Book Review- Born on a Mountaintop

[bedsitter23]

Born on a Mountaintop: On the Road with Davy Crockett and the Ghosts of the Wild Frontier by Bob Thompson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I won't blame Thompson for making an overt reference to Confederates in the Attic for his book, since it probably helped sell copies. However, there is a two way street and this book from the cover says it is in the tradition of Tony Horwitz and Sarah Vowell. Horwitz's modern classic looms large on this one.

A travelogue is probably not a bad idea. As you may know, most of my reading in the past few years fall in that category. For me, Horwitz, Vowell, Bryson and Algeo to name a few. Thompson's travelogue doesn't quite work as he likely saw it out. Those aforementioned all excellent writers found key hooks to hang their story on.

There is plenty of angles you can go with the Civil War, but you don't need to describe the Civil War to anyone. Where Thompson gets bogged down is that not everyone knows the timeline of Crockett and so he loses something in trying to attempt a travelogue and a biography. Most travelogues are around 200 pages because you don't want to overstay your welcome. This book at 300+ page travels into tedium.

Now, Horwitz (and Ken Burns) got a lot of mileage out of Shelby Foote, and Foote indeed is on the short list of great Civil War historians, but the thing is that there isn't just four or five Civil War historians. I suspect Thompson thought he would find a bunch of whacky zany Davy Crockett obsessed local historians. It just turns out that they are normal people who like Davy Crockett and dedicated themselves to his work.

Most of the book is a slog following Crockett's trail. Staring off with Daniel Boone, who ostensibly did more adventuring but was eclipsed time and time again by Crockett's legend. There of course is not a lot of facts that can be put together to definitively pin Crockett down.

Crockett was arguably America's first pop star. Part was legend and biography written by Crockett, part was facts and folklore written by biographers often with an agenda to sell books, and part was from caricature that eventually blended into the legend (think Tina Fey's Palin).

One of Crockett's most famous moment was stepping up against Andrew Jackson and arguing against Indian removal. Crockett was a rogue politician. Still, like even today's rogues (Palin, Trump, Paul), it's hard to figure out motivations. Crockett's stand made him a favorite of Jackson's opponents and he toured the East with the support of JQ Adams supporters.

It is a weird move. Was Crockett easily duped? Was he exploited? Was Crockett smart and realized his friend was his enemy's enemy? And about Indian removal- hadn't Crockett fought Indians? Was Crockett that unicorn- a politician with real integrity? Maybe all of these?

The records are incomplete and contradictory. Well, even in the age of the 24/7 newscycle, our findings are often incomplete.

Crockett did become a legend though. The country was hungry for a hero and Crockett was provided for them. Crockett's biography was a best seller and is still in print and considered a classic. He became as much of a part of American folklore as Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan.

The book explains how the legend grew, The book never shakes the shadow of Confederates in the Attic though, as Thompson moves from location to location.

As the book nears an end, it hits its more interesting parts. We get the serendipitous intervention of Walt Disney who picked Crockett, and not Daniel Boone or any other more obscure frontiersman to help promote his Theme Park, specifically the area he called Adventureland.

The Davy Crockett series of three episodes (later put together as one movie) causes a mass sensation. Although I am a generation removed, I know that there was a coonskin cap craze for my parents, and the character of Davy Crockett was no distant memory.

Fess Parker was a national hero and went on a nationwide tour, where he was feted by everyone wherever he went. The Ballad of Davy Crockett was the most popular song in the nation, and everyone rushed to cash in.

It is weird to imagine that Davy Crockett was a cultural icon on par with Elvis Presley. Thompson shares the recent cultural history. The myth has endured. Crockett's tragic end making him more of a legend to tell than Boone who made the poor career decision of living to the old age of 85 instead of martyrdom.

The chapter on the 20th Century cultural portrayals puts the book back in line with the fun read the cover promised. They covered Parker in detail, John Wayne, Billy Bob Thornton, and the audiobook character portrayed by Nicholas Cage. Are any of them close to the real thing?

The final chapter which deals with the most compelling mystery- Crockett at the Alamo- also was interesting. We have journals, but they have been found only recently and have been revised through the years. What is the truth? Can we count on "found" journals that are really someone's recollections where they may not have even been there in the first place.

Cultural references put Crockett as the last of a few fighting to the bitter end- rifle raised to strike in hand to hand combat. Not only reference in the most famous Alamo painting, but in many Alamo paintings.

A local legend talks about a surrender of the last few who are taken to Santa Anna and then are executed by the uncaring Mexican leader. From here, there are conflicting reports of Crockett either dying a defiant hero or begging for his life like a coward.

Where Crockett is buried is a mystery, as several places seem to take credit for it. Thompson goes into the history of the various journals and stories of Crockett's death, and presents sides from various Crockettologists who argue violently amongst each other. He also gets a bit into the history of the Mexican War to give it a modern context.

Only in these final pages does the book deliver a light reading of history reminiscent of the work of Sarah Vowell or Tony Horwitz.



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