Blood and Thunder
The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · October 9, 2007
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).
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- Who it’s for
- For readers interested in the history of the American conquest of the West
- Themes
- U.S. conquest of the American West, U.S.–Navajo conflict, Kit Carson's role in westward expansion
- Genres
- Southwest U.S. History, 19th-Century America, Native American History
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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.
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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.
Who it’s for
- For readers interested in the history of the American conquest of the West
- For readers interested in Kit Carson and the U.S.–Navajo conflict
Where it sits
| Native American History | 41% |
|---|---|
| Southwest U.S. History | 40% |
| 19th-Century America | 33% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Military Lives
- Native American History
- 19th-Century America
- Authors
- Hampton Sides
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- October 9, 2007
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- U.S. conquest of the American West · U.S.–Navajo conflict · Kit Carson's role in westward expansion
- Reading lane
- Military Lives