Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (The Great Hispanic Heritage)

Antonio de Padua Maria Severino Lopez de Santa Anna was a man of many titles—general in the Mexican army, president, dictator, landowner and administrator, husband, and father. Santa Anna is well known for his part in the infamous Battle of the Alamo during the U.S.-Mexican War and is considered by many to be a bloodthirsty tyrant. However, there were many sides to this icon of Mexican history. During his long life, Santa Anna rose to the pinnacle of power, yet he died nearly penniless and forgotten. This new biography traces his path from middle-class beginnings to the halls of the capital in Mexico City to exile in Cuba to his final days.