Blood and Thunder

Written by: Hampton Sides

Submitted By: Carson

A wonderfully written and fascinating book which is also very well researched and documented.  It centers on the life and times of controversial frontiersman Kit Carson and his famous and not so famous acquaintances and their role in the "conquest" of the American West. It does not gloss over the issues such as the way the American Indians were treated but rather describes them in glaring detail.  This book further reinforces that history is rarely, if ever, pure and simple, black and white.  The following is from Wikipedia:  A critic for the Los Angeles Times described Blood and Thunder as "stunning, haunting, and lyrical," while The Washington Post called it "riveting, monumental...authoritative and masterfully told." Blood and Thunder was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2006 by Time Magazine, and was selected as that year's best history title by the History Book Club and the Western Writers of America. Blood and Thunder was the subject of a major documentary on the PBS program
American Experience and is currently under development for the screen.