The Alamo and the War of Texan Independence 1835-36 (Men-At-Arms Series, 173) (Men-at-Arms, 173)

This concise gem of a book provides a well done overview of the conflict's roots (Anglo immigration and Mexican political turmoil in a nutshell), the famous and mythologized Battle of the Alamo, and the war's concluding chapter of the Battle of San Jacinto after which General Santa Anna himself was captured. As with all Osprey titles in the Men-at-Arms Series, this one also provides great detail and background about the Mexican Army's equipment, organization, and especially uniforms. For this size of book, it has a fantastic bibliography which unfortunately only includes English language works (although I doubt they are too far removed from Mexican primary sources). This book will disabuse you of some poetic albeit unfounded myths about the struggle at the Alamo, but in the aggregate it cannot help but to increase your appreciation of the Alamo's very human (an often significantly flawed) defenders who came together to achieve something which has provided lasting meaning through the decades. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American Military History, 19th Century Warfare, Texas History, or international relations between the United States and Mexico.

DONT LET THE SIZE OF THIS LITTLE BOOK FOOL YOU, IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE AND WELL WORTH THE MONEY SPENT AS IT MAY BE SMALL , BUT IT HAS ALOT OF VALUABLE INFORMATION IN IT AND WELL WORTH THE PRICE. A GOOD ADDITION TO ANY PERSONS LIBRARY.

Like most Osprey books for the 18th-20th Century era, this book would probably be most useful for someone needing information about uniforms. The author also provides a realistic but somewhat cynical account of the Siege of the Alamo and outlines some of the more famous (or infamous) characters on both sides. Some of the details on Santa Anna's crudely-armed but well-led Mexican Army, modeled on Napoleon's Grande Armee are very useful as well. The color plates, though not as glorious as some of Osprey's better-known illustrators, are not as bad as a previous reviewer stated and suit their purpose of capturing the colors and details of the uniforms and weapons.Overall, like most men-at-arms titles this is primarily a good short reference book on uniforms and organization for the topic, but also provides an adult-level introduction to the war itself.

Beautifully illustrated perfect reference book. Enlightening Book on a fascinating period of history ~ a must for military enthusiasts and figure Painters

Haven't yet finished, but it is well-written and researched.

This is a good addition to my Texas Revolutionary War reference books. I am a 1830s Alamo era history reenactor and our group places top priority and importance on historical authenticity.

It's good

Nice pictures and information on what happened in the Alamo back that time.

Bought for research. Very good chronology and detail but didn’t mention slavery as a cause of the war.

Wargames

Very good

A good book, thank you.

excellent