Bradle begins by giving us a history of Texas so we have the background to understand the war for independence. Adventurers looking for excitement traveled to Texas and eventually clashed with Mexican authorities which led to armed insurrection. The Texans won the first battle of the Alamo but as we know they lost the second. Sam Houston thought since the Texas rebels were outnumbered and not trained soldiers, they should fight the guerrilla type war that had been successful during the American Revolutionary War.
Instead, the commanders of the various rebel units felt safer fighting from inside “forts” such as the Alamo even though they were not fortresses and Mexican cannon would make short work of them. In Bradle’s analysis, this was the main reason the Alamo was a defeat.
Fortress Goliad was also not a true fort and when its rebel commander, James Fannin realized it, he fled its confines only to make the mistake of under estimating the abilities of the Mexican army and finding his command on an open plain facing 1000’s with his few 100’s.
The final battle at San Jacinto lasts 18 minutes and frees Texas because Houston developed a strategy of delay so he could train his troops and put General Santa Anna in a location that would put the battle situation in the Texan favour.
Bradle presents great detail including brief biographies of individuals as they appear in the narrative. If he has been able to ascertain what happened to them, he includes the information. This is a very entertaining study of the early history of the Lone Star State. If the reader wishes to read about it in more depth, an extensive bibliography is included.

A little Texas history to flavor the mix. I've heard of Goliad (what Texan hasn't), but I wasn't familiar with the whole story. the Alamo in San Antonio gets most of the press. Bradle does an excellent job of telling the tale of the Texas Revolution in all its stages. He includes the mistakes, the glory, and the pure luck of a band of adventurers who created a new republic. ( )