Olson, A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory.
Against all odds in less than 200 men of all races who believed in the future of Texas stood their ground and entered American history as heroes. However there is much debate on many myths that surround the story of the Alamo. Randy Roberts and James S. Olson help put some unanswered questions to rest by reliving the events leading up to and after the battle of the Alamo in their book A Line in the Sand.
One of the main purposes the authors were going for in this book was trying to separate fact from fiction by explaining some common myths and tracing how and why those fictions grew. They accomplished this by staying unbiased and telling both sides of the story. The book tries to keep an impartial perspective of events but it is clear that it favors Texas. .
In Jay Winik's review "Endless Siege" in the National Review 02/19/2001 vol. 53 issue 3 edition. He says that Roberts and Olson do a great and creative job exploring the battle and the importance it had as it impacted our culture. However Winik too agrees that the format was a little choppy and could have been better. To me it felt like reading a text book only it jumped around more and there were no pictures or helpful charts. I was a little confused at first about the organization and structure of the book and it took me about a 100 pages to catch on to the writing style.
I remember, while I was reading, I kept asking myself, "why is this in here and why is it important?" But then, as I continued to read, it all started to tie together. I think some parts could have been scaled back but, for the most part, the information really help paint a clear picture of what was happening. After reading about how much effort the authors put into the research and the wide range of sources used I never thought about whether or not it was true. I just assumed it was all fact. .
I knew from reading the Preface that there were going to be two parts of the book.
