Reviews
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson & the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides
areaxbiologist's review
4.0
Expertly researched. Drawing from diaries, documents, and other archival sources, Hampton Sides re-balances the view of the West, loosely centering his historical work on Kit Carson. At first, Carson sounds heroic, just like in the pulpy blood and thunders. But after a few massacres, and a few instances of just taking orders, Sides reveals just how central Carson was to the way Native American tribes were treated during the various wars that occurred in the first half of the 1800s. A must read to fill in the gaps your school history books left. Trust me, those gaps are gaping.
ssindc's review
3.0
All I can say is that I'm glad that this wasn't the first Hampton Sides book I read. That's not meant to be particularly negative, but, while I did enjoy this book, and I'm glad I read it, I've really enjoyed some of his other stuff - some newer, but at least one older. I think of Sides as one of my most reliable favorites, and his Ghost Soldiers is one of my all-time favorite pieces of military history, so maybe I just set the bar too high. I dunno.
There a lot of good history here - it's a treasure trove of interesting tidbits, and it's nicely assembled, but it never fully seized my attention. I picked this up ages ago, and then put it aside. (I was unwilling to give up on it because it was Sides, but it didn't grab me like his other stuff.) Then, when I picked it up again, I found I enjoyed it enough to keeping working through it, but that was about it ... even late in the book, I never really got sucked into it ... I found it easiest to digest mostly in (uniquely) small doses. (I realize that plenty of folks read, enjoy, and savor books in just this manner, but ... um ... it's just not my style.)
There a lot of good history here - it's a treasure trove of interesting tidbits, and it's nicely assembled, but it never fully seized my attention. I picked this up ages ago, and then put it aside. (I was unwilling to give up on it because it was Sides, but it didn't grab me like his other stuff.) Then, when I picked it up again, I found I enjoyed it enough to keeping working through it, but that was about it ... even late in the book, I never really got sucked into it ... I found it easiest to digest mostly in (uniquely) small doses. (I realize that plenty of folks read, enjoy, and savor books in just this manner, but ... um ... it's just not my style.)
ipsum's review
adventurous
medium-paced
5.0
One of my favorite non-fiction histories! Really well written about an interesting point in history!
More...