Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History, Kilmeade Brian

In his now-trademark style, Brian Kilmeade brings alive one of the most pivotal moments in American history, this time telling the heart-stopping story of Americas fight for Texas. While the story of the Alamo is familiar to most, few remember how Sam Houston led Texians after a crushing loss to a shocking victory that secured their freedom and paved the way for Americas growth.

In March 1836, the Mexican army led by General Santa Anna massacred more than two hundred Texians who had been trapped in a tiny adobe mission in San Antonio for thirteen days. American legends Jim Bowie and Davey Crockett died there, along with other Americans who had moved to Texas looking for a fresh start.

The defeat galvanized the surviving Texians. Under General Sam Houston, a maverick with a rocky past, the tiny army of settlers rallied--only to retreat time and time again. Having learned from the bloody battles that characterized his past, Houston knew it was poor strategy to aggressively retaliate. He held off until just one month after the massacre, when he and his army of underdog Texians soundly defeated Santa Annas troops in under eighteen minutes at the Battle of San Jacinto, and in doing so won the independence for which so many had died.