The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo--and the Sacrifice That Forged a Nation

by James Donovan

The gripping and definitive chronicle of the iconic battle that inspired a nation--a sweeping saga of 200 brave Americans who stood tall against an overwhelmingly superior Mexican force.

On February 23, 1836, a Mexican army thousands of soldiers strong attacked a group of roughly 200 Americans holed up in an abandoned mission just east of San Antonio, Texas. For nearly two weeks, the massive force lay siege to the makeshift fort, spraying its occupants with unremitting waves of musket and cannon fire. Then, on March 6th, at 5:30 am, the Mexican troops unleashed a final devastating assault: divided into four columns, they rushed into the Alamo and commenced a deadly hand-to-hand fight. The Americans, despite being hugely outnumbered, fought valiantly--for themselves and for a division of an independent Texas. In the end, they were all slaughtered.

Drawing upon newly available primary sources, THE BLOOD OF HEROES is the definitive account of this epic battle. Populated by larger-than-life characters--including Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis--it is a dynamic story of courage, sacrifice, and redemption.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Military Fiction, Military History, War, Westerns

512 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2012

About the author

James Donovan is the author of the bestselling books The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo–and the Sacrifice That Forged a Nation and A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn-the Last Great Battle of the American West. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prince Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool. As if the way one fell down mattered.
Prince Richard: When the fall is all there is – it matters…

-- John Castle and Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter

The first time I ever saw the Alamo, I had just consumed a 46 ounce margarita at The Republic of Texas Restaurant on the Riverwalk.

My wife and I had made it to San Antonio earlier in the evening, having started out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (and with a side-trip to the environs of Houston to see the San Jacinto Battlefield). After dropping off our stuff, we’d walked to the Riverwalk to find something to eat. Since I have very little patience for standing in lines, combined with a strong affinity for souvenir glasses, we took our seats at The Republic of Texas Restaurant, and ordered up 92 total ounces of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.

Then we walked to the Alamo.

To back up: I have always loved the Alamo. Since I was five and my parents put Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier into the VCR. I’ve watched every Alamo movie; read every Alamo book I could get my hands on; and even managed to have a recurring series of disturbing Alamo dreams. But I’d never gone to see the Alamo for myself, mainly because I was scared of Texas.

That had finally changed.

I’d been told that the Alamo was smaller than you’d expect. So when I walked up to it (and you can walk right up to it at any time – it’s right there), the only thing that surprised me was the vast power of its diminutiveness. Often we are awed by size and spectacle, by things the mind can almost not conceive. I got the same feeling from the Alamo as I would from the Grand Canyon, but for the opposite reason. The Alamo’s scale was finite and human and conceivable; the size of the old Spanish chapel spoke profoundly of the close, intimate violence that occurred there in the early morning hours of March 6, 1836.

(To be clear, the Alamo has been reduced to one low building and the famous Alamo chapel; 90 percent of the walls and buildings have been demolished. For instance, the western wall, assailed by General Cos, has been replaced by a row of garish entertainments, including a wax museum and a Ripley’s Believe It or Not).

The Alamo has a grip on my imagination, so when I saw James Donovan’s The Blood of Heroes, I was powerless to avoid purchasing it.

It helped that Donovan’s last book, A Terrible Glory, had done a fine job of updating and retelling the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In many ways, Heroes is a lot like that previous book. Both are written as popular histories and aimed at the general public; however, both are also researched well enough to hold the interest of Alamo fanatics.

(Interestingly, both the Alamo and Custer’s Last Stand have birthed sizeable communities of amateur historians and obsessives who’ve devoted sizeable portions of their lives to the minutiae of these battles. I know this because I am a lurker on their message boards).

Donovan chooses to tell his version of the Alamo as a narrative. By this, I mean that he presents the siege and battle as a mostly-seamless story, following the tried-and-true method of “this happened and then this happened and then this happened.” There is very little hemming and hawing or quibbling over the facts; instead, Donovan chooses the version of history he believes, and delivers that version without academic discussion within the body of the text.

This is the prototype for a popular history. Rather than confusing the uninitiated or repelling the newcomer, Donovan opens the subject to the most casual of readers. The Blood of Heroes, despite its narrowing subtitle, is actually an extremely accessible overview of the Texas War of Independence. It spends many pages setting the context of the siege and battle, including the First Battle of the Alamo, when the Texans forced General Cos to surrender the garrison. Also covered – albeit briefly – is the massacre at Goliad and the slaughter at San Jacinto.

I was absorbed by this book, as I cannot help but be absorbed by the fascinating, morally ambiguous struggle waged between Santa Anna’s Mexican army and the rebel forces comprised of Texans, Americans, and Tejanos.

Still, I was disappointed with Donovan’s decision to give the Alamo the narrative treatment. I say this for two reasons.

The first, lesser reason is that Donovan doesn’t bring much flair to the story. If you are going to go the novelistic, narrative route, it helps if you have some of the prose talent or vigor of a Shelby Foote. Donovan’s writing is just there. Serviceable, workmanlike, and clear, yet it lays heavily on the page, refusing to do more.

Critiquing prose is a difficult thing. I might as well sit here and attempt to explain love or faith. The best I can do is provide a comparison to another book: T.R. Fehrenbach’s Lone Star. Of Travis, Fehrenbach wrote:

The greatest measure of his ability was not the bravery he had shown in inciting the Texas rebellion, or his citation under fire at San Antonio…It was revealed when Bowie’s health failed as the Mexicans approached, and Travis took command of the men, and held them…The true measure of this man, with his soldier’s cap, his sword, his exalted ideas of honor, and his florid rhetoric, was that he captured these violent frontiersmen and bent them to his purpose…Buck Travis was one of those most fortunate of men; on the grim stone walls of the Alamo he had found his time and place. He was between twenty-five and twenty-seven years of age.

In this one paragraph, amid a relatively short chapter on the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, Fehrenbach breathes more life into Travis than Donovan manages in all his chapters. Fehrenbach’s word choices – how Travis “bent” men to his will; the “grim walls” of the Alamo; even the refusal to give Travis’s exact age, which is known – bestirs the imagination, conjures up an image in the mind’s eye. Travis becomes flesh and blood. In Donovan’s hands, with his unadorned Joe-Friday-just-the-facts approach, Travis remains as lifeless as his stone image in the Alamo cenotaph.

Of course, this is a question of highly subjective taste (within the already-subjective realm of book reviewing). Suffice it to say, I noticed on the cover that someone had compared Donovan’s work to Walter Lord’s classic A Time to Stand. In terms of narrative verve, Donovan does not come close to Lord.

My other, larger criticism of Donovan’s choice of the narrative form is that the Alamo does not lend itself to a narrative. Simply put, there is too much unknown about the battle, and what is known is hotly debated. Every day of the siege must be reconstructed from primary accounts that often dramatically conflict.

Take, for example, the battle of Gettysburg. One hundred thousand participants, tens of thousands of survivors, thousands of literate witnesses, intact command structures, surviving reports and orders. We can say with something close to certainty what happened at Gettysburg. Certainly, we can argue at the margins about small details, motivations, or whether someone really said what they said, but the main thrust of the battle has been revealed by dozens or hundreds or thousands of corroborating witnesses. Accordingly, Gettysburg is the perfect battle to place into a narrative.

The Alamo is not like that. We have precious few primary sources. Many of the primary sources are of dubious value. One of the best sources – de la Pena – has been alleged to be a fraud. The only Anglo adult to survive the Alamo, Susanna Dickinson (or Dickenson, or Dickerson) was illiterate, so all of her words come to us secondhand, from the pen of another. You can’t take a step in Alamo studies without fierce debates.

My worry – if that’s the right word – is that Alamo newcomers will read this story and think it’s just that cut-and-dried. To be fair, at some points, Donovan does explain in the text that his version of history is controversial. This is most evident in his quirky (among modern historians) belief that Travis did draw a line in the sand, and that Louis Rose, “the man from the Alamo,” did climb over the walls and escape the doomed garrison. Mostly, though, these discussions take place in the footnotes, leaving the reader with a straightforward story of an event that is not straightforward.

Moreover, it is the unknown that makes the Alamo fascinating. Though Gettysburg is the most important battle in American history, it has precious few fanatics. The Alamo, though, has legions of devotees. And the reason is that it is a mystery. It requires study, and digging, and close parsing of sources, and maybe a visit to an old courthouse to see some land records, and when you’ve done all that work, you get to fill the interstices with your imagination, and no matter how much work you do, it’s still guesswork; no one can ever be right; and the whole wheel keeps turning.

It’s fun! Trust me. It is a lot of fun.

That was my wish for this book. That Donovan, an author and historian I admire, would’ve written a certain kind of book: the one that weighs and balances all the competing stories and theories and controversies. I would’ve liked to see Donovan spend more time on the breakouts, since as many as a third of the Alamo defenders attempted to escape (there is barely a paragraph on this momentous occurrence). I would’ve liked an entire chapter devoted to Crockett’s demise, rather than an extended discussion in the endnotes. I would’ve liked Donovan to have removed the cursory chapters on San Jacinto and Goliad and replace them with an expansion of his thoughtful comments on the veracity of the de la Pena manuscript.

That this book did not fulfill my wishes is of small matter. It did not set out to please me, but others. In that respect, with regards to its target audience, it succeeds.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Blood of Heroes; the 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo – And the Sacrifice that Forged a Nation” is the second James Donovan book that I have read. His first, “A Terrible Glory”, dealt with Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn and I was not terribly impressed. It was very well written and up to date, but not particularly in-depth or eloquent. I rated "A Terrible Glory" highly however, because I felt that I had been unfairly comparing it to Evan S Connell’s “Son of the Morning Star”, perhaps the most magnificent nonfiction work ever written about the American West.
I enjoyed his second book, “The Blood of Heroes” much better than “A Terrible Glory”, perhaps because I knew less about the engagement and the politics of the Texas Revolution. Once again, there is very little stirring language; it does not tempt one to ponder on many of the mysteries of the confrontation at San Antonio de Bexar, but it is an easy read. I feel that I understand a great deal more about the motivations of the Texas, Tejanos and the Americans who joined the rebellion.
The author chose the contested theories and interpretations of events that he agreed with and laid the story out in a simple chronological order. I found this educational and effective, but I was disappointed he did not explore many of the controversies in the text. What actually was said during the alleged line in the sand speech? How did Crockett die? How many Texans fled their posts? I feel the author missed an opportunity addressing these controversies within the notes. With this in mind the book is an excellent introductory work to the Alamo and the personalities of the Texas Revolution.

[Anthony Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donovan does an outstanding job covering the complex and fluid situation in the battle for Texas independence. It's a page turner that takes the reader through multiple perspectives leading up to the climatic battle and its aftermath giving birth to a new nation. An excellent read.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is Nonfiction History about the Alamo. This was a very detailed look at not only this battle, but about so much more than just that little slice of history. I liked the way the the author gave us the whole picture of the climate that led up to this tragedy. A lot of this was new to me like the focus on Santa Anna and what kind of guy he was. I also liked the personal details about the people. That was my favorite part. But overall, this felt like Mr. G's US History class in high school....and that is not a good thing. Some of this was like text book reading for me. But I still learned a lot and appreciated the views of different angles. So 3 stars.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I have mentioned before, I am a history enthusiast. What I may not have mentioned is that I grew and lived in Texas. After serving in the military for 20 years, I got a job with the government and low and behold, I was back in Texas. I know Texas history. You can't help it if you grow up there, as when I was child, Texas history was the only history of the world.
With this in mind, there are not many from Texas who don't know about he Alamo. But after reading this book, I learned a lot more about battle of the Alamo, about the events that both proceeded and transpired after and because of the Alamo, the key point being; because of the Alamo. I was reintroduced to Travis, Crockett, Houston, Deaf Smith, Fannin, and others, who were all part of or effected by the Alamo.
The author (researcher) did an outstanding job of bringing these characters to life and revealing to the reader, based upon in-depth research, letters, interviews in papers from the time, etc., who these people really were and what this battle was all about.
I did not know that it was followed and the front page of most American papers. The author points out that before the battle of the Alamo, approximately 75 percent of the people fighting for Texas independence before the Alamo, were Texicans. After the fall of the Alamo and at the battle of San Jacinto, (which won Texas its independence from Mexico for all of you not from Texas), that percentage changed to 75% fighting for Texas independence were Americans. The since of freedom and liberty was powerful and a strong fabric of America, which still had veterans from the revolutionary war. Many who fought and died at the Alamo, had fathers who fought in the revolutionary war. Freedom and liberty, were not meaningless words to them. Those words were what everyone believed in and anyone who interfered with those unalienable rights was a tyrant, like Santa Anna.
This was an insightful and interesting book, well researched and well written. History and the study of history can be dry, but Mr. Donovan, brings these real people to life, reveals them to you on a personal basis, in which you get to know them as ordinary people in extraordinary times.
If you are a history enthusiast or are interested in the factual account of the battle of the Alamo, I would strongly recommend this book.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read "A Terrible Glory" (Custer and the Little Big Horn) by James Donovan and was so impressed with it that I immediately went out and bought "The Blood of Heroes". I found it to be an excellent read. I knew the basics of the story of the Alamo, but Donovan's in-depth research and telling the story from the perspective of both the Texians and the Mexicans really brought this struggle to life. As with his Custer book, Donovan manages to build suspense, even though the reader already knows how the story ends. Donovan does not end the narrative with the massacre at the Alamo, but goes on to include the Massacre at Goliad (which I was not familiar with) and the Battle of San Jacinto, which contrasts nicely the willingness of the rebels to die for a free Texas with the unwillingness of Santa Ana to die for a retained Texas. Donovan adds an epilogue telling what happened to key persons following the siege and the War of Texas Independence. Donovan also devotes an entire chapter to the issue of whether Travis actually drew a line in the sand and asked those willing to stand with him to step across it. Donovan presents a somewhat convincing argument that this event actually did occur, though other historians disagree. If it didn't, it should of. An excellent history, in my opinion.

[Ed Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a recent transplant to San Antonio, it was a real pleasure to get a broader perspective on the Battle of the Alamo. Though the book is owed beautifully, it can still be a bit difficult to imagine the distances and positions of the various actors in the story. As the author admits - and is the case in nearly all narrative non-fiction - it's near impossible to create a perfectly accurate portrait of events, but for those of us needing a deep but graspable understanding of the Alamo and it's place in U.S. history, this is a solid book.

[Jeff Jellets · Rating 4 out of 5]

”You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas!”

For most history buffs, James Donovon’s The Blood of Heroes covers not just ‘everything-you-need-to-know’ about the fall of the fortress Alamo on February 23, 1836, but also ‘just-about-all-you-need-to-know’ about the entire Texan War of Independence. While the battle for the Alamo is certainly the prominent peak of the book, Donovon does an excellent job of tracing the birth of the fledging Lone Star republic from the first waves of norteamericano immigration right up to the war’s eventual conclusion at the Battle of San Jacinto.

To his credit, Donovon’s history is well-balanced, examining both the Texan and Mexican perspectives of the insurrection. And, perhaps more importantly, is that the tale is not just the story of a single battle (or even a series of battles), but the story of the people on both sides of the conflict. From the well-known figures of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Barret Travis and Santa Anna to the more obscure Moses Rose (the man who escaped the Alamo) and survivor Susanna Dickinson, Donovon offers compelling biographical sketches of these individuals whose lives fatefully intersected at the old Spanish mission.

Donovon’s depiction of the early morning attack on the Alamo and final stand of its defenders is whip-smart, gripping and precise, so much so that you can just about hear the cannon roar and the crack of marksmen’s rifles, then catch the scent of discharging powder. In crafting the tumult of that day, Donovon draws heavily upon the perspectives of not just the surviving Texans but also of the Mexican military leaders, offering a refreshingly interesting perspective of the often-uncomfortable position these senior soldados found themselves within while serving under the self-styled ‘Napoleon of the West’ Santa Anna.

In fairness, there are few spots where the narrative does show a a few scuff marks. There are points where the book seems to slip a bit and repeat itself as the story skips forward and back to follow a few of the core characters and the ‘afterword’ (while thoroughly erudite) seems an unnecessary appendix -- more suited to an academic journal then tail end of a popular history book.

Still, The Blood of Heroes is a solid four star read and is a great, single book study on the wild and bloody beginnings of the State of Texas.

P.S. And if you happen to live in the same neck of the woods as I do and were ever wondering how Fannin County, Georgia, got its name, Donovon supplies the backstory behind the guy who became our county’s namesake: Colonel James Walker Fannin. Although he arguably died well, it’s not quite the unblemished tale of unabashed heroism and good judgment to bring home to the kinfolk.

[Rich Fein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is hard to locate someone who hasn't heard of the Alamo and some version, usually limited to widely accepted events related to it. The author has done an unusually thorough job of piecing together the varied pieces of information about the event and beyond. The context of the actions taken by the principals are so well set out you almost feel you are reading a detailed first hand account published by an accurate reporter on the scene of each. I asked myself at the start, why did so many corral themselves in that structure to face almost certain death. They were clearly outnumbered and facing a strong experienced military leadership with strong motivation and far superior force. The needed support was slow in coming and too limited to help. The author by laying out the then recent history of the Revolutionary War easily displayed the motivating parallels. It didn't take until the end of the book to accept that motivation of a time so far removed from today. The future of the country relied on those heroes. Worth the time it takes to complete. Well written and documented.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched account of the inspiring stand at the Alamo and many of the characters involved in it.
One insight about the early Texan settlers: "[T]he Anglo colonists...sometimes failed to remember that they were no longer in the United States, and that their civil rights were no longer protected by the U.S. Constitution. 'They all go about with the Constitution in their pocket, demanding their rights,' wrote one Mexican general, after an 1828 tour of Texas."

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have stated before in reviews of book on American history that my knowledge is weak on my own country's history. I have always been far more fascinated with Europe's history. I have, though been making an effort to learn more about the events that formed the United States. Most school children know the battle cry, "Remember the Alamo" but how many of them know what went on AT the Alamo? In all honesty no one REALLY knows but Mr. Donovan writes a fascinating and well researched book taking us on the journey from shortly before that fateful battle to its immediate aftermath.


Many of the people involved are ingrained in American history; Jim Bowie, Davy Crockey, William Travis and then there is Santa Anna, the Mexican General who was going to win at all costs. His story is included as he is as much a part of the story of the Alamo as the others.


The book builds slowly to the defining day, discussing the politics of Mexico, the U.S. and Texas as it was looking to be independent from Mexico and be its own country. Many of the "heroes" had very interesting back stories of which I was completely unaware. The details included made the book move right along like a novel and I am now further educated on another piece of this country's history without feeling like I had to slog through a history lesson. It was a fascinating read.


As no one in command on the Texian side survived the battle most of the written historical sources are Mexican. A recent find has given new clues but Mr. Donovan and others do not completely believe its veracity. As with anything in history the story is written by the victors and the reality is mostly lost. This new book presents an even handed telling of a seminal event in the formation of Texas.

[Derrick Jeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legend and myth shroud the thirteen day standoff at Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo. For many popular historians and movie makers the famous line from John Ford’s 1962 movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, serves as a guiding light when it comes to the Alamo: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Legend and myth has grown thick around the siege and battle that took place in the small Texas village of San Antonio de Béxar, on the distant edge of civilization. And like the prickly pear cactus that grows thick in the hills outside of San Antonio, the truth of exactly what transpired during those thirteen days at the Alamo is not easy to grasp. But James Donovan attempts just that in the most comprehensive account in recent memory.

Donovan’s The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo—and the Sacrifice that Forged a Nation is a narrative history that covers more than just thirteen days in February/March 1836. Donovan’s book is really a history of the Texas Revolution, with the Alamo playing the staring role. …

To read the rest of my review, visit: http://derrickjeter.com/2014/03/20/bl...

[Medusa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to know more about this time and place in history, and this book accomplished that. But it is a very uneven effort, uncritically accepting at times (for example, of the slave ownership of these people who spoke such stirring language about freedom and dignity), at times self contradictory (the men who fought for Texas’ independence were / were not loyal to the country, Mexico, to which they had emigrated), and consistently dismissive of the character foibles of the titular “heroes.” Of course women are relegated to the role of baby factories, sex workers, and persons to be abandoned by men seeking glory. Also, I listened to the book narrated by the author himself, and his repeated mispronunciation of “cavalry” as “Calvary” was baffling and kind of infuriating. History by a Texas booster is about the most accurate description I can give. I’m glad this was a library read.

[Robert Melnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the Battle of The Alamo. I was always a huge Davy Crockett fan growing up as a kid, so this book looked interesting to me :-). Although the book certainly talked about Davy Crockett, it really focused much more on the many other characters involved in this historical event. It also spent a good deal of time explaining the history of what led up to the battle, as well as what happened after the battle. Definite good read for those into American History, especially during that time frame.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up James Donovan's "The Blood of Heroes" after reading Bryan Burroughs' "Forget the Alamo." Burroughs and his co-authors had thrown a hand grenade at the Alamo Myth and did so with well-researched gusto. While I truly enjoyed "Forget the Alamo," in the interest of fairness I wanted to read something that portrayed the Alamo battle in a more positive light.

While there is no shortage of truly jingoistic takes on the Alamo, Donovan's book has a number of fans and defenders as quality history. To be sure, Donovan frames the Alamo and its defenders in a generally positive light. While the "Forget the Alamo" authors place a great emphasis on the role of slavery in the founding of Texas and its rebellion against Mexico, Donovan merely acknowledges slavery as one factor among many. Donovan also observes that most of the Alamo defenders did not own slaves and that the Mexican peonage system was essentially slavery by another name.

These are value choices that every historian must address. Donovan is rather balanced, but in general tilts in favor of the Texan heroes.

Where "The Blood of Heroes" excels is in its narrative arc. Donovan's historical figures come across as living, breathing men and women. He is kinder to Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie than he is to William Travis, but overall his is much kinder to all three than the pages of "Forget the Alamo." In this telling, the Alamo is an accidental battle (the Texans were convinced that Santa Anna would not attack until Spring) that quickly emerged as a rallying cry. Donovan includes a brief discussion of the Mexican massacre at Goliad in the aftermath of the Alamo as a contributing factor - I've always thought that Goliad would have been a bigger rallying cry, but "Remember the Alamo" is infinitely more poetic.

Donovan tells a riveting tale of the Alamo's final thirteen days, and his battle description is fantastic. One wonders of course how accurate it could possibly be given that there were so few survivors on the Texan side and much of the fighting was in the dark, but Donovan recreates a fantastic tableau. And honestly, the actual details of the battle itself is of limited use as "history." Donovan does show his cards a bit by granting Crockett a hero's death in the open rather than telling the tale of Crockett's surrender and execution, but that's not surprising.

Santa Anna is presented as the villain of the piece, and that's hard to quibble with. The Battle of San Jacinto, where the Texans whipped the Mexican forces, is also presented as a near-accident as Santa Anna seemed oblivious to his risks and the Texan attack was hardly a foregone conclusion.

Donovan concludes with a lengthy discussion of whether William Travis actually drew his famous "line in the sand," and Donovan ultimately concludes that while we'll never know the truth, there is enough eyewitness testimony to support that account. Again, this is showing Donovan's cards, but it does make for a great tale.

Overall, if you're looking for a pro-Texan take on the Alamo that does not have Valkyries fighting side by side with Crockett, Bowie, and Travis or other poetic nonsense, this is a good book and a very enjoyable read.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the subtitle states, this nonfiction history book focuses on the 13 day struggle for the Alamo in February and March of 1836. A great amount of documented facts comes out about the battle at the Alamo as well as the entire Texas rebellion against the Mexican government. It provides explanations and background on what led up to the Alamo struggle. Facts such as the “first” battle for the Alamo are detailed. Little known to me is that the Mexican Army had a garrison at the Alamo. Of course, Texas was part of Mexico prior to 1836. Texas rebels attempting to gain some rights to self-determination tried to expel all Mexican forces from Texas. The rebels first laid siege, then fought for 4 or 5 days to evict the Mexican garrison from the Alamo. William Barret Travis and James Bowie participated in that action too. Fortunately for the Mexican garrison, when they surrendered, the Texians paroled the survivors and allowed them to return to Mexico. Many of those paroled Mexicans violated their parole as they joined up with Santa Anna’s invasion army to fight against the Texians once again. Of course, when the Texians at the Alamo tried to surrender to the Mexican Army, all survivors were executed. The same was true at Goliad and all the other smaller engagements between the Texas rebels and the Mexican army prior to the Battle at San Jacinto. The book points out that this brutal treatment of what should have been prisoners of war is what really galvanized the Texian’s resolve to resist the Mexican Army’s efforts to defeat the rebellion. Also, the Mexican army burned down cities and homesteads they encountered after the Battle of the Alamo as they progressed across Texas trying to stamp out the rebellion. This too stiffened the resolve of the rebellion. This book also provides details as to why help wasn’t sent to the Texians at the Alamo, especially why Colonel Fannin at Goliad with over 300 volunteer troops did not assist the Texians at the Alamo. In short, the lack of help came down to incompetence, political bickering and unclear lines of authority among the rebels. In addition, this book covers the aftermath of the Battle of the Alamo and how the Texians achieved independence.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

More a book about the totality of the Texas Revolution than one just about the battle at the Alamo. This book traces the origins of the conflict back 30+ years before it started and covers the backgrounds of the major players, like Santa Ana, Travis, Bowie and Crockett, and their reasons for going to Texas in the first place. These characters, and others of lesser renown and importance, are all illustrated quite well. The book also covers the importance of San Antonio throughout the whole period... the battle (actually several battles) were fought there for a reason. The buildup to the battle is well done, but the coverage of the battle is short, which makes sense since 1) it was a relatively short battle and 2) there are hardly any primary source accounts of the fighting, since the defenders were all killed.

Scholarly speaking, the majority of this book doesn't break much new ground. Donovan claims that the battle at the Alamo was an important one in Texan and American history, and that kind of goes without saying. This is written more like a story than a scholarly book, although there is quite a bit of research included. The sources are noted in the back of the book, but they are not footnoted, so a person intending to use this book for research purposes might be a little annoyed, but the lack of footnotes on each page makes for a much easier read.

One area where Donovan does break some new scholarly ground is in his final chapter where he discusses the historiography and accuracy of the story of Col. Travis drawing the line in the dirt with his sword. Donovan traces the origins of this account and how it was added on to, edited and forgotten over time. He ultimately reaches the conclusion that the story is about as accurate as anything we know about the Alamo, given the lack of primary accounts.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book. Entertaining, educational and a fast, easy read.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donovan's work should be required reading. For everyone. Students, teachers, historians, old, young, green, yellow, purple, what have you.

I love nonfiction. The majority of what I read is nonfiction, so I've experienced a pretty wide variety of writing styles when it comes to retelling history. James Donovan is hands and feet above literally everyone, ever. He writes clearly and expressively, but with very little personal commentary. Events are linear but multi-faceted. He provides a wealth of different points of view and gives you the background you need to understand the significance of what happened. Most importantly, he tells it in a way that makes it feel vital to the reader. I was there, I knew these people, I could smell the gunpowder and hear the roar of chaos.

Do yourself a favor. Read this book. It's actually a teleportation device that will transport you to Texas and teach you something new even if you're well-versed in Texas history. As a born and bred Texan, I have never learned about the Alamo the way Donovan illustrates it here.

And then when you're done, read his other book, A Terrible Glory, which is about Custer and his infamous last stand.

And then email Donovan and tell him to write more books because frankly I don't know what I'll do now that I'm done.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a historical book on the Alamo prior to a visit to San Antonio. Overall the book was interesting, though I wouldn't say it was so compelling that I just couldn't stop reading. The writing style is pretty straight-forward, but could be a bit dry reading at times. I did really appreciate the background and context leading up to the seige at the Alamo and the follow-on battle at San Jacinto. It seemed like the right amount of detail to set the stage and also finish the story.

The book was very interesting to me in terms of dispelling the mythology of the 'great stand at the Alamo' mythology one picks up as a kid. The writing seemed to be reasonably objective in terms of providing both Mexican and Texan perspectives, both the valiant and bad actions of each. I also appreciated the background on David Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis, and how Travis and Bowie, who have been held up as heroes, also had some seriously sketchy backgrounds. Overall a good read for those interested in more background on the Alamo within the context of the war for Texas' independence.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all the notoriety, the Battle of the Alamo was over pretty fast. The only thing faster was probably the deaths of its three most well-known of its defenders: William Barret Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davey Crockett.

Donovan gives a lot of details in this book, including mini-biographies of the big names on both the Mexican and Texan side. He also delves into the lives of some lesser known characters of Texas independence. In fact, I would argue Donovan tries to cram entirely too much into one book because the number of characters he brings into the narrative is too unwieldy. However, he paints Santa Anna as the ultimate diva which is pretty hilarious.

The book doesn’t suffer too much from the excessive name dropping. Donovan sets the story up well and gives some very good insight into how it all came about and why. I don’t know if it was intentional, but Donovan also clearly illustrates just how hopeless the defense of the Alamo was. A reader wouldn’t be wrong in identifying it as a suicide mission, plain and simple. I find that in many last stand situations there is a glimmer of hope to survive. The Alamo is not one of them.

[Sam Stoddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sincerely wish I could give this book 4.5 stars. It was an excellent read and lacking in all of the dry analysis so common and pervasive in historical accounts. Rather, the tone and pacing of the book were excellent and I sense throughout it a subtle undertone of sadness. I’m not sure if the author is Texan, but he writes like it. A thorough examination of the main players such as Travis, Bowie, Crockett, and Santa Ana and a stirring (but oddly short) account of the battle itself combine to make a wonderful account of America’s Thermopylae.

The only detraction (the 0.5 star) is the shortness and brevity of the battle itself. That’s the climax, the moment of the payoff! And yet it passes by rather quickly. Wonderful build up, perfect scene setting, immaculate tension…then a bright flash in the pan and it’s over. Anyway, not that huge of a deal.

Well worth the read!

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very rarely read non-fiction that is not relevant to my profession, but after visiting The Alamo, I really wanted to learn more about that epic battle, and "The Blood of Heroes" was highly rated. I was a bit lost in the beginning, because there were so many people to try and keep straight, but once I got into it, I had a really hard time putting it down. My poor husband (who knows a lot about this era) was constantly being interrupted with, "Did you know this?" or "Oh my gosh! Listen to this!". This book was thoroughly researched and highly readable. I finished it two days ago, and still have that empty feeling you get when you still want to be reading it. I now feel like I need to return to the Alamo to see it with new eyes and a greater appreciation for what happened there and why.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book, not just on the Alamo, but on the roots of the Texas rebellion and its successful conclusion, right amount of information for everything, aside from the analysis of whether or not Travis actually drew that line in the sand, Author provides enough sources and his conclusion is that it happened. (However that discussion takes up nearly a tenth of the book and the writing story was completely different than the rest of the book, I guess I’m glad that the author included it, just is jarring)

The moral of the story is that aside from Santa Anna, arrogance and hubris, he would have crushed the rebellion, even despite the heroics of the Alamo. However, that was not the kind of man that Santa Anna was, ‘If I were God, I would wish to be more’ - Santa Anna.

[Lauren Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, I really struggled staying engaged with this book. Perhaps because there are so many names, and it was hard to keep them all straight. It is filled with good information and details of the Alamo, the men and women involved, and the surrounding circumstances. I felt that the best part of the book was definitely right before the Mexican invasion and during the battle. It's a terrible story of a tragic event. Donovan did it justice by writing well about the event. I did enjoy in the Afterword reading about the story of Travis drawing a line in the sand, and the evidence for it being factual or not. It was a story I'd never heard before not knowing much about the Alamo, and I like to think it true.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second and last book I started in 2024 and finished in 2025.

Having never been to the Alamo, I really want to go now that I read this book. This is a very good read if you are into history. So many things happened before, during and after the battle that I did not know. I was glad the book went into detail of the events surrounding the Alamo battle. The battles before and after were brutal. If it wasn't for those brave men, no telling where this country would be today.

One of the most solemn statements in this book was made by James Bowie's mother when she learned of his death at the Alamo, "wager no wounds were found in his back".

Do take time to read this book. The most interesting parts of the book start about two-hundred- and seventy-five-pages in.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I listened to an audiobook version of this book. This book has a lot of information in it, much of which I didn’t know. The information about what led to the attack on the Alamo and the personal histories of those involved were interesting and appreciative. However, it seemed like the author used the Mexican and American names for places interchangeably, which became confusing (especially since I was listening to it as opposed to reading the book), and I felt like the book ended on an odd topic. It was very informative and heavy on the details, which made some parts feel dry and hard to get through. Overall, I did learn a bit about the history of the Alamo.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on before, during, and after the Alamo (and Texas independence). At parts, it may come off a tad sensationalized or narrative, but mostly it appears to be well-researched and factual. The last twenty-five pages going into extensive debate over whether Travis drew a line in the dirt and asked the men of the Alamo who would defend it with him until death seems a bit excessive. I hadn't even heard that story before, and didn't think the large expatiation necessary. But generally gives you a great account of the events of the Alamo, including the events leading up to it and the fallout after.

[Nick O'R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I can hold my head up high and proudly proclaim that my knowledge of the Alamo is no longer limited to the few scenes I remember from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (there's no basement in the Alamo).
As a true newcomer to this historic event, I did find myself wanting the author to set the stage better. What was the relationship of the area now known as Texas to that of Mexico? For that matter, help bring in the reader in by describing what the nascent America was like as well.
Still, to its credit, many myths are dispelled, and the savagery of military engagement is never handled with kid gloves.

[Garrett Suttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers the siege and battle of the Alamo as well as overviews of the Texas Revolution, backstories of important figures on both the Mexican and Texan sides all while making you feel like you’re there.
Very interesting read. I learned a lot of info about individuals, including some family history of a distant relative who fought in the Alamo.
Also, the afterward about the myth of the line in the sand and Moses Rose is a pretty interesting case.

[Charles Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: this is a very graphic and violent book. But very informative with a fast-moving narrative. I grew up hearing about the Alamo and the cry "Remember the Alamo" but frankly knew very little about it or the greater context of the formations of Texas. I did know that Davey Crockett died there as did legend Jim Bowie. Whatever else you may think about gringo incursion into Mexico these Alamo defenders had real guts. You had to have when you were 200 against 3,000 Mexican soldiers.