Blood and Thunder

An Epic of the American West

By: Hampton Sides

Narrated by: Don Leslie

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes a magnificent history of the American conquest of the West—"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" (The New York Times Book Review).

In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness.

At the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. Sides shows us how this illiterate mountain man understood and respected the Western tribes better than any other American, yet willingly followed orders that would ultimately devastate the Navajo nation. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won.

©2006 Hampton Sides (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Riveting . . . monumental . .. . Not only does Blood and Thunder capture a pivotal moment in U.S. history in marvelous detail, it is also authoritative and masterfully told.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Stunning. . . Both haunting and lyrical, Blood and Thunder is truly a masterpiece.”—Los Angeles Times

“We see a panorama and a whole history, intricately laced with wonder and meaning, coalesce into a story of epic proportions, a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy . . . Sides fills a conspicuous void in the history of the American West.”
—N. Scott Momaday, The New York Times Book Review

Historical accuracy

Narration is very good. Characters are well developed. Historically fair. Your jaw drops several times with the events.

A fine story of the American West

An interesting book about Christopher "Kit" Carson , the Navajo (Diné) nation and the Plains Indian Wars of the 19th Century. It is not a real history as much as a wonderful story of the encounters and exploits of some of the great people of the Southwest and California. These include the great Navajo leaders Narbona and Manuelito, Carson, Generals Kearny and Carleton as well as John C. Frémont. It is a fascinating story of remarkable people. It is not a history as it does not effectively deal with the outer forces that motivated the actions that crippled and ultimately pacified the plains native Americans as well as the conquest of the Southwest and California from the Mexicans. However, these people did much to shape the United States in the middle of the 19th Century and their efforts should be better known to all who appreciate American history. This book helps that understanding.

Educational

If you want to learn about the Navajo and Kit Carson, you may enjoy this. It’s basically like a history text written in story format. I’m glad I listened to the abridged version.

story of struggle

one should be cautious about judging the past by present standards. this is a story of people doing what seemed best for the time. they made mistakes. it is easy to think we would have done better but maybe not.

I ordered a the abridged audio book by mistake.

still, it was a great and informative story about historical figures and events. Now, I want to download the full unabridged edition.

Not my favorite.

The reason I didn’t like this book was because of the time period of the story. The whole story of Western expansion, slaughter of Indian Tribes and the hubris of the White American Male is a story that needs to be learned but should remain in the past. Such terrible times in US History.