The Bugles Are Silent

In this historical novel, the grand scope and high drama of the Texas Revolution are re-engaged, with a new twist. For the first time, this story of heroism and sacrifice is being told from both sides of the conflict. In an era turbulent with the clash of cultures, religion and political ideology, the dichotomy of a right and wrong side is invariably emotional and never simple. Knaggs' use of young fictional characters (Jason Gates, courier to Sam Houston, and Juan Calderon on Santa Anna's staff) gives imaginative dimension to this complexity. Alternating from camp to camp, this novel gives a unique dual vision of both Texas and Mexican participants in the pivotal military action, and the women who influenced them. The reader will also follow the plight of Texas citizens, caught in the desperate struggle that swept their land before they were prepared. Characters in the fast-paced novel engage in thorough and fascinating discussions of strategy, terrain and morale. They lead the reader to match wits with opposing forces as Mexican dictator Santa Anna and his seasoned staff confront the small band of Alamo defenders and its unlikely young commander, William Barret Travis, supported by the legendary frontiersmen, Jim Bowie and David Crockett. Walking in the hopeful steps of the book's young protagonists and their respective commanders, the reader then watches events unfold to a water-locked plain near the Gulf of Mexico where Andrew Jackson's restless friend, Sam Houston, a citizen of four nations is seven years, lays a trap for Santa Anna. The Texas Revolution, more than any other single event, rekindled the ambition of Americans to continue their western expansion, consumed by the revolutionary spirit of that conflict. This powerful novel recreates vividly the people and events of an exciting era in American history that led to a pivotal change in the balance of power on the North American continent.

John R. Knaggs was district director for Senator John Tower as well as his political consultant during his campaigns. He was a columist for The Austin American Statesman for over 4 years. Other books by the author are "Two Party Texas" and "King Makers".

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Signed First Edition