WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.439 Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:05.299 be here. So today, Davy Crockett, you hear the 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:08.820 name and you immediately think, well, legend, 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:11.259 right? Absolutely. Cootskin cap, the Alamo, the 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:14.460 whole image. Exactly. But how much of that is 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.170 the real man? And how much is, you know, the 00:00:17.170 --> 00:00:19.570 story we've built around him? That's pretty much 00:00:19.570 --> 00:00:21.769 the central question Buddy Levy tackles in his 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:24.050 biography, Crockett. That's a biography. Levy 00:00:24.050 --> 00:00:26.550 tries to sort of peel back the layers. Yeah, 00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:29.469 he goes deep, tries to find the actual person, 00:00:29.570 --> 00:00:31.829 you know, the frontiersman from Tennessee, the 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:33.490 guy who ended up in Congress and, of course, 00:00:33.530 --> 00:00:37.390 how he became this icon. All the way to the Alamo. 00:00:37.490 --> 00:00:39.409 All the way to the Alamo. It traces that whole 00:00:39.409 --> 00:00:41.929 arc. You know, one thing I really loved, and 00:00:41.929 --> 00:00:45.280 Levy does this so well, is showing how... The 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.399 myth and the man were almost developing side 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:51.020 by side. Like even while Crockett was alive, 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:53.859 these Paul tales were starting to bubble up. 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:56.060 It's kind of wild to see him interacting with 00:00:56.060 --> 00:00:58.200 his own growing legend. It really is. He sort 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:00.640 of leaned into it sometimes, didn't he? Yeah, 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:03.700 maybe he had to. But Levy also, he paints such 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:05.659 a vivid picture of the time. Oh, definitely. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.700 The historical context is crucial. You get figures 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.109 like Andrew Jackson. Oh, yeah. Their relationship 00:01:11.109 --> 00:01:14.870 is complex. Super complex. And Sam Houston, too. 00:01:14.950 --> 00:01:17.390 They weren't just names in the background. Lebby 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.189 shows how their lives and ambitions, you know, 00:01:20.189 --> 00:01:22.969 directly impacted Crockett. Right. It puts his 00:01:22.969 --> 00:01:25.430 decisions into perspective. And I have to say, 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:29.349 for a biography about someone where, let's face 00:01:29.349 --> 00:01:31.879 it, we know the ending. Yeah. The Alamo looms 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:34.000 large. You was a real page turner. Seriously. 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:36.980 Levy makes his life from the backwoods adventures 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:39.900 to the political maneuvering in Washington feel 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:43.420 really immediate and dramatic. He does capture 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.420 that momentum. It doesn't feel like just a dry 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:48.420 recounting of facts. Not at all. But did you 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:53.200 feel that undercurrent of maybe melancholy as 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.540 it went on? Yes. I was just about to say that. 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:57.980 That's one of the things that maybe. Didn't love 00:01:57.980 --> 00:01:59.459 isn't the right word, but it definitely stuck 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:01.719 with me. Right. There's this growing sadness 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.280 or maybe frustration. You see him wrestling with 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:05.859 things. Like what? Well, like trying to live 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.439 up to this huge public image, this king of the 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.020 wild frontier persona. Which he helped create 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:14.319 to some extent. True. But then you see the personal 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.080 struggles underneath it all. Financial problems, 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:24.300 losses. It feels quite human. And maybe a bit 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:26.840 tragic knowing where it's headed. Yeah. That 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.419 public versus private self and the pressure of 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:31.879 that legend. It makes you think about, you know, 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.539 fame even back then. Definitely. And it also 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:37.800 felt, I don't know, a little frustrating sometimes 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.500 watching his personal difficulties pile up despite 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.159 this larger than life reputation. And that ties 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:44.620 into another point, maybe something challenging 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:46.979 about the book or just the subject itself. What's 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:49.080 that? Just how hard it is, even for Levy trying 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:52.080 to be meticulous, to fully separate the absolute 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:54.500 fact from the fiction that started growing so 00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:56.699 early. Right. The legend was already taking root 00:02:56.699 --> 00:02:59.039 while he was still making speeches and, you know, 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.719 living his life. Exactly. It shows how powerful 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.340 storytelling and folklore are, how quickly they 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:06.620 can shape our perception of someone, maybe even 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:09.199 obscure the reality a bit. It really makes you 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.129 think. So, OK, putting it all together. Buddy 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:16.610 Levy's Crockett. For me, I'm landing on a solid 00:03:16.610 --> 00:03:19.289 four out of five stars. Yeah, I think that's 00:03:19.289 --> 00:03:21.810 fair. It's engaging. It's really well researched. 00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:25.930 And it just sheds a lot of light on a figure 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:28.870 we think we know, but maybe don't fully grasp 00:03:28.870 --> 00:03:31.169 the complexities of. It definitely leaves you 00:03:31.169 --> 00:03:32.990 conjuring, doesn't it? Like when we look back 00:03:32.990 --> 00:03:36.830 at these legendary figures. How much are we remembering 00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:39.310 the actual person, their flaws and struggles 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:41.729 and all that? And how much is just the, you know, 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:44.650 the echo of the story we needed or wanted to 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:47.909 tell about them? And maybe why we needed that 00:03:47.909 --> 00:03:50.490 specific story. Ooh, that is a good thought to 00:03:50.490 --> 00:03:53.569 chew on. Why that story? Okay, well, if this 00:03:53.569 --> 00:03:55.469 deep dive into Davy Crockett got you thinking. 00:03:55.650 --> 00:03:58.349 Hope it did. Please do us a favor and hit that 00:03:58.349 --> 00:04:00.110 like button and subscribe if you haven't already. 00:04:00.270 --> 00:04:02.250 Helps us out a lot. It really does. And if you 00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:04.240 want to read the book for yourself. We've put 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:06.599 an Amazon link to Buddy Levy's Crockett right 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:08.439 there in the description. Definitely worth checking 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:10.599 out if this sparked your interest. Yeah, absolutely. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:12.620 So thanks everyone for tuning in and joining 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:14.979 us for this. Yeah, thanks for listening. We'd 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:17.240 love to hear from you, actually. What was maybe 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:19.319 the most surprising thing you learned about Crockett? 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:21.740 Or perhaps a favorite moment from his story, 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.319 real or legendary? Oh, good question. Let us 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:27.620 know down in the comments. We do read them. Please 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:30.860 do. And yeah, share this with... Anyone else 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:33.000 you think might find the life of Davy Crockett 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.019 fascinating? Until next time.