Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle

Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle—An Illustrated Chronology

By Alan C. Huffines, Illustrated by Gary S. Zaboly

Hardcover, 221 pages: $27.95

ISBN number 1‑57168‑194‑9

Reviewed by Tim J. Todish

For years Alan Huffines has been collecting, analyzing and footnoting every first-hand account of the siege and battle of the Alamo that he could find. As a Texan, professional army officer and historical reenactor, the author is well-qualified for this task. The result of his labor has finally been published as Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle—An Illustrated Chronology.

Huffines organizes all of the accounts on a day-by-day basis, giving a chronological view of the events. His extensive footnotes add additional information and tie things together. However he does little in the way of judging the veracity of his sources. Rather, he leaves it up to the reader to evaluate their contradictions and inconsistencies.

Some of the recollections were written in journals and orderly books right after the events, and others are the result of interviews with journalists many years later. The combination of Texian, Tejano and Mexican accounts gives a feel for the difficulties and heroism on both sides that cannot be matched by ordinary narrative history. Perhaps the author himself puts it best in his introduction: "The twist is to allow the people who experienced the sights, smells, sounds, and emotions of that two‑week period to speak finally for themselves. If the sad stones of the Alamo could have kept a journal, maybe this is how it would read."

Adding incalculable value to the text is the superb art of Gary Zaboly, which includes a full-color cover painting. Each of the forty full‑page pen and ink illustrations is accompanied by a lengthy caption. These captions describe in detail the incident depicted, as well as historical details such as the personalities, uniforms, clothing and equipment shown. A number of the scenes are of little-known events such as Intercepting the Fugitives, which shows a number of Alamo defenders being run down by the Mexican cavalry after they leapt over the walls and attempted to escape on foot. A series of detailed overview maps, also drawn by Zaboly, show the progression of the siege. Unfortunately, some of the detail of these excellent maps is lost in the margins, and it would have been better if they had been printed as fold-outs.

Also to be commended for this work are the editor, Melissa Roberts, and the publisher, Eakin Press. I have worked with Ms. Roberts myself and know her not only to have a good knowledge of the English language, but also a fine sense of what will make a book unique and interesting. Eakin Press has a reputation for producing books that are of high quality, yet are affordable for the average reader—something that not all publishers are attuned to nowadays. At $27.95, this well-illustrated, hardcover edition is indeed a bargain in today's market.

The siege of the Alamo is one of the most captivating events in North American history. A number of good books have been written about it in recent years, and Blood of Noble Men stands proudly among them.

Blood of Nobel Men is available from Eakin Press, PO Drawer 90159, Austin TX 78709‑0159.