Too cold to fish, but it’s the last free Saturday, and even at that, it’s not really a free a Saturday, as I’ve got to work Saturday night, but hey, a little ice fishing first thing Saturday morning? I’m there.
[/style]It’s not even the middle of December, and I’m already working on the “best of” themes. Best fish picture from 2005? As far I’m concerned? The purple fish.
At least, it’s one of my favorite fish pictures from this last calendar year.
Overall book rankings:
But this is different, this is for cities.
A Line in the Sand:
It’s a historical reference, and just straight-up facts about, as near as one can tell, about the Alamo, called A Line in the Sand.
[/style]The first half of the book is about the historical event itself, and the bits and pieces leading up the conflict. There’s a nice bit of myth-busting, and when the historians find flaws, they are willing to expose them.
It’s the second half of the book that’s more interesting, in some way, including the second battle of the Alamo, then third, fight at the turn of the last century to save he structure, and from that point on, the way certain figures have worked into popular culture. The cultural history of the history, sort of like calling the book meta-history, that’s the part which I find fascinating. I can’t recall ever seeing the original John Wayne film, so I guess I’ll have to add that to the list of movies to watch sometime.
And for me, the cultural history is important, how the Alamo has been treated in the last hundred years, and what it means. Plus, the treatment by – here’s that ugly word again – the media. Seems like Walt Disney and John Wayne got a lot of print, more mythology.
Personally, I would have enjoyed a little more depth with Houston and San Jacinto, but that’s not what the book was about. “Remember the Alamo?” Who’s going to forget it? Ultimately, though, the epilogue is the most rewarding. But for someone who is not both a student of history and concerned with minor academic points about Texas history, it might not be the best book.
Final thoughts:
I picked the book up some time ago, interested in history, but spending so much time in the last years between Austin, San Antonio and the Gulf, plus hitting SA once a month or more, I’ve developed an oblique interest in Texas culture.
What I liked, was the apparently fair treatment the popular culture got, a quick look at how movies and TV can shape what we think we know. Or how a movie can re-write history. Ask Mr. Shakespeare about his “fast and loose” history plays on that topic.
Worked in three points in this entry: bass fishing in Austin, a book about Texas history, and an allusion to some Shakespeare scholarship. Not bad for a Friday.
