In December 1954, this 6 1/2 year-old boy eagerly joined the frenzy resulting from the showing of Disney's first "Davy Crockett" adventure on TV. I saw every episode. Somewhere in my house I still have a "Davy Crockett" coon-skin hat, but without the tail, which was lost somehow. And I wasn't the only kid to have one. The book states coonskins cost 25 cents each before the TV show series appeared, but quickly reached $6 as a result of the frenzy. And I still remember the theme song too!
An interesting fact the book provides is Crockett never called himself "Davy," but always David. And, this is the cool part, one set of his grandparents were born in Baltimore County, Maryland, where I grew up. While his mother was born somewhere between Baltimore City and York, PA.
The book relates Crockett was a great hunter, but a poor businessman, sometimes due to bad luck. As one reason he kept moving West was to stay ahead of his creditors. Sadly, this eventually led to separation from his second wife. This is actually the reason he went to Texas, where he could obtain hundreds of acres of land for free. The fight at the Alamo was just something he stumbled into.
Crockett did serve more than one term in Congress, but didn't do too well as he even alienated his own party. After two terms in the House, he was defeated, but won another term later. The Whigs even put him up as a presidential candidate against Martin Van Buren to draw votes, but really supported someone else. Later one of Crockett's sons also served in Congress.
Due to my fascination with Crockett at an early age I really enjoyed the book. It was an easy read and I accepted the listing of his faults along with his good points. Over all, "Davy" was a great symbol of America in his time. The book also covers the early books and plays written about him while he was till alive and later.It also covers some controversy about how he died at the Alamo. This was covered in an entire book I'd previously read.
Finally, when I attended an entomological meeting in San Antonio, I slipped away more than once to enjoy the River Walk and also visit the Alamo.
The author quotes Crockett as saying, ""Whenever I had anything, and saw a fellow being suffering, I was more anxious to relieve him than to better myself. And this is one of the true secrets of my being a poor man to this day." But this didn't apply to everyone, as Crockett often sold slaves to help pay his debts.
The author also lists William Travis, the commander of the Alamo, as a slave trader, who fled to Texas to escape debts, while abandoning his wife and son. In fact, Travis' slave Joe was one of the people in the Alamo who wasn't killed as he was a slave and those "dirty Mexicans" had abolished slavery, which was one of the main reasons Texians were revolting. Not to be left out, Jim Bowie, of knife fame, who also died at the Alamo, was a slave dealer who smuggled slaves in the U.S. after it became illegal, and was guilty of land fraud in Alabama and Louisiana. Somehow this all got left out of the TV shows and movies made about these men. Oh, well!
An interesting fact the book provides is Crockett never called himself "Davy," but always David. And, this is the cool part, one set of his grandparents were born in Baltimore County, Maryland, where I grew up. While his mother was born somewhere between Baltimore City and York, PA.
The book relates Crockett was a great hunter, but a poor businessman, sometimes due to bad luck. As one reason he kept moving West was to stay ahead of his creditors. Sadly, this eventually led to separation from his second wife. This is actually the reason he went to Texas, where he could obtain hundreds of acres of land for free. The fight at the Alamo was just something he stumbled into.
Crockett did serve more than one term in Congress, but didn't do too well as he even alienated his own party. After two terms in the House, he was defeated, but won another term later. The Whigs even put him up as a presidential candidate against Martin Van Buren to draw votes, but really supported someone else. Later one of Crockett's sons also served in Congress.
Due to my fascination with Crockett at an early age I really enjoyed the book. It was an easy read and I accepted the listing of his faults along with his good points. Over all, "Davy" was a great symbol of America in his time. The book also covers the early books and plays written about him while he was till alive and later.It also covers some controversy about how he died at the Alamo. This was covered in an entire book I'd previously read.
Finally, when I attended an entomological meeting in San Antonio, I slipped away more than once to enjoy the River Walk and also visit the Alamo.
The author quotes Crockett as saying, ""Whenever I had anything, and saw a fellow being suffering, I was more anxious to relieve him than to better myself. And this is one of the true secrets of my being a poor man to this day." But this didn't apply to everyone, as Crockett often sold slaves to help pay his debts.
The author also lists William Travis, the commander of the Alamo, as a slave trader, who fled to Texas to escape debts, while abandoning his wife and son. In fact, Travis' slave Joe was one of the people in the Alamo who wasn't killed as he was a slave and those "dirty Mexicans" had abolished slavery, which was one of the main reasons Texians were revolting. Not to be left out, Jim Bowie, of knife fame, who also died at the Alamo, was a slave dealer who smuggled slaves in the U.S. after it became illegal, and was guilty of land fraud in Alabama and Louisiana. Somehow this all got left out of the TV shows and movies made about these men. Oh, well!
Wallis does a good job turning the tall tales "Davy Crockett" into the actual man, David Crockett - that's his central thesis, in fact - that the man was different from the stories - and that Crockett himself fostered and built the persona of "Davy Crockett."
In fact, Crockett reminded me of a tea-party politician, or a 90's "Reform Party" guy. One can easily find parallels between Crockett and Ross Perot, or Jesse Ventura, or Sarah Palin or Paul Ryan. Crockett's home-spun common sense, his eschewing of the Washington elite, was in great part a political strategy to run for office, and as congressman, he may have even harbored hopes of being the Whig presidential candidate at some point.
Still, he was the real deal for lovers of American larger-than-life figures. He really did hunt a lot of bears, and ended up in close-quarter combat with more than one. He waded rivers in freezing temperatures, and he lived off the land for many periods of his life. His favorite places to live were always the places just beyond the bounds of where Americans had settled thus far. And his death at the Alamo was romantic, whether he died after slaying some final attackers with the butt of his rifle, or was taken prisoner and summarily executed.
This book also makes me want to seek out his autobiography - his writing style was an influence on Mark Twain (!) and he helped define the American soul.
In fact, Crockett reminded me of a tea-party politician, or a 90's "Reform Party" guy. One can easily find parallels between Crockett and Ross Perot, or Jesse Ventura, or Sarah Palin or Paul Ryan. Crockett's home-spun common sense, his eschewing of the Washington elite, was in great part a political strategy to run for office, and as congressman, he may have even harbored hopes of being the Whig presidential candidate at some point.
Still, he was the real deal for lovers of American larger-than-life figures. He really did hunt a lot of bears, and ended up in close-quarter combat with more than one. He waded rivers in freezing temperatures, and he lived off the land for many periods of his life. His favorite places to live were always the places just beyond the bounds of where Americans had settled thus far. And his death at the Alamo was romantic, whether he died after slaying some final attackers with the butt of his rifle, or was taken prisoner and summarily executed.
This book also makes me want to seek out his autobiography - his writing style was an influence on Mark Twain (!) and he helped define the American soul.
