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. history in marvelous detail, it is also authoritative and masterfully told.” - The Washington Post Book World“Stunning. Not only does Blood and Thunder capture a pivotal moment in U.S. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won. 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. 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.Īt the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend.

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.

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).

Blood and thunder kit carson