Review of Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides

The title ‘Blood and Thunder’ is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the old dime novels about the American West as this book aims to show the grim reality of life in New Mexico in the nearly two decades period between 1846, when the American army invaded, and 1864, around the time of the First Battle of Adobe Walls. It mashes the story of the American army, the New Mexicans and the Navajos, alongside the life of the famous Kit Carson, who crossed paths with all of these people.

With so many things going on, it does feel at times that it is hard to keep up with all the many goings on, which does somewhat feel like a digression at times, but it is clear that the author is trying to give as much context to all the parties involved at the time. The sheer amount of information the book covers means that there are some jumps between chapters. This does lead to some confusion from the reader at times. However, the easy and engaging writing style did induce me to carry on and I’m glad I did. My hope from this book was to learn more about New Mexico at this time and the fact that it kept a very nuanced stance that horrible things had occurred on the side of both the Americans and the Navajos kept me wanting to read more. Linking Kit Carson through as much of the narrative as possible also kept some kind of link throughout.

For my personal tastes, there was a lot of military history (including military strategy) to take in, which is to be expected considering this book is very much about the American army and the war of attrition they had with the Navajos. Military history is not my forte, so I must admit I did occasionally glaze over during these parts, but really, they are necessary to the narrative and understanding for the long held animosities the book discusses. For me, the highlight was the cultural aspects of the Navajos. Their unique culture and beliefs are explained very well and show just how little the Americans understood them and the long running conflict between the Navajos and the New Mexicans.

Kit Carson himself is portrayed as a complex character, rather than the cardboard cut-out fighter and hero he has often been portrayed in novels and other medias. He had connections with New Mexicans (by being married to one), the Native Americans and Americans alike. His life was a rather unique mix of all three of these and I feel the conflict that these various things caused not just in Carson’s own life, but in American history as a whole, are well portrayed. The author also rightly portrays that Carson was not an innocent when it came to the demise of the Navajos, for he lead soldiers to destroy their crops and livestock, albeit on his superior’s orders, that would starve them into submission.

The atrocities committed are described in vivid detail and the author certainly does not hold back in describing them in all their sordid detail. This is an incredibly important part of the narrative because even though they make the reader feel uncomfortable, this is exactly how it should be. The story of the American West is not a nice one and is often told in heroic terms, which is far from the truth. Horrendous things happened and it is good to see that this is not shied away from.

One of the most interesting things that I learnt whilst reading this book was how the idea of Indian reservations developed. The reservation system is something most of us are aware of, even if it is on a basic level. I have read many books about the tragedy surrounding these reservations, but had not seen elsewhere where the idea originated. I had always just took it as one of those rather horrible ideas that came out of nowhere. Instead, this book shows that a more humane version that what became the final version was trialled in California to stop the tribes there from extinction due to disease and overpopulation on their land by white people following the gold rush there. The tribes who took part in these scheme had given their consent and were kept farming (a concept they were already used to) in their tribal heartlands, but it eventually fell through because of a lack of monetary investment. It was the Navajos who would be the first to be moved hundreds of miles away from their lands and were not used to farming as they lived in desert and rocky areas. I would like to thank the author for this insight in particular as I feel it has given me a better understanding on something I thought I already understood enough.

All in all, this book was very informative and gave a balanced view on the atrocities that occurred in the West during this time. It successfully blends the military and cultural aspects of the subjects he portrays. There is a very human aspect to what is discussed that makes it very hard to sympathise with what happened. I would really recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Navajos, the Wild West or the American military. You will not be disappointed by this thrilling and highly informative read.