The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey

This is a marvelous book for those with more than a passing interest in this lil' 'ol mission from Tejas. The photography is superb & accompanying text is informative for the most part. The provenance on some pieces depicted is subjective & perhaps wishful thinking & Mr. Collins does acknowledge that. In particular,the knives supposedly belonging James Bowie are in my opinion, still enshrouded in a mysterious fog much like their infamous (or notorious) namesake. The large folding boot knife (navaja) comes with a tale of Jim Bowie gifting it to the Missouri family when he also lived there. He would have been known as little Jimmy Bowie then as he was a toddler when the Bowies lived in Missouri before moving to Lousiana & all authorities agree that's where James spent his formative years. Very nice knife nonetheless! The other one has been a bone of contention among knife enthusiasts for past 30 or so years. I've always been a believer in that one but it's bittersweet to know that it's no longer owned by my amigo. Collins does mention that it was a rather emotional parting in that transaction.I had the pleasure of viewing Sam Houston's Bowie Star of Texas knife when it was on display at Institute of Texan Culture in San Antonio many years ago. For those who haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend checking out the detailed model of the Alamo compound in the History Shop right across from the Alamo. It was built by one who shares the same love & reverance for this place as Collins.The diggings in the building were of special interest to me as I possess a cannonball found in a similar excavation on Houston Street that was within the Alamo compound at time of the battle. David Crosby once wrote; "do you know? don't you wonder what's going on...under the ground. We have all been here before" That touches on something Collins briefly mentions & is somewhat skeptical about. I had a similar reading done & was also told the very same thing as he! When I finally made my first pilgrimage there I was so preoccupied with looking all around that I tripped over a lawn sprinkler on the grounds behind the chapel & fell. Made me wonder if this was a deja vu moment....quien sabe? Further research has shown that area was where a number of defenders were trying to escape the Alamo slaughter. Ah well, what can I say? Wanted to live to fight another day! I had the pleasure of meeting Phil at one of the Alamo observances & he signed my Alamo Music book for which he wrote the forward. I'm grateful that he has shared this impressive collection & I can only hope to see these things in person one day at the expanded Alamo Museum to which he alludes in his book. Nice drawings by Gary Zaboly also grace the pages of this highly recommended addition to anyone's history library. Recuerden El Alamo!

An Alamo buff since 1955 Davey Crockett series, I was glad I bought this book and recommended it to others.

... and I have a bunch of them. I am a San Antonio native of 60 young years. I have treasured our history all my life. Phil Collins has done a wonderful thing with this book. Being a gifted artist I suppose it came second nature to him. For the true fan the price of admission to obtain this book is trivial. Even paying for it I still see it as a gift to Texas history fans. Mr. Collins has shared with us the passion and honor he holds for Texas history and especially the Alamo story. We are so fortunate to have a man of his character go on an all out effort to accumulate artifacts relating to this period. Not with greed in mind, but a giving heart that these items be shared with all and preserved for posterity. I wish Mr. Collins all the best and hope he continues his mission with full force. I give this book an Amazon "5 Star" rating without hesitation, but I say it deserves a special "Lone Star" rating, which is the highest rating I could give. Mr. Collins is a true Texan in every way but where he happened to be born. A very special man. He has produced a book that "lives". I hope that there is a Volume 2.....and beyond.

Lots of info on the artifacts. Great Collection!

An excellent book! Took a long time to decide whether to buy book or not based on a few negative reviews. Ignore them! A true Alamo buff will be thankful to Phil Collins for visually bringing to life the Battle of the Alamo and beyond. Excellent photo reproduction and insightful text to each ..

This book gets it's three stars for the fantastic layout and photography. You could not expect to find a better example of design in a book of collectibles. It only gets three stars as collecting is all about provenance which the collector seems to ignore. In the very forward the name De La Pena is mentioned in a good way when any serious Alamo historian shudders at this man's name. De La Pena's "diary" (which says David Crockett surrendered and was executed) surfaced in the hand of a dealer known to deal in fakes at a time when Texas was flooded with oil money and rich Texans spent tremendous sums of money on anything related to the Texas War of Independence. How many of the copies of the Texas Constitutions held in Texas Universities are real????? At any rate when a rich person wants to collect people will line up and tell tales. Some of the stories in this book make me very uneasy as I have dealt in both railroad and toy soldier collectibles and telling the real from the fake is an ongoing problem. Military collectors tell me there are more fakes than real items. The author a professional musician seems like a really nice man. He is from the U.K. and probably not used the the US mentality of anything for a dollar so the book in this reviewer's mind contains a number of bogus items which is sad.

Phil and Company did a great job in The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey. Well written and photographed; this masterpiece puts you back in time around 1836 and you can smell the gunpowder and fire of the Brave Alamo Defenders as well as The Mexican Army. Many RARE historical documents that Phil has found are explained and pieced together as well as stories from both sides of the Battle before and after. Two things I would have liked to have seen more of- Information and depictions on the period uniforms of both sides worn at the Alamo and Phil's Signed Autograph for the price of the book. Maybe next time. 5 STARS for many reasons- Enjoy!

Great book. Wonderful full color pages. A really great collection of Alamo items. I am surprised this book did not cost three times as much.

Amazing Stories, and pictures! a real treasure for our library

I would never for a minute thought that Phil Collins one of my musical heroes would have the time or be interested in history and share my passion for the events at the Alamo in Texas in 1836.Like myself he was fascinated by the Old West and the Alamo since boyhood.Phil has taken it one step further in personally collecting artefacts and memorabilia related to the Alamo and produced this wonderful book to showcase them that we can also enjoy.Beautifully presented this book will be a joy to own for anyone interested in not only the Texas revolution but in history.Although rather pricey I would recommend this to anyone,an ideal gift with Christmas on the way.

Wer kennt nicht die klassischen Geschichtsbücher geschrieben von einem akademisch gebildeten Wissenschaftler in trockener Prosa mit wenig Bildern und einem Verhältnis 1:2 von Text zu Fussnoten.Hier erzählt ein erfolgreicher Sammler die Geschichte der Schlacht um die Alamo und die Erringung der Unabhängigkeit von Texas von Mexico anhand einer Vielzahl von Artefakten und Schriftstücken.Er nimmt de Leser an der Hand und führt ihn durch ein Puzzle von Fundstücken zu einem Verständnis der Geschichte und zeigt gleichzeitig die Grenzen der Wahrheitsfindung auf..Hierbei kommt Phil Collins sowohl seine Sammelleidenschaft als auch seine Bühnenerfahrung zugute.Das Buchg ist nicht billig, aber Umfang und Ausstattung rechtfertigen den Preis.

Phil's collection of a lifetime from The Alamo and beyond, relics and militaria bringing history alive! Fantastic book, the humanity of Phil Collins in undeniable with the donation of the collection to The Alamo. Seeing actual items that belonged to Travis, Crockett, Dickinson and the defenders of the Alamo and the militaria associated with Santa Anna's army is nothing more than spectacular.

A beautiful collection of the artifacts owned by Phil Collins and the superb illustrations of Gary Zaboly this is an amateur historian at his best showing what passion can do to energise the dead past and bring it to life.