The Public Career of David Crockett

There are two David Crocketts-- the mythical hero and the living man. Young readers devour with thrill and excitement the legendary lore of Davy's feats as Indian fighter, bear killer, and expert rifleman. To them he is something of a superman. Mature readers, historians, and others read biographies and other accounts pertaining to the real David Crockett. Since it is difficult to place him in history and to appraise his public life, to them he becomes a controversial person.