"Play that song again" -- Remember Kings Mountain! -- The ballad of Polly Finley -- David Crockett, Indian fighter -- Go west, poor man -- Crockett goes rogue -- "Don't get above your raisin'" -- "The richest country in the world" -- "Crockett goes a-head, though dead" -- "The whole country came unglued" -- Soldiers in the Crockett wars -- The ghosts of Davy Crockett

Traces the author's visits to key areas in the life of Davy Crockett, including the legendary frontiersman's Tennessee River Valley home and the Alamo site in Texas, exploring Crockett's true life and enduring cultural influence

An American icon: Pioneer. Congressman. Martyr of the Alamo. King of the Wild Frontier. As with all great legends, Davy Crockett's has been retold many times, repeatedly reinvented by historians and popular storytellers. In fact, one could argue that there are three distinct Crocketts: the real David, before he became famous; the celebrity politician whose backwoods image Crockett himself created, then lost control of; and the mythic Davy we know today. Bob Thompson follows Crockett's footsteps from his birthplace in East Tennessee, to Washington, where he served three terms in Congress, and on to the Alamo, seeking out those who know, love, and are still willing to fight over his life and legacy. More than just a bold new biography of one of the great American heroes, Thompson's rich mix of scholarship, reportage, humor, and exploration of modern Crockett landscapes brings Davy Crockett's impact on the American imagination vividly to life.--From publisher description