Customer Reviews

Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

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Blood and Thunder is a blockbuster! With this sweeping and comprehensive history, Hampton Sides vividly and engagingly retells the story of James K. Polk's and the nation's drive to absorb the West and expand America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Along with this outsized and bold tale of conquest and manifest destiny, Sides generously presents us with a whole constellation of people and events, such as the deliberately provoked (by the U.S.) Mexican-American war, the jarring clash of Native-American and Anglo cultures, the life of the great leader of the Navajos, Narbona, and his awful death, the relentless and brutal efforts of the US Army at eradication of the Navajos and other tribespeople, the coming of the Civil War to New Mexico, and the creation of one of America's first pop heros, Kit Carson. Through newspapers and trashy pulp fiction westerns, known at the time as "blood and thunders," a larger than life western Indian killer and superhero was born, which had nothing whatever to do with the real person. But Americans needed such a hero as Kit Carson to entertain them and to make them feel safe in venturing far away to the west. Sides focuses in on Kit Carson's real life as if it were almost representative of an entire era.

The historian Sides is scrupulously even-handed in the telling of this tale and spares us no details, proving that history is often a messy business where sometimes the bad and good intermingle in the same person and event, and one can perhaps never know the whole truth. Nowhere in this work is this more clearly shown than in the person of Christopher Carson, the quiet, unassuming, and illiterate central figure in this drama who had an urge at a young age to take off to parts unknown. He first apprenticed as a trapper and learned from the best of the mountain men, then took the western landscape in as if it were a part of him. He became the most reliable guide and trailblazer known and began to serve the US Army as it sought to tame not only the wild natives but the nation of Mexico as the one-dimensional president, James K. Polk, pursued his obsession of obtaining the West for America. Carson himself, Sides tells us, had a deep abiding respect for the native peoples, married first an Arapaho woman, whom he deeply loved, and, after her sad death, he married a Cheyenne, which quickly proved to be a disaster. On his farmstead in Taos, he coexisted with and accommodated nearby tribes, who knew of and respected him. And he knew and understood the customs of many of the tribes. Yet he also exhibited unbridled violence and murdered countless warriors for what he thought were just causes. Another seeming irony in Carson's life was his being a willing instrument in opening up the West to the rest of the nation, but then sensing, toward the 1850s, that the very settlers he helped were shrinking the once inexhaustible land. They wantonly and stupidly slaughtered the buffalo, were wiping out the silvertip grizzlies, and had brought smallpox and other European diseases to the defenseless tribes, helping to wipe them out as well. Carson, as Sides says, "saw the tendrils of civilization creeping in; the America he had left behind [in the East] was finally catching up with him."

This is an extraordinary book, filled with heros and villains, and richly and expertly written. Although Kit Carson's life figures prominently in this work, many other pivotal figures are brought to life to tell this tale. One can never go out West again and feel quite the same about it after reading this work. I urge you not to miss it.

Hampton Sides has given us a multi-faceted examination of the men and forces involved in the conquest of the American West and the way of life of its original settlers.

At the center is Christopher "Kit" Carson, who was a pivotal figure in the events and whose life has been so distorted by legend most today have little inkling of just how complex an individual and how heroic--in the true sense of the word--the man really was.

There are also telling portraits of others: President James Polk, engineer of Manifest Destiny, who believed it was his nation's biblical right to seize real estate all the way to the Pacific, no matter who else might claim the land; Stephen Watts Kearny, father of the U.S. Cavalry and one of the most underrated officers produced by this country, who Polk used to spearhead his land lust; the equally ambitious John C. Fremont and his father-in-law, Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, the apostle of Manifest Destiny; the energetic and interesting Brig. Gen. James H. Carleton, whose well-meaning dream of a refuge for the Navajo led them to Bosque Redondo and near extinction; the great Navajo leaders Narbona, Manuelito and Barboncito, and many others.

Diminutive in stature, Carson was--as Sides describes him early on: "...a lovable man...loyal, honest, and kind. In many pinpointable incidents, he acted bravely and with much physical grace. More than once, he saved people's lives without seeking recognition or pay. He was a dashing good Samaritan--a hero, even."

In the very next paragraph, Sides says, "He was also a natural born killer."

Carson was all of that. A humble man, a brave man, loyal to his friends, a demon to his enemies. He was a man of his times, yet stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. Married to a Mexican, he shared the viewpoint of his Hispanic relatives and neighbors when it came to the Navajo and was Carleton's spear in driving the Dine from their homeland and on the Long Walk. Yet he loved the Ute and helped save them from the forces destroying other tribes.

Sides does not romanticize. He is a storyteller, and his words keep one turning the pages; no dry history this. He reveals the good and the bad about all the people in this book. It is a grand book. One that should be required reading in high schools and colleges to inform future generations of how we came to our present place in history.

This is a beautifully written book that takes epic form in retelling the settling of the American southwest from 1820 through the 1860s. From the Mexican war to the removal of the Navajo from Canyon de Chelly, Hampton Sides writes an engaging account of the results of manifest destiny, showing both sides, warts and all. The white man, while seeming noble in purpose, is shown to have been lacking in honor, and while the Indians were certainly shafted time and again they had many of their own faults. Central to this story is the famous mountain man Kit Carson, a man of many contradictions: though extremely intelligent he was also illiterate; he could speak many of the native languages, understood the Indian ways, and even had Indian wives but he also participated in the slaughter and removal from their lands of these same Indians. The book also includes engaging portraits of many of the important figures of this time period: Stephen Watts Kearny, John Fremont, the Navajo warrior Narbona, and Senator Thomas Benton. the Author is even handed and fair in portraying all those involved. This book proves that truth is stranger than fiction. Speaking of fiction, I also recommend Across the High Lonesome set in the modern American west.

I will get to my review shortly, but please first drive to your closest bookstore, or click above on Amazon.com and order this book. It is just a marvelous must read. Why? There are a number of reasons. To begin with I am a big fan of Hampton Sides' book Ghost Soldiers about Bataan and a Japanese prison camp rescue. This new book is in part a biography of Kit Carson and an overall history of the Navaho, the Mexican American War and the taking of the west by manifest destiny. The key to both books, I think, is Sides ability to explain the cultural roots of both sides and the conflict. You could not condone the Japanese behavior but could in fact understand it. In his new western history you find the Navaho not to be so lovable and the Americans not so honorable. Throughout this history lesson is the story of the simply amazing and contradictory life of the illiterate, Kit Carson. Sides is not only a great and entertaining writer but a marvelous story teller that makes you want to turn the pages faster and faster. This volume is full of material for more than 100 films. And it even can serve somewhat as another example of Americas compelling need to fight wars of liberation.
I found it amazingly relevant that the Mexican War was our nation's first war of choice. Fought to support manifest destiny and to bring democracy and freedom to Mexico. That once defeated the Catholic Church supported a revolt of insurgency against American rule which was crunched after its violent backlash. President Polk for good or bad certainly changed the map of history, and you can certainly see why many Mexicans feel California was stolen for $11 million dollars.
As you may have already read the Blood and Thunders were the dime novels that glorified all this history and many promoted a fictional life of Kit Carson as if his real life was not noteworthy enough. Not bad for a guy 5' 4" who had a feminine voice and who rode all over the west on the back of a mule rather than a horse. And who died the only illiterate General in the history of the United States military.
If you have ever visited or wanted to visit the Southwest, Santa Fe, Taos (Kit Carson home still sits near the plaza), Canyon de Chelly or have any interest in the American conquest of the west you will find this book top rate, a text that should be used in every High School American History class.
I remember being in Canyon de Chelly standing below Fortress Rock as our Navaho guide told the story of how three hindered Navaho's hid from Kit Carson high on its bluff. It was an amazing story and I wondered at the time why I had not heard of it before, and now Hampton Sides book puts that incident in perspective. In the end I think you will take away the fact that Kit Carson, like his country and the Navaho nation were all great and flawed. So have you bought the book yet? Get on with it! Read.

The irony of the real story here is that President Lincoln and Congress created Bosque Redondo before Carson was asked to roundup the Navajo. Carson was the messenger and it becomes more clear every year that had anyone else headed the roundup, the Dine' might not exist as a major Indain tribe as they are today.
Some Indian people keep hiding behind the old concept of the Indian history is "oral history." All history starts as oral history! The Navajos have created colleges and museums and have been recording their history for a long time. Those that hide behind the multi-versions of oral history have few facts to connect the dots.
Sides has written a marvelous book on a fascinating time period of western American history. This historical narrative and the documentation that is included with the book sets this book above most historical volumes. Everyone will enjoy this book and will have room to drawn their own conclusions on many issues of those times.
It is great reading. Kit Carson is one of the fascinating people in American history--and all he ever wanted to do is be a husband and rancher in Taos, New Mexico--but history delt him a wild hand.

The most glorious history book I have read in a long time. Hugely entertaining and informative. This is a singularly American story, it sheds light not just on distant and little known events in our history but on American attitudes that we still exhibit today. I am struck by the parallels to the situation in Iraq today, the conquest of New Mexico and resulting clashes with both Mexicans and Navaho is a mixture of self interest and good intentions coupled with a lack of understanding of the alien cultures involved.

The events laid out in this book were of huge importance to the shape of the United States today yet are little known by most Americans. We would all do well to read this magnificent book. Thank you Hampton Sides, your book is a gem and a gift to the American people.

Hampton Sides shines in this well researched, exciting and very readable narrative of our great American Southwest. Each page is brimming with adventure, insight and judicious analysis.
Kit Carson plays the pivotal role in this historical account of conquest. With a multitude of actors in Carson's circle, such as John Fremont, Navajo "Chief" Narbona, the Bent brothers, a plethora of military figures such as Generals Kearny, Canby, and Carleton, along with personages from both the Indian and New Mexican cultures, this book is difficult to put down.
The author vividly and entrancingly takes the reader into many geographical areas such as Canyon de Chelly and Chaco Canyon to the numerous battle scenes, depredations committed, living conditions of all involved, etc. for the sole purpose of Manifest Destiny.
This is an extremely descriptive and meaningful book. An excellent follow-up to Tom Dunlay's "Kit Carson and the Indians". Brilliant.

What a dude Christopher (Kit) Carson was! Who would have guessed? A prototypical American hero has remained less well known than Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickock, Davy Crockett and Wyatt Earp yet makes the latter group look like a barbershop quartet. Expert Indian tracker and fighter, soldier, hunter, explorer, scout, crack shot, commander of troops in battle, involved in dozens if not hundreds of derring-do, swashbuckling episodes including narrow brushes with death, at the very least Kit Carson deserves his own action hero toy figure! As a scout and messenger for American forces that executed President Polk's obsessive goal of Manifest Destiny, Kit Carson had as much to do with annexing California and the American Southwest from Mexico as anyone else. Regarded even in his time as small in stature, Kit Carson nevertheless was a killer, an effective leader of men and a survivor who could trek across mountains and deserts, finding water, trails and passes, and avoiding hostile indians. In BLOOD AND THUNDER, Hampton Sides presents a readable, entertaining biography of Kit Carson. Mr. Sides edges his scope out even further to include a kind of history of the Southwest in the 1800's. In particular, he deals with the Navajo tribe and their conflict with the United States. Commanche, Kiowa and Sioux tribes have a repuation for being fierce but Navajos always seemed to me to be peaceful expert blanket weavers. Besides learning about Carson's forgetten life (he was famous in his own time), the big surprise in BLOOD AND THUNDER was to learn that the Navajo were a warlike, powerful, semi-nomadic tribe that were for decades a serious problem to Mexican and American settlers alike and to the Spanish before them and Kit Carson played an important role in subduing them. There are a lot of colorful characters in this book, Navajo and Mexican and American, men and women, and much rich detail. BLOOD AND THUNDER reads like a rip-roaring novel, soon to be a major movie, and makes learning about an important segment of our national history a painless exercise.

Fills in much of the gaps left by American history classes. The western expansion has typically been taught from a colonial, east coast point of view, with our national focus on the American Cival War, which occured at the same time. Here you read a holistic perspective of 'how the west was won'. It sheds light on the Indian/Mexican slave trade, manifest destiny, and the brutalities inflicted by all groups upon each other. Well written and researched. This will become a permanant member of my bookshelf.

Well written, highly readable book about the life of Carson and the Navajo as their lives run parallel particular as Carson settles in Taos for his home base and they virtually collide when General Carlton attempts the final Navajo solution during the Civil War. Sides writes a fair and articulate account of Carson and the Navajo documenting facts and challenging potential myths that Carson modestly identifies himself. Sides details Carson's upbringing and youthful escape from Missouri to join a mountain man caravan to Santa Fe starting his life as a mountain man and as a future expert on the wilderness and Indians. The author tells of Carson's mountain life, his guiding of Fremont through the mountains making both of them heroes in the east, his role in the take over of California, his rescue of General Kearney's beleaguered cavalry dragoons, his tracking skills to find raiding Indians, and his later day activities in aiding the army in subjugating the Mescalero Apaches, Navajos and a significant attempt in subduing the Commanches with service during the Civil War (Brigadier General at career end) repelling the Confederate forces under General Sibley. Sides rotates chapters primarily between Carson and the Navajo led by Narbona their leader and later his son-in-law, Manuelito with split chapters on special occurrences that happen primarily in New Mexico. The life of the Navajo is respectively told regarding their history, the scared land they live on bordered by unique mountain peaks, their life raising sheep and crops and their strained relationship with the New Mexicans that involved an odd give and take, the Navajo conducting raids for sheep and other means and the New Mexicans capturing and enslaving the Navajo. In the midst of these two great stories is the manifest destiny of the American conquering of the west that includes the Mexican War, Civil War and the crowding of the local Indian tribes due to white expansion. A very objective book particularly underlining the failed attempt of General Carlton to place the Navajo and Mescaleros in what he thought was a paradise reservation that was a horrible failure that he refused to admit to. The detail of this book is enthralling as Sides even includes such fascinating stories such as James "Paddy" Graydon's successful exploding mule that he used to stampede Sibley's Confederate herd of horses and mules. Toward the latter part of the book, Sides describes the Army's cruel but apparently effective destructions of Indian camps, food stuffs, crops, horses and other means of survival in order to conquer the various tribes. This was effective although harsh measure that replicated General Sheridan and Sherman's future tactics against the Plains Indians. A great book that instills appropriate respect for Carson and the Navajo while clearly demonstrating the weakness of man's vanity as exemplified by Carleton's inability to recognize that his Bosque Redondo reservation requiring the relocation of the Navajo and Mescaleros was a complete failure costing the lives of hundreds of Indians. Sides also notes that Carson's quick decisive decisions were not always right particularly under the wrong superior but in most cases, his decisions were appropriate and timely. I recently visited the Navaho reservation to see Monument Valley and I found the land and the people well worth visiting. After reading the book, I regret not visiting Canyon de Chelly, the Navajo stronghold and beautiful Canyon that is still virtually untouched by man and according to those that have visited it, just as mystifying and beautiful as the Grand Canyon.