Bowie: A Novel [Hardcover]

Randy Lee Eickhoff (Author), Leonard C. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Jim Bowie, the descendant of Highland Scots, grew up riding alligators and working the field on the Texas frontier. Taught three languages and a sense of honor, he went on to live a life filled with brawls and battles, loves and loses. This is his story, as told by those who, whether they loved or hated him, were united by their awe of this amazing frontiersman.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The softspoken Southern aristocrat best known for king-sized cutlery and his glorious death at the Alamo, Jim Bowie remains a historical enigma surrounded by myth, half-truth and revisionist tinkering. This collaboration (Eickhoff most recently wrote a dark western, The Fourth Horseman, about Doc Holliday) continues the murky Bowie legend in a cacophony of more than 35 narrators who tell of Bowie's life (1796-1836), some recalling different details of the same events as seen from different perspectives and distanced by time. A loyal friend and deadly enemy, Bowie had a checkered career as a partner of slave trader and pirate Jean Lafitte (and was himself involved in suspicious land speculation with alleged forged land titles). Never one to run from a fight or ignore an insult, Bowie killed dozens of men in duels and brawls with Indians, assassins, robbers, bullies and card cheats. Although plagued by scandals and not always popular after a killing, Bowie was a natural leader, a trait that led him to Texas and the Alamo. While one wishes they had made do with fewer narrators, the authors cleverly show both sides of Jim Bowie, the hero and the villain, certainly no common man and no saint, but a true Western legend.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-Known as an adventurer, entrepreneur, land speculator, slave runner, drinker, alligator rider, associate of the pirate Lafitte, gambler, and brawler, James Bowie remains best known when associated with the infamous knife bearing his surname. From his early teenage years to his death at the Alamo, he found ways to keep himself in the thick of things. Bowie's life story is revealed through interviews that offer a variety of perspectives by several "witnesses" to the events. Even though the stories sound true to life, readers need to remember that the book contains fictionalized history. Interviewees recite specifics about landscapes, weather, food, housing, and clothing, as well as day-to-day rituals, enhancing the story and giving a fuller account of frontier life in the early 1800s. It is an eclectic population, with many tribes of Southwestern and South Central Native Americans as well as Africans, French, Spanish, Mexicans, British, Scottish, and those who consider themselves citizens of the United States. The mixture makes for rich memories sometimes spoken in dialects with non-English words naturally becoming part of the interviews. The action-packed story ends with Bowie's death at the Alamo, a dramatic event spectacular enough for a man whose true life can no longer be separated from the legend he has become. Teens looking for stories about adventure, the untamed frontier, or an exciting retelling of Bowie's life can start here.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312866194
• ISBN-13: 978-0312866198
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,389,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, lively storytelling at it's best., October 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bowie: A Novel (Hardcover)

Eickhoff and Lewis have teamed together to compose the most complete account of a complicated, often oversimplified man. As a hero of the Alamo, James Bowie has been the victim of many myths. I believe Eickhoff and Lewis succeed at erasing the myths, yet keeping the mystery and magical qualities that seemed to surround the man, who some called "El Leon", or the lion, because of his impressive mane of red hair. Lewis published an article about Bowie last year, where he gave us a taste of what was to come in this book, Bowie. I recommend it, expecially the magical telling of the forging of the infamous knife that became Bowie's trademark.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BOWIE, May 15, 2000

By 

MATT (TRONA,CA,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bowie: A Novel (Hardcover)

BOWIE IS ONE OF THE BEST FICTIONAL BIOGARPHY I'VE EVER READ. A MAGNIFICANT ACHIVEMENT OF FACT SUPPORTING FICTION TO RE-CREAT A STORY IN WORDS THAT WILL BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES AND A LUMP TO YOUR THROAT.THE AWSOME TASK OF BIOGAPHICAL NOVELIST IS TO GATHER UP THE BONES OF LONG-DEAD PEOPLE AND BEREATH LIFE BACK INTO THEM.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bowie, November 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bowie: A Novel (Hardcover)

The author seemed so knowledgeable on the subject of Jim Bowie. I didn't know some of the stories myself. I often wondered what went on prior to The Alamo and now I know. I would like to see the same type of Book come out about Crockett and Travis.