Maybe this explains why I enjoyed Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West as much as I did.
Yet for some reason we prefer the fictionalized, mythologized, and dramatized versions of this part of our history over the actual history itself. From spaghetti westerns to the novels of Cormac McCarthy and at all levels of culture in between, this is a part of the American Experience that has played an outsized role in creating a national mythology that we are all familiar with.
Yet, this is a part of our history that gets glossed over. In many ways, this is exactly what happened in the Southwest. The historical moments in American history that result in the most ink spilled on the most pages tend to involve instances where Americans engaged in a clash of civilizations and won, and in so doing these moments become those that define the character of the nation. Unlike the American Revolution, the founding era, the Civil War, or World War II, where it is relatively easy to find excellently produced and superbly written book-length accounts of historical events and figures, you have to look harder to find good records of the Mexican-American War and the subsequent subjugation of the Navajo.īy some measures this is odd. But of all he has written, there’s something special about Blood and Thunder that has stuck with me for years and years, so I trust that you’ll glean lots of value from it, as well.The history of the American Southwest isn’t a story that gets told along with the marquis narratives of American history. I’ve read most of his books and much of his shorter-form writing for Outside magazine and the like-his subjects span a broad range but his writing is consistently top-notch. Hampton Sides is a world-class writer who has honed his gift for telling complex stories in easy-to-read, engaging prose. Was he really the Western superhero character that pop culture portrays him as? I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on that. If you’re like me, you’ll be disgusted by the government’s treatment of Native Americans, and likely perplexed by Kit Carson’s role in the “taming of the West” and the seemingly hypocritical nature of some of his actions. This is also one of those books that introduces you to countless characters and concepts that will warrant further reading and study-it’s a gateway drug into deep Western history. Reading the book gave me a base level of knowledge about the West that has served me well both professionally and personally. Blood and Thunder is in my top five favorite books of all time, and-no exaggeration-everyone I know who’s read it has loved it.
0 kommentar(er)
