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 at the centre of it all stands the remarkable figure of Kit Carson - the legendary trapper, scout and soldier. Carson was an illiterate mountain man who twice married Indian women and understood the tribes better than any other American alive; yet he was also a cold-blooded killer and an unquestioning patriot who willingly followed orders tantamount to massacre. BLOOD AND THUNDER is a chronicle of one of a pivotal era in American history: grand in scope, immediate in detail, impeccably researched and historically revelatory.
'Hampton Sides' outstanding narrative history has all the virtues: stirring set pieces, deft character studies, colourful descriptions of battles and of nature . . . a riveting tale where, for once, the word "epic" is not hyperbole'
Frank McLynn, Independent on Sunday
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 9780349120317
Number of pages: 576
Weight: 399 g
Dimensions: 196 x 130 x 38 mm
Absorbing and well written . . . Anyone who has read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian or grew up on John Ford westerns will be enlightened. Those yet to read that novel or see the movies will find that this book adds deep resonances to their pleasure' Michael Moorcock Guardian (10/3/07) - ‘This history of Carson encapsulates themes of American mythology that seem otherworldly but remain endlessly fascinating.’
SUNDAY BUSINESS POST - ‘Hampton Side s’ outstanding narrative history has all the virtues: stirring set pieces, deft character studies, colourful descriptions of battles and of nature... a riveting tale where, for
A familiar story [told] with compelling narrative zest' Robert McCrum, Observer - 'Sides eloquently paints the landscape and history of the 19th century Southwest, combinIng Larry McMurtry's lyricism with the historian's attachments to facts’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - 'The type of sweeping history that was written by the likes of Bernard DeVoto and David Lavender . . . [but] he populates his story not just with white Americans but also with diverse Indian
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