David Crockett’s Autobiography

Davy Crockett—frontier humorist and teller of tall tales, politician, rough-and-ready hero—comes vividly to life in what is usually known as his Autobiography. Few figures in American history have been so thoroughly wrapped in legend. From buckskin-clad myth to Alamo martyr, Crockett has long stood at the crossroads of history and folklore, his real voice nearly lost beneath the stories told about him. Modern readers will therefore welcome Michael A. Lofaro’s treatment of Crockett’s 1834 Narrative, which restores the original text while providing the scholarly tools needed to read it clearly.

Crockett offers what he calls “a plain, honest, homespun account of my state in life,” recounting his rise from backwoods poverty to national fame with humor, blunt self-assessment, and a shrewd sense of performance. At once boastful and disarming, the Narrative reveals a man keenly aware of his public persona and the political uses of storytelling on the early American frontier. Editor Michael A. Lofaro supplies a critical introduction and extensive explanatory notes that balance the historical Crockett against the cultural significance of his legend, situating him among the enduring folk heroes of world history. This fully revised edition brings these supplementary materials up to date with the latest scholarship, inviting modern readers to meet Crockett as man and myth both.