Three Roads to the Alamo by William C. Davis (1999, Paperback)

This is the fascinating story of three men who were products of their time and also larger than life. David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis led disparate and diverse lives that achieved stunning successes and endured devastating setbacks. They made their initial marks, respectively, in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama, but circumstances led all three to San Antonio, where in March 1836 they faced and met death bravely at the Alamo.
“Three Roads to the Alamo” is not so much about Texas independence, General Santa Anna, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, the notreamericanos, Mexicans, and tejanos, that we associate with the Alamo as it is the amazing stories of Crockett, Bowie, and Travis. Forget what you may remember from grade school about “Davy” Crockett and the “Bowie knife” and anything you may know of Travis (which my hunch is that unless you are from Texas isn’t much). These were ambitious men whose impact on American history is enormous.
Crockett wanted more than anything to be seen as a gentlemen and resented (although he played it up when it suited him) the “country bumpkin frontiersman” image cultivated by the Eastern press and enemies in Washington. Had it not been for his fate at the Alamo Crockett may have been president one day, or at least received the Whig nomination.
Bowie, by contrast, would never have made it far in politics nor would he have wanted to. He was a shady character from the word go, a slave runner and land speculator whose land frauds were simply unsurpassed in U. S. history. Despite these negative aspects of his behavior, his bravery was unquestioned. When the good Lord handed out the self-preservation trait of caution Bowie must have stepped out of line. His bravery was legend and well described in this book.
Travis was the only one of the three who actually met his potential. A brilliant young man, he was a business owner, teacher, and lawyer by age 21. And within a year he lost it all. Hounded out of Alabama by creditors he found success in Texas. He was a true patriot and visionary whose career would have been stellar by any standard. But he, like Crockett and Bowie, found himself at the Alamo in March of 1836.
Davis does a masterly job with this scholarly but eminently readable book. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time and because of it I am now looking forward to learning more about Andrew Jackson, Texas history, and Gen. Santa Anna. An awesome book!