Charles River Editoirs

*Discusses the history of the Alamo and the buildup to the battle. *Discusses the myths and controversies surrounding the battle, including how Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie died. *Explains the aftermath of the battle and its legacy. *Includes pictures of important people, places, and events. "The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken-I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch... I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country-Victory or Death." - William B. Travis The names of history's most famous battles still ring in our ears today, their influence immediately understood by all. Marathon lent its name to the world's most famous race, but it also preserved Western civilization during the First Persian War. Saratoga, won by one of the colonists' most renowned war heroes before he became his nation's most vile traitor. Hastings ensured the Normans' success in England and changed the course of British history. Waterloo, which marked the reshaping of the European continent and Napoleon's doom, has now become part of the English lexicon. In Charles River Editors' Greatest Battles in History series, readers can get caught up to speed on history's greatest battles in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. For the United States, the Battle of the Alamo is in many ways its version of the Greeks' Thermopylae. In February 1836, a few hundred defenders of a small fort that once served as a mission found themselves besieged by several thousand Mexican soldiers under Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Rather than withdraw, the defenders requested reinforcements and instead made a determined stand at the Alamo, eventually falling nearly down to the last man on March 6, 1836. Like Thermoyplae, much of the narrative regarding the Battle of the Alamo is comprised of myths and legends that have been embraced, supported, and protected, turning the most famous defenders into American legends. Accounts are also wildly contradictory. The famous frontier hero Davy Crockett, who has been portrayed by none other than John Wayne, may have been among the last to die or may have been captured and executed shortly after the battle. William Barret Travis, who had abandoned his wife, son, and unborn daughter and departed for Texas, did not draw the fabled "line in the sand" with his sword and ask those who wished to stay with him in the Alamo to cross it. The number of defenders was almost certainly not the 189 long held sacred by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. However, much the same way accounts of Thermopylae are hard to confirm, to a large extent the actual results of the Battle of the Alamo don't matter as much as what the Alamo has come to symbolize. The defeat at the Alamo did not have a decisive impact on Texas' War for Independence, but it became a poignant rallying cry in the immediate aftermath of the battle, and to this day Americans associate it with patriotism, bravery and determination. "Remember the Alamo" is still a widely used part of the English lexicon today, and the Alamo is a cherished piece of Americana. The Greatest Battles in History: The Battle of the Alamo comprehensively covers the lead up to the battle and what is known and unknown about the siege and battle itself. Along the way, it looks at some of the most controversial and unknown aspects of the battle, as well as the aftermath and legacy of the battle. You will learn about the Battle of the Alamo like you never have before, in no time at all.

Que Jes s de Nazareth (ca. 4 AC-30 DC) fue crucificado es una de las afirmaciones m s cercanas a un hecho hist rico que pueda hacerse sobre su l. Sobre los detalles de qu hizo o dijo la academia ha pasado siglos debatiendo, pero en este hecho, que sufri la pena capital a manos de la autoridad romana por medio de la crucifixi n, coincide la abrumadora mayor a de los historiadores del mundo antiguo. Que hubo una cruz donde sufri y muri es, por tanto, la siguiente afirmaci n l gica. De hecho, su caso no es raro: como l, hubo muchos otros jud os que perecieron clavados a un madero en las afueras de Jerusal n; miles de acuerdo al historiador Josefo, testigo presencial de la gran rebeli n contra Roma. La cruz, que era un s mbolo de fracaso y verg enza para quienes mor an en ella y sus familias, fue considerada desde el inicio del cristianismo como el momento triunfal en la carrera de su mes as; su crucifixi n el momento de su ascensi n a su trono como verdadero rey de los jud os. De ah que, una vez terminada la persecuci n contra el cristianismo, y pasados los suficientes a os, comenzaran a surgir los interesados en buscar la evidencia. Ir en pos de, contemplar, besar y en el mejor de los casos llevarse a casa un pedazo de la hist rica cruz fue una de las obsesiones primero de los creyentes, despu s de reyes y emperadores. Junto con la cruz, siguiendo el relato evang lico, aparece otro objeto que incluso m s que el Santo Grial, ha mantenido de una forma u otra su enigm tica e inquietante presencia a lo largo de la historia: la lanza de Longinus, el soldado romano que perfor el costado de Jes s. La Verdadera Cruz era una reliquia de sanaci n y protecci n, pero la lanza, de acuerdo a la leyenda, era para la guerra y la conquista. "Aqu l que posea esta lanza y descubra su secreto tendr el destino del mundo en sus manos, para bien o para mal." As lo creyeron los antiguos emperadores del Sacro Imperio Romano, Napole n e incluso Adolph Hitler. No es casual que a esta codiciada reliquia le haya conocido desde tiempos inmemoriales como la Lanza del Destino. Hasta aqu la leyenda. El verdadero problema surge al apartar el mito y tratar de identificar c mo y cu ndo aparecieron por primera vez estas dos reliquias en la historia, y de ah seguir su complicada historia de siglos, pasando de generaci n en generaci n, de mano en mano de reyes y papas; de creyentes a enemigos del cristianismo; c mo fueron perdidas y recuperadas, repartidas en fragmentos por todo el mundo y en ocasiones vueltas a reunir; alguna vez robadas y utilizadas como impresionante medio de propaganda; incluso extraviadas y finalmente recuperadas y depositadas en los lugares donde hoy se veneran. Es posible que la cruz de Jes s haya sido encontrada trescientos a os despu s de su muerte y que sus fragmentos todav a puedan contemplarse en diversas iglesias del mundo? Se sabe con certeza que a mediados del siglo IV (ca. 350 DC) una antiqu sima cruz era venerada en Jerusal n y se utilizaba en la liturgia de la Semana Santa. La lanza apareci en la siguiente centuria en la Bas lica del Monte Si n en Jerusal n. De entrada, los siglos que las separan del evento de la crucifixi n (ca. 30 DC) hace problem tico abogar por su autenticidad. Opiniones en favor y en contra de la Cruz que se veneraba en Jerusal n desde los tiempos del emperador Constantino y de la lanza que empu Carlomagno en su coronaci n, los hay a favor y en contra. Pero hay casos en los que la historia de un objeto, y los tumultos que provocaron a su alrededor, resultan m s apasionantes que la cuesti n de la autenticidad en s misma. Este volumen sigue la complicada trayectoria de las dos reliquias existentes m s importantes del cristianismo, su aparici n en Palestina, su traslado a Bizancio y su dispersi n por toda Europa despu s del saqueo de Constantinopla, y c mo en el trayecto de diecis is siglos cambiaron el cu