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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 978.03 EAN: 9780739326725 Format: Large Print ISBN: 0739326724 Label: Random House Large Print Manufacturer: Random House Large Print Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 880 Publication Date: October 10, 2006 Publisher: Random House Large Print Release Date: October 10, 2006 Studio: Random House Large Print Editorial Review: Product Description: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - An amazing epic of American HistoryThis is a great read for anybody that wants to learn more about American history. This is one of my favorite time periods in American History, and Hampton Sides really brought it to life for me. I could hardly put the book down, and am looking forward to reading more material by Mr. Sides. I've lent this book to some of my family members who also enjoy learning about this era in history. Five stars is simply not enough to convey how enthralling this book is. Rating:  - Enjoyable readBlood and Thunder is a lively and well-written history about Kit Carson, the exploration of the Southwest, and the eventually pursuit and incarceration of the Navajo after the Civil War. Sides really knows how to make people and places some alive. The shy and loyal Carson, the preening and vain John C. Fremont, and the proud but somewhat sociopathic Navajo leader Narbona are all brought to life along with dozens of minor characters. Sides makes a point of showing the dark side of manifest ... Read More Rating: - Very good history of the American WestHampton Sides has written a very solid account of the wild American West. While Kit Carson is the primary focus I would hardly call this a biography - in fact, it appears to be more of a true period history with Kit Carson weaving in and out of the narrative. Oddly, this is my main complaint - parts of Kit Carson's most interesting adventures were only touched upon. I am amazed that Sides did not include more one Carson's travel with Fremont. For an excellent account of these adventures I would highly recommend ... Read More Rating:  - Secondary source historyThe author's description of the California Bear revolt, especially his description of the creation of the Bear Republic flag was not the first indication that this author had let his left-wing liberal politics jade his storytelling. And, yes, this is a story book not a history book. During the first 30 pages Sides describes the Navajos as being a tribe that was not murderous but mischeiveous. Yet, by page 100 they've gone on a rampage and slaughtered every man, woman and child. Mr Sides politics seem to flog the ... Read More Rating: - BRILLIANT!Hampton Sides has written one of the finest histories of the American West to date. BLOOD and THUNDER is a fascinating adventure of not only Kit Carson, but the many people he was associated with in his incredible travels throughout America's western expansion. The characters come alive, as Sides describes their personalities and motivations. This is a very equitable presentation of the conquest of a land and it's people, with rationales for the participants behaviors, both good and bad. Hampton Sides wonderful ... Read More |
