Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes an eye-opening 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. Read more
Publisher : Vintage
Publication date : October 9, 2007
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 624 pages
ISBN-10 : 1400031109
ISBN-13 : 08
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.16 x 1.3 x 7.95 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #10,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in Indigenous History #11 in Native American History (Books) #52 in Sociology Reference
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Paperback
5 stars This book is a comprehensive and in-depth study of Christopher “Kit” Carson; his life and times. Mr. Sides has obviously done exhaustive research into not only Carson, but the settlement and growth of the West as well. His detailed book touches on several well known subjects of the West from the ill-fated Donner party, the wars with Mexico to the Civil War and the eventual attempt to subdue and “conquer” the Native Americans. While the book mainly discusses the Navajo tribes, it also touches on the other Native tribes as well. Thus the reader learns a great deal about the Navajo and their legendary leader Narbona. He was a peace-loving chief who tried his best to get along with the soldiers. There were those in his tribe who violently disagreed with his policies, however. Chief among them was his own son-in-law. Narbona was widely respected though, not only among his own people, but among other tribes as well. The book discusses the various tribes that inhabited the plains, their customs and beliefs. It was some of these beliefs that got the Americans (as they are termed in the book), in trouble with the Natives. While there was one or perhaps two well meaning Americans who dealt with the Natives, by and large they were hard men who did not even try to understand their way of life. The reader learns about the travails and hardships of traveling across the West from Missouri and other places in the East all the way to California. Soldiers who knew nothing about the area set out to conquer the Mexican army and annex California and all lands east for the United States of America. Kit Carson plays a part in many exchanges with the Natives. He was married to a young Native woman who gave him a daughter. Essentially a shy man who spoke little, he was very decisive in his actions. He was clever, could not stand bullying and had a fiery temper when provoked. He traveled with some of the big names in history such as Fremont, Bent, Kearney and so on, but made his home near Taos in what is now New Mexico. He had a lifelong embarrassment about being illiterate. He can to hate the way of life in the East. He preferred the outdoor life he had chosen for himself when he left Missouri as a young boy and became a trapper and mountain man. When trapping petered out, he became a scout and soldier with the US Army. Although he was a great friend to the Navajo, his eventual actions led to their downfall and devastation. This is a very excellent book. I believe it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the settling of the West and the tragedy of the Native Americans. It is reminiscent in some ways to Larry McMurtry's writings, it is wholly non-fiction. Mr. Sides is not a dry author. He makes history interesting and engaging. The book doesn't just quote facts and figures, but tells the reader about the people. We get to learn about who they were apart from their actions; their fears, their weaknesses and interests.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2019 by Tripower53
Format: Hardcover
The title of the book is the moniker used to describe the ' dime novels ' written about Kit Carson's adventures during the turbulent Indian Wars of the 1850's through the 1860's. Hampton Sides writes an epic account of what really happened in the Southwest. This non-fiction work is more than a story about Carson's life, it's also about America's first imperialistic strike westward led by our 11th President, James K. Polk. We kicked- out Mexico and settled California during his four year term. The guts of the book deals with what happened next... What to do about the colliding worlds of the indians and the white settlers moving west to occupy the new territories won from Mexico, especially the nomadic and fearsome Navajo tribe. Based on Hampton Sides research, I found Kit Carson's life quite incredible. Here is a man that couldn't read or write, yet could speak Spanish and seven different indian languages. He lived as a frontiersman, trapper, indian fighter, guide, and as a Colonel in the Union Army. He had the innate ability to see right from wrong, act with bravery, honor, and commitment. During his lifetime, he was married three times and had eight children. His first wife was Arapaho, the second was Cheyenne and the third wife, Josefa was Spanish. He had meetings with President Polk, he was a friend of General William Tecumseh Sherman, Navajo leader Narbona, Senator Thomas Benton, John C. Fremont, and General Stephen Watts Kearny, the father of the American cavalry. The escapades written about Kit gave me the feeling that he was truly a American hero. This book was worth reading just to discover what a miraculous life he led during a dangerous period in the history of America's Southwest. Yet, the author sites incidents where Kit Carson gunned down people in cold blood, because he was ordered to do it by a superior officer, or someone he respected. Go figure! The inane killing of Navajo leader Narbona by a drunken Union soldier over a stolen horse caused his son- in-law, Manuelito to declare war against America! While the Union Army were fighting the Confederates from Texas during the Civil War, The Navajo had carte blanche to murder emigrates and steel their cattle and sheep. After the Civil War ended, the U.S.A. realized that the Navajo had to be stopped, or else the move westward couldn't continue. Enter General James H. Carleton! He prodded Col. Kit Carson to prosecute the Navajo, burn their food supply and force them to accept a reservation life far from their natural boundaries. Many Navajo were killed, while the survivors were in a state of starvation. The rest of the book deals with the ' Long Walk ' of the Navajos from New Mexico to the Bosque Redondo ( Round Forest ) Reservation, where infectious corn crops, dysentery, syphilis and Comanche attacks almost destroyed the Navajo people. If you want to know how they survived, you will have to read this wonderful book. As a child I watched 'The Adventures of Kit Carson' , staring Bill Williams on television, thinking he wasn't a real person. Wow, now I know better! His T.V. sidekick, El Toro doesn't show up in this book. I also watched 'The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok' ! These cowboys were real heroes from the 1800's and need to be studied. I find myself searching for books about old western characters that helped shape America in it's early years. Hampton Sides did a yeoman's job in his research and storytelling. While it's not non-fiction that reads like fiction, it is very close. I guess that's why I felt that I wasn't reading a history book, but a good old western! I give this palatable book my highest rating.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2012 by Rick O
Format: Paperback
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides is a sweeping, richly detailed narrative that intertwines biography, history, and the drama of America’s westward expansion. The author paints a vivid portrait of Kit Carson, not as the mythologized frontier hero of dime novels, but as a complex, often contradictory figure whose life mirrored the violent collision between Native American nations and the United States. The book skillfully blends Carson’s personal story with the larger story of the Navajo Wars, the exploration of the Southwest, and Manifest Destiny. Sides’ prose is cinematic yet deeply researched, bringing to life both the beauty and brutality of the 19th-century frontier. Presented as a balanced perspective; with Carson’s courage and skill acknowledged, Sides does not shy away from the moral ambiguities and devastating consequences of the conquest. Blood and Thunder is both an engrossing adventure and a sobering meditation on the costs of empire, making it essential reading for anyone interested in the American West’s true and complicated history.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2025 by Christina Johnson
Format: Kindle
Outstanding book, nicely and easy to read story. Recommended to anyone passionate about history! I would definitely read this again.
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2026 by Ivan Lenchak
Format: Paperback
This was a very interesting and captivating look at the American Southwest. Detailed research and narrative of the southwest pre and post American Civil War, written in an engaging style. Great read for anybody wanting to know more about the history and conflicts of the Southwest in the 1800's.
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2025 by Gregg Wilson