Remember the Alamo! The Runaway Scrape Diary of Belle Wood (review)

2??8Book Reviews233 ing because he doesn't speak ill of or ignore those shouldering unthinkable burdens , but tries to help his fellow men, in the main, with findingjobs, knowledge, or lasting relationships. The young man's view of the world, once limited to his hometown, family, farm, and church, has expanded through travel, risk, adversity , and pluck. By remaining principled and equitable Lon reinforces the notion that fair and honest dealings will ultimately result in an improved life, rather thanjust continued survival. In a Fevered Land revisits familiar territory. Times of exceptional adversity reveal a person's mettle, which, when tested, illuminates strengths and weaknesses of both body and spirit. Lon Prather would seem old beyond his years except for the fact that prior to October 1929, rural folk seemed better positioned than their urban counterparts perhaps were to comprehend the uncontrollable realities ofweather, scarcity, surplus, the international economy, and health. This presumption permits readers to accept Lon's remarkably prescient view of life. But this is a view willingly adopted because Lon Prather tries to treat others fairly while simultaneously doing his utmost to promote his own advancement. Irene Sandell has written a book that is satisfying in several respects. Her depiction of the social and financial destitution of Texas cotton farmers during the late 1920s is dead on, as is her portrayal of the calamitous nature of the oil patch. Bad characters meet ugly deaths, good but weak persons expire as if by preordination, and those like Lon Prather, who shrewdly apply honesty, "good sense," and diligence to obstacles, persevere. Sandell's characters are fully drawn; the set upon which their lives unfold is brilliantly and accurately decorated. Readers will enjoy making the trip with Lon Prather and company. Austin, TexasPage Foshee Remember the Alamo! The Runaway Scrape Diary ofBelle Wood. By Lisa Waller Rogers. (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2003. Pp. 199. Maps, illustrations. ISBN 0-89672-497-2. $15.95, cloth.) Lisa Waller Rogers has created a new children's classic of Texas literature with her Remember the Alamo! This interesting and creative way of presenting the Texas Revolution from a child's perspective brings the story to life for young people as no history textbook possibly could. Rogers has recreated Texas during the revolution in the dynamic and compelling format of a young woman's diary. Through diary entries the reader gets as complete a picture of the time and place as possible. Having based her story on the memoirs of Dilue Rose Harris and other contemporary sources, Rogers accurately shows the effects of the revolution on the ordinary citizens of Texas. Battles and strategies are included only insofar as they would have been relevant to a young girl in the colonies, without descriptions of complex military maneuvers and battle plans that would have been difficult for young readers to grasp. Readers will be thrilled with love stories, a ghost story, intrigue, and drama. The heroine of the story, Belle Wood, begins her diary in October 1835 and concludes it in August of the following year. She takes the reader through the entire 234Southwestern Historical QuarterlyOctober revolution from its opening and uncertain days, the death of a sibling at the Alamo, the frightening and dismal "Runaway Scrape" to the equally frightening return home and the difficulties of rebuilding their homestead. Details of daily life in Texas are interspersed seamlessly, so that the young reader will learn about the era without seeming to. The story progresses rapidly and holds the reader's attention to its conclusion with victory and a return home from the Runaway Scrape. Following the conclusion of the diary, Rogers includes many illustrations, maps, and commentary to further connect the fiction with the reality of the Texas Revolution for her young readers. The only item this teacher would like to see added is a "further readings" list that might lead the interested reader deeper into the story ofTexas. Young readers will enjoy this volume, teachers will thrill to have a new and exciting way for their students to learn about the Texas Revolution, and parents will be happy for a decent and compelling story that will intrigue their children. Victoria, TexasDeborah Hardin...