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Post by Allen Wiener on Nov 12, 2012 11:29:31 GMT -5
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Post by Rich Curilla on Nov 13, 2012 18:34:42 GMT -5
Thanks, Allen. Saving my nickels starting today.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Nov 13, 2012 22:19:23 GMT -5
I've talked to Bob a lot while he was researching the book over the past two years or so. No one could be more thorough or expend more effort than Bob has. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.
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Post by Rich Curilla on Nov 14, 2012 19:11:48 GMT -5
Good to know. Helps to know that somebody is as serious as we.
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Post by loucapitano on Nov 17, 2012 11:42:05 GMT -5
Thanks Allen, I don't have a book dedicated solely to Crockett, so I'll be looking forward to this one in March. Just curious, what do you think are the definitive books on Bowie and Houston? Lou from Long Island...still drying out but on the road to recovery from Sandy
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Post by Rich Curilla on Nov 17, 2012 16:37:20 GMT -5
Other than the excellent research and presentation by William C. Davis on Bowie in Three Roads to the Alamo, the definitive book on Bowie has yet to be written, IMO. I would love to see one.
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Post by Rich Curilla on Nov 17, 2012 16:41:08 GMT -5
Allen and Jim's book on Crockett's political life is an awesome contribution. I have a lot of trouble reading anything about politics, but I breezed through that huge book without a stop, loved it, learned tons about Crockett that I didn't know from all the other excellent books on his life -- and even learned a bit about politics.
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Post by Jim Boylston on Nov 17, 2012 17:37:06 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words, Rich. Though it's often difficult to overcome seeing Crockett only as the mythological "Davy," (an image reinforced, for our generation, by the power of Disney and John Wayne) while writing and researching "Crockett in Congress," I came to view the man primarily as a politician/public servant. That's certainly how Crockett saw himself. I don't think it's possible to understand the Colonel or his motivations without studying him in the context of his political career. After all, Crockett was in public service nearly his entire adult life.
It's gratifying to hear that most folks come away from the book seeing Crockett anew, as a multi-dimensional historical character rather than a caricature, based on this perspective.
Jim
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Post by Allen Wiener on Nov 17, 2012 20:45:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments, Rich. I'm really glad that you enjoyed the book and got so much out of it.
My experience was much the same as Jim's. Having discovered Crockett through Fess Parker, it was both gratifying and eye-opening to explore the real man's life through his own words and those of his contemporaries, as well as his actual deeds. As Jim says, he saw himself primarily as a politician and as a servant of the people who elected him. For Crockett, a political career was not an end in itself, but merely a means to an end. He saw little point in holding public office if he didn't use it to serve the people who had elected him. His key objective throughout was to achieve land reform in Tennessee, but he also saw himself as the people's surrogate and felt obligated to base his votes on good conscience. Hence, his vote against Jackson's Indian Removal Bill, which he must have known had strong support among his constituents.
David gave rise to the more familiar, largely fictional "Davy," who we came to know and love as children. I still like him and I'm glad he's around, but Jim and I felt that the rascal had come to obscure his real-life counterpart and we wanted everyone to get a good look at him too.
I, too, am always pleased to hear that readers have learned something from our book, that they come away with a new view of Crockett, and (hopefully) had a good read in the process.
Allen
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Post by TRK on Dec 17, 2012 8:56:32 GMT -5
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Post by sloanrodgers on Dec 17, 2012 22:18:09 GMT -5
Sorry. In the absence of no one talking about the Crockett book, my mind wandered to other things. Like a lot of people I'm trying to avoid the disgusting media barrage on a recent tragedy. Oops! almost changed the topic again. Crockett, Crockett, Crockett!
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Post by TRK on Dec 18, 2012 7:43:07 GMT -5
No worries, friend.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Dec 18, 2012 17:13:41 GMT -5
Cool. Was Crockett's Indian name the Mocking Bird or just Davey? ;D
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Post by Allen Wiener on Feb 9, 2013 11:22:22 GMT -5
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Post by mjbrathwaite on Feb 9, 2013 16:40:46 GMT -5
That's an interesting article, Allen. I was amused by his comment on the Alamo - "We know what happened there." If only we did! Incidentally, I didn't get to meet Ringo last week: at the end of the concert he sang a bit of "Give Peace a Chance", then ran out to a waiting car and headed for the airport. When the likes of the Searchers and Gerry and the Pacemakers come here nowadays, they tend to come out and meet fans after their concerts. In 1964, the Beatles thought New Zealand was behind the times, and Ringo must think Beatlemania is still going strong here!
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