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The San Antonio Book Festival proudly presents Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford—the authors behind the NYT bestseller, FORGET THE ALAMO: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth—in conversation at the beautiful Greenline park, 43 acres of green space right in the heart of Brooks on San Antonio’s Southside. Sarah Zenaida Gould, executive director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, will moderate the conversation. Author signing to follow with book sales provided by Nowhere Bookshop.
Now in person AND live streamed!
BYOB(lanket) • Food truck onsite • Limited seating
No registration required
ABOUT THE BOOK
Most Americans know the story of the Battle of the Alamo as the iconic stand led by Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Barret Travis, and other rebels who gallantly fought for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. It is an origin story that has become the beating heart of Texas exceptionalism. But as Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford show in a myth-busting new book, that version of events owes more to fantasy than reality. The hard truth is that idolizing the Alamo and its Anglo “heroes” has a long history of celebrating whiteness. “Revisionists” want to dismantle these Alamo myths by questioning history, how it’s written, and who it’s written for. With Latinos expected to be the future majority in Texas, there is no better time to explore these myths and the harm they cause.
“A zesty, journalistic, half history, half sendup about the battle of the Alamo and the myths that cling to it . . . Burrough, Tomlinson, and Stanford, all Texans, succeed brilliantly in their intent . . . this lively book is sure to cause plenty of interesting conversations. . . . An iconoclastic, romping, bull’s-eye volley at an enduring sacred cow—popular history at its most engaging and insightful.” —Kirkus (starred)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS & MODERATOR
Bryan Burrough is the author of six books, including The Big Rich, Days of Rage, Public Enemies, and the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Barbarians at the Gate.
Chris Tomlinson is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News and the author of the New York Times-bestselling Tomlinson Hill about his family’s slave-owning history in Texas. From 1995-2007, he reported from more than 30 countries and nine wars for the Associated Press.
Jason Stanford is a writer whose bylines have appeared in Texas Monthly, the Austin-American Statesman, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, the Texas Tribune, and Texas Highways. The former communications director for Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Stanford previously worked as a political consultant and helped elect or re-elect more than 30 members of Congress. He now publishes a weekly newsletter called The Experiment.
Sarah Zenaida Gould, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute, a project to collect and disseminate Mexican American civil rights history. A longtime public historian, she has curated over a dozen exhibits on history, art, and culture, and was formerly founding director of the Museo del Westside and lead curatorial researcher at the Institute of Texan Cultures. She received a BA in American Studies from Smith College and an MA and PhD in American Culture from the University of Michigan. She is a former fellow at the National Museum of American History, the Winterthur Museum, and the American Antiquarian Society.
