In the fall of 1846 the venerable Navajo warrior Narbona, greatest of his people's chieftains, looked down upon the small town of Santa Fe, the stronghold of the Mexican settlers he had been fighting his whole long life. He had come to see if the rumors were true--if an army of blue-suited soldiers had swept in from the East and utterly defeated his ancestral enemies. As Narbona gazed down on the battlements and cannons of a mighty fort the invaders had built, he realized his foes had been vanquished--but what did the ...
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In the fall of 1846 the venerable Navajo warrior Narbona, greatest of his people's chieftains, looked down upon the small town of Santa Fe, the stronghold of the Mexican settlers he had been fighting his whole long life. He had come to see if the rumors were true--if an army of blue-suited soldiers had swept in from the East and utterly defeated his ancestral enemies. As Narbona gazed down on the battlements and cannons of a mighty fort the invaders had built, he realized his foes had been vanquished--but what did the arrival of these New Men portend for the Navajo? Narbona could not have known that The Army of the West, in the midst of the longest march in American military history, was merely the vanguard of an inexorable tide fueled by a self-righteous ideology now known as Manifest Destiny. For twenty years the Navajo, elusive lords of a huge swath of mountainous desert and pasturelands, would ferociously resist the flood of soldiers and settlers who wished to change their ancient way of life or destroy them. Hampton Sides's extraordinary book brings the history of the American conquest of the West to ringing life. It is a tale with many heroes and villains, but as is found in the best history, the same person might be both. At the center of it all stands the remarkable figure of Kit Carson--the legendary trapper, scout, and soldier who embodies all the contradictions and ambiguities of the American experience in the West. Brave and clever, beloved by his contemporaries, Carson was an illiterate mountain man who twice married Indian women and understood and respected the tribes better than any other American alive. Yet he was also a cold-blooded killer who willingly followed orders tantamount to massacre. Carson's almost unimaginable exploits made him a household name when they were written up in pulp novels known as blood-and-thunders, but now that name is a bitter curse for contemporary Navajo, who cannot forget his role in the travails of their ancestors.
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Add this copy of Blood and Thunder: an Epic of the American West (Random to cart. $112.88, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
Really enjoyed the book! I have read many books on the settling of the West and this book rates as the best for information and facts that many books skip over. Absolutely a great read! It will stay in my library unlike many books that I throw or give away.
Linda A
Jun 27, 2013
Perfect gift
My brother loves to read westerns,that's why I purchased the book...asked him about it the other day...been to busy to start it.
Cheryl P
Apr 14, 2011
Absolutely Fabulous!
This book makes the the history of the West so alive, it's descriptions make you feel like you were there. An absolute joy to read, I'm just about done and can't wait to read it again.
jsam
Oct 23, 2008
Kit Carson Biography
This is an excellent history of United States in the west and the southwest during the conquest of Mexico and the Navajo Indians. It centers on Christopher "Kit" Carson and is an excellent biography of him, but it is also a biography of most of the explorers, mountain men, and military commanders/explorers from the very early 1800's to about 1870. this author holds no punches in explaining about our war with Mexico, its shortcomings and victories. The author also spares none of the characters in this time in history, telling about both their shortcomings and the highlights of their lives and how they affected the conquest of the West and the conquest and defeat of the Navajo Indians. It is also a brief history of the Navajo Indians and their relationships with surrounding indian tribes, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the United States. This book has an excellent bibliography for those who are interested in learning more about the Navajo Indians, which I highly recommend the readers of this book to do.
Tansy
Aug 4, 2008
Engaging
An engaging look at the conquest of the American West. Centered around Kit Carson, the book reads more like a story than a history. One might be struck by a familiar "American-ness" to the events - some of the attitudes and actions of the men who conquered the West could well be pulled from our modern headlines.
