Blood and Thunder, Hampton Sides
Blood and Thunder, Hampton Sides
9 Rating(s)
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Blood and Thunder
An Epic of the American West

Author: Hampton Sides

Narrator: Don Leslie

Abridged: 6 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/03/2006


Synopsis

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.

About The Author

A native of Memphis, HAMPTON SIDES is editor-at-large for Outside magazine and the author of the international bestseller Ghost Soldiers, which was the basis for the 2005 Miramax film The Great Raid. Ghost Soldiers won the 2002 PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes & Noble, and his magazine work has been twice nominated for National Magazine Awards for feature writing. Hampton is also the author of Americana and Stomping Grounds. A graduate of Yale with a B.A. in history, he lives in New Mexico with his wife, Anne, and their three sons.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Cyndie Browning from Tulsa, OK on 2008-01-29 11:27:00

For years, I was so enamored of anything about American Indians that if it wasn't Indian, I wasn't interested in it. Yet somehow, I missed the story of the Navajos I guess I focused more on the Comanche and Kiowa tribes than what I thought of as Pueblo Indians. But having listened to Sides' book, I now know the Navajos were anything but pueblo Indians instead, they were definitely a force to be reckoned with.... and it seems Kit Carson was just the man to do it. Again, I was familiar with Carson's name but didn't really know how and where he fit into that era when the Indians were slowly but deliberately being pushed aside to make way for settlers from the eastern United States. The story is very well written which doesn't surprise me a bit I loved Sides' Ghost Soldiers, altho' at times Don Leslie's voice became very irritating to me and his mispronunciation of some words really erked my English teacher's ear. But all in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what _really_ happened in the Wild, Wild West.

Goodreads review by Joe on February 25, 2021

I am not an Old West aficionado but I do like a great history book and Blood and Thunder is all of that - at times reading like a novel, i.e. engaging. The book chronicles the American Southwest from the 1820’s through the Civil War. Kit Carson is the central character – who seemingly knew everyone......more


Quotes

“Riveting . . . monumental . .. . Not only does Blood and Thunder capture a pivotal moment in U.S. history in marvelous detail, it is also authoritative and masterfully told.”
The Washington Post Book World

“Stunning. . . 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 . . . Sides fills a conspicuous void in the history of the American West.”
—N. Scott Momaday, The New York Times Book Review

“From the lean crisp descriptions of the characters to the sights, sounds and smells of the trail, this is a crystal clear picture of the West.” —San Antonio Express News