Ed Crockett, the son of an absent and alcoholic father, grew up in poverty in a crowded house on Portland's Munjoy Hill in the 1970s. He recounts his days growing up with the ever-present specter of a drunken father and then overcoming the odds to become a successful businessman and politician. The book is not just a tale of struggle and perseverance, but also a story of love, redemption, and ultimately forgiveness.
Pioneer. Congressman. Martyr of the Alamo. King of the Wild Frontier. As with all great legends, Davy Crockett's has been retold many times. Over the years, he has been repeatedly reinvented by historians and popular storytellers. In Born on a Mountaintop, Bob Thompson combines the stories of the real hero and his Disney-enhanced afterlife as he delves deep into our love for an American icon. In the road-trip tradition of Sarah Vowell and Tony Horwitz, Thompson follows Crockett's footsteps from his birthplace in east Tennessee to Washington, where he served three terms in Congress, and on to Texas and the gates of the Alamo, seeking out those who know, love, and are still willing to fight over Davy's life and legacy. Born on a Mountaintop is more than just a bold new biography of one of the great American heroes. Thompson's rich mix of scholarship, reportage, humor, and exploration of modern Crockett landscapes bring Davy Crockett's impact on the American imagination vividly to life.
Depicts the adventuresome life of Davy Crockett, showing how he lived not only a soldier's life, but a politician's life as well. Emphasizes how Crockett died a hero, fighting against the Mexicans in the famous battle of the Alamo in Texas.
The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Miracle of Dunkirk tells the story of the Texans who fought Santa Anna’s troops at the Battle of the Alamo. Looking out over the walls of the whitewashed Alamo, sweltering in the intense sun of a February heat wave, Colonel William Travis knew his small garrison had little chance of holding back the Mexican army. Even after a call for reinforcements brought dozens of Texans determined to fight for their fledgling republic, the cause remained hopeless. Gunpowder was scarce, food was running out, and the compound was too large to easily defend with less than two hundred soldiers. Still, given the choice, only one man opted to surrender. The rest resolved to fight and die. After thirteen days, the Mexicans charged, and the Texans were slaughtered. In exquisite detail, Walter Lord recreates the fight to uphold the Texan flag. He sheds light not just on frontier celebrities like Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, but on the ordinary soldiers who died alongside them. Though the fight ended two centuries ago, the men of the Alamo will never be forgotten.
The author of Haunted Burlington shares Lake Champlain’s chilling history—from swashbuckling spirits to Champ, “North America’s Loch Ness Monster.” Lake Champlain is located between New York’s majestic Adirondacks and Vermont’s famed Green Mountains. Yet despite the beauty of this region, it has been the site of dark and mysterious events; it is not surprising that some spirits linger in this otherwise tranquil place. Fort Ticonderoga saw some of early America’s bloodiest battles, and American, French and British ghosts still stand guard. A spirit walks the halls of SUNY Plattsburgh, even after his original haunt burned in 1929. Champlain’s islands—Stave, Crab, Valcour and Garden—all host otherworldly inhabitants, and unidentified creatures and objects have made appearances on the water, in the sky and in the forests surrounding the lake. Join Burlington’s Thea Lewis as she explores the ghosts and legends that haunt Lake Champlain. Includes photos! “For Lewis, a gifted storyteller, a good story makes a haunted place all the more compelling.” —Happy Vermont
