With Sam Houston’s birthday on March 2, Huntsville is celebrating his legacy with various activities throughout the week. The Sam Houston Memorial Museum will host Brian Kilmeade, author of New York Times Best Seller “Sam Houston and The Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History” for a book talk and signing at the Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center March 6 at 2 p.m.
Kilmeade hosts Fox’s morning show “Fox & Friends” and a morning radio program called The Brian Kilmeade Show. He writes historical novels in his free time and after writing about Andrew Jackson, Kilmeade turned his attention to Houston’s history in Texas.
“I thought if I was going to do another one, I’d love to do Texas,” Kilmeade said. “The more you research you realize it’s an American story, I used to think it was just your story in Texas.”
The story follows the Texas Revolution and how Houston’s settlers defeated Santa Anna’s army. Houston stood up for his beliefs and fought for Texas to have their independence.
Kilmeade also shared the interesting facts he learned about Houston during the research phase of his novel. Houston didn’t have the best reputation with his drunkenness and didn’t have the same privileged background as some other politicians of the time.
Kilmeade also included that Houston fought for the rights of American Indians.
“I did not know how much the American Indian cause was a part of his cause,” Kilmeade said. “He was like the first major name to go to bat for American Indian rights.”
Kilmeade also shared an interesting comparison between Houston and another famous historical figure.
“He was also like Nostradamus, he predicted almost everything that was going to happen,” Kilmeade said. “He knew the Civil War was coming. He worried about how the country was divided and worried about political parties.”
Kilmeade expressed his love for Texas and their support.
“In terms of the book, I am in awe of the support Texas has shown for the book, especially from a guy who was born in New York and lives in New York,” Kilmeade said. “The fact people are open to me telling the story of Texas history is heartening, and that was a big worry of mine.”
The book has two separate editions for sale at different retailers, a hardback copy and a paperback copy.
“In the paperback, I’m going to include his decision not to sign on to the Confederacy and join the Civil War and then basically concluding or resigning his job rather than take part in it,” Kilmeade said.
The event is open to the public and books will be available during the signing for those who wish to buy a copy.