Reviewed by John McBride
The Blood of Noble Men: An Illustrated Chronology of the Alamo Siege and Battle Austin, Eakin Press, 1999 ISBN 1-57168-194-9 This is the "must have" book for anyone interested in gaming the Alamo. Huffines has taken the first-hand accounts by participants, divided them into episodic pieces, and arranged the pieces in chronological order in thirteen chapters according to the thirteen days of the siege. This allows the reader not only to follow the siege and assault through the eyes of those who were there, but also to spot immediately the points on which the primary sources agree and disagree. The resulting text is fascinating and revealing, and is richly supplemented by the maps and illustrations of artist Gary S. Zaboly. Zaboly has done a double-page map of the area for several miles around the Alamo, and this map is repeated at the beginning of each chapter to show the development of the siege as the Mexicans construct new batteries, cut off the water supply, and try to isolate the garrison from outside help. Zaboly has also done forty full-page black and white drawings of episodes during the siege and assault, about equally from the Mexican and Texian point of view. There is also a large map of the Alamo with three pages of detailed notes and explanations. This feast for the military historian also contains all the information the gamer needs to refight the battle. Back to List of Book Reviews: 1816-1859 Back to Master Book Review List Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |