda, Carlos E., ed. The Mexican Side of the Texan Revolution. Reprint Services Corp., 1993; ISBN 0781259207. Compiles translations of published accounts by five Mexican participants in the Revolution: Antonio López de Santa Anna, Ramón Martínez Caro, Vicente Filisola, José Urrea, and José María Tornel.

Habig, Marion A. The Alamo Chain of Missions: A History f 's Five Old Missions. Chicago, Illinois: Franciscan Herald Press, 1968. Publ. 1997, Pioneer Enterprises, rev.ed. An introduction to the Spanish mission system and an in-depth history of the five missions of San Antonio.

Lord, Walter A Time to Stand. New York: Harper & Row, 1961. 255 p.; ISBN 0-8032-7902-7. Written for a general audience, this is a well-researched narrative of the events leading to the Battle of the Alamo

Williams, Amelia. Alamo Defenders: A Critical Study. Ed. Michele Haas. Ingleside, TX: Copano Bay Press, 2010. 0982246773 Originally published in 1931, The Alamo Defenders is the culmination of almost a decade's worth of Alamo research, and is the foundation for many of the works that have followed.

Current Scholarship - These are more recent works from the past 20-30 years. They reflect some of the most current trends in the study of the and the Battle of the Alamo.

Barr, Alwyn Texans in Revolt, the Battle for San Antonio, 1835. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1990. 94 p.; ISBN 0-292- 77042-1. Barr describes the Texan and Mexican armies and explores the impact of this campaign on the military strategies of 1836.

Brands, H. W. Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence and Changed America. 1st ed. New York: Doubleday, c2004. 582 p ISBN 0385507372 Brands’ history draws on contemporary accounts, diaries, and letters to animate a diverse cast of characters who participated in the Texas Revolution.

Collins, Phil The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector’s Journey. Buffalo Gap, Tex.: State House Press ; [College Station, Tex.] : Distributed by Texas A&M University Press Consortium, 2012. This volume provides an overview of the Collins Collection of Texana and Alamo artifacts and documents. These items have now been gifted to the Alamo.

Crisp, James E. Sleuthing the Alamo: 's last stand and other mysteries of the Texas Revolution. New York [N.Y.] : Oxford University Press, 2005. 201 p., New narratives in American history. ISBN 0195163494 This first-person account of historical detective work illuminates the methods of the serious historian who searches for the more complex truths behind the glorious myths. Davis, William C. Three Roads to the Alamo: The lives and fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. 688 p.; ISBN 0060173343. Davis explores the lives of Crockett, Bowie and Travis and what brought them to Texas.

Davis, William C. Lone star rising: the Revolutionary Birth of the Texas Republic. New York: Free Press, c2004. [xii, 358] p. ISBN 0684865106 In Lone Star Rising, Davis deftly combines the latest scholarship on the military battles of the revolution, including research in seldom used Mexican archives, with an absorbing examination of the politics on all sides.

Edmondson, J. R. The Alamo Story: From Early History to Current Conflicts. Plano [Tex.]: Press, c2000. 439 p. ISBN 1556226780

Groneman, Bill Alamo Defenders: A Genealogy, the People and Their Words. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1990. 185 p.; ISBN 0-89015- 757-X. Provides short biographical accounts of members of the Alamo garrison, including the women and children sheltered there. The second part includes quotations from letters and personal diaries left by the defenders.

Hardin, Stephen L. Texan Iliad. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1994. 321 p.; ISBN 0292-73086-1. Hardin provides a careful analysis of the military aspects of the Texas Revolution. Excellent illustrations of the Alamo and the progression of the Mexican attack.

Kilgore, Dan and James E. Crisp. How did Davy die? And why do we care so much? College Station: Texas A&M University Press, c2010. Commemorative ed., enl. 120 p. Elma Dill Russell Spencer series in the West and Southwest ; no. 36. ISBN 9781603441940 James E. Crisp, a professional historian and a participant in the debates over the De la Peña diary, reconsiders the heated disputation surrounding How Did Davy Die? and poses the intriguing follow-up question, “. . . And Why Do We Care So Much?”

Lindley, Thomas Ricks Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions. foreword by Stephen Harrigan. Lanham [Md.]: Republic of Texas Press, c2003. 386 p. ISBN 1556229836

Nelson, George The Alamo: An Illustrated History. Dry Frio Canyon, TX: Aldine Press, 1998. 105 p.; ISBN 0-9659159-0-5. A detailed visual history of the Alamo from its founding to the modern era. Artists' renderings and conceptions and photographs illustrate the changes to the Alamo and its surroundings over time.

Nofi, Albert A. The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836. New York, NY: Da Capo Press,1994. 222 p.; ISBN 0-306-80563-4. A narrative of the Texas Revolution, focusing on the Battle of the Alamo. Includes brief biographies of notable figures, lists, and short sections on political events, military matters, and legends.

Ragsdale, Crystal Sasse The Women and Children of the Alamo. Austin, TX: State House Press, 1994. 114 p.; ISBN 1-880510-11-1. A brief history of the Alamo followed by biographical narratives of the wives and children of Alamo defenders who survived the battle.

Roberts, Randy and James S. Olson. A Line in the Sand: the Alamo in Blood and Memory. New York: Free Press, c2001. 356 p. ISBN 0684835444 This volume examines the development of the mythology surrounding the battle of the Alamo. Winders, Richard Bruce Sacrificed at the Alamo: tragedy and triumph in the Texas Revolution. Abilene [Tex.] : State House Press, c2004. 167 p. (Military ; no. 3) ISBN 1880510804 The historian and curator at the Alamo examines events that led to this epic struggle and concludes that in-fighting among the revolutionary leadership doomed the Alamo garrison.

Primary Source Readers - These are volumes that are primarily contemporary accounts taken from manuscript evidence.

Almonte, Juan N Almonte's Texas: Juan N. Almonte's 1834 inspection, secret report and role in the 1836 campaign. Edited by Jack Jackson [and] translated by John Wheat. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association, 2003. ISBN 0876111916 Contemporary account regarding the tensions that led up to the Texas Revolution as well as ’s 1836 campaign.

Chariton, Wallace O. 100 Days in Texas: The Alamo Letters. Plano, TX: Wordware Publishing, 1990. 390 p.; ISBN 1-55622-131-2. Provides in chronological order letters, documents and other first-hand accounts dated from Dec. 9, 1835 through March 17, 1836. Some are edited while others are presented literally. Temporarily out of print.

Filisola, Don Vicente Memoirs for the History of the War in Texas. Vol. I & II. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1987. Vol. I, 226 p.; ISBN 0-89015- 461-9. Vol. II, 298 p.; ISBN 0-89015-585-2. Wallace Woolsey translates the memoirs of Vicente Filisola, 2nd in command of the Mexican troops in Texas. Volume I, the Spanish colonial period through 1833;Volume II, 1834 through May 1836.

Groneman, Bill Eyewitness to the Alamo. Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press, 1996. 267 p.; ISBN 1-55622-502-4. Contemporary correspondence (letters, diaries, memoirs) and newspaper accounts are printed in chronological order. The last chapter places some participants in the 1836 Battle for the Alamo in the mission complex according to eyewitness accounts.

Jenkins, John, ed. The Papers of the Texas Revolution 1835-1836. 10 volumes. Austin, TX: Presidial Press, 1973. Volumes 3 and 4 deal specifically with the Alamo. Not readily available for purchase but accessible at the Alamo Research Center. Useful for primary source material.

Matovina, Timothy M. The Alamo Remembered: Tejano Accounts and Perspectives. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995. 146 p.; ISBN 0-292-75185-0 A compilation of accounts of the Battle of the Alamo by Tejanos, native Texans of Mexican descent. Taken from unpublished documents and published sources.

Peña, José Enrique de la With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 1997. 206 p.; ISBN 0-89096-527-7. This account of the Texas Revolution by an officer of the Mexican Army details many of the events of the military campaign.

Seguín, Juan N. A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguín. Austin, TX: State House Press, 1991. 216 p.; ISBN 0-93849-68-6. The edited memoirs and selected correspondence of an important figure in Texas history that includes his eyewitness accounts of events during the Texas Revolution.

Hansen, Todd The Alamo Reader: A Study in History. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. 1st ed. 837 p.; ISBN 0811700607 Provides a range of contemporary source material as well as commentary and historical essays.

Huffines, Alan C. The Blood of Noble Men: An Illustrated Chronology of the Alamo Siege and Battle. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1999. 221 p.; ISBN 1-57168-194-9 Original Texian and Mexican accounts describe the events preceding and during the battle in this thirteen-day chronology annotated and analyzed by Huffines.

Zaboly, Gary S. An Altar for their Sons: the Alamo and the Texas Revolution in Contemporary Newspaper Accounts. Buffalo Gap, Tex.: State House Press ; [College Station, Tex.] : Distributed by Texas A&M University Press Consortium, c2011; ISBN 9781933337463 A variety of experiences and perspectives are documented in both prominent and obscure newspapers.