Book Review: A Line in the Sand - The Alamo in Blood and Memory by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson

Introduction

This paper presents a review of the book A Line in the Sand - The Alamo in Blood and Memory. This book has been written by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson and was published in the year 2001 by 'The Free Press' publication. The book was published from the city of New York. In this book, the author presents a translation of myth into reality by highlighting the references towards three battles of the Alamo. These battles include the real battle of Alamo fought in the 1836, the early-twentieth-century Driscoll-De Zavala effort, and the contemporary historical and cultural warfare over the blockade. 

Author Information

This book has been written by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson. Recent books written by Randy Roberts include "A Team for America: The Army-Navy Game That Rallied a Nation”. Randy Roberts focus on writing those stories that created an impact in the American history. His stories and books focus on sports and film icons, and other legends that have played a notable role in the American history. Some of his other books include 'America Past and Present', 'Joe Louis: Hard Times Man', and 'The One Year Book of Hymns'.

James Stuart Olson is an academic author and became a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize award. He has written more than 30 books on diverse subjects related to the field of history. However, he only made the non-fiction elements subject of his books. His most recent that made him distinct in the writing field is the 'Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History' that enabled him to achieve the History of Science Category Award in the year 2002. This award was granted by the Association of American Publishers.

Thesis of the Book

The main objective of the book was to distinguish the facts from fiction by presenting an explanation for the common myths and defining the traces that enabled those fictitious elements to grow in the history.

The story of the book revolves around the battle that was fought in the 18th century and led many myths to arise. The thesis of the book surrounds the story of Alamo, a mission that was executed by the Mexican army General, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, in the end of February or in the beginning of the March, 1836. Alamo describes the ...