Glad I read it. Wonderful intertwining of Manifest Destiny, Native American and Mexican peoples and Kit Carson - compassionately told! Beginning and end were hard to put down. Some of the army details in the middle were a little dry and I thought could have been condensed. Loved it though and thankful to understand these stories better.

This is an extremely well researched and written account. The descriptions put the reader in the story and leave lasting memories. 5/5

If you like American history, read this book! A true masterpiece

One of the best true stories of the American west ever written. This book should be made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey as Kit Carson. This is one of the original real life hero’s that penned the Indiana Jones tales of the late 1800s. also provides a true look at the struggles between the Western expansion and the Native Americans during the time. It’s a major page turner.

The best book about the west in the early to mid 1800's I have read.

This is a very well-told biography of Kit Carson, but it is an even better story of the New Mexico Territory and it's complex history during the 19th century. The interplay of cultural narrative, territorial conquest, and adventure story makes for absorbing reading. The treatment of Native Americans is balanced, with plenty of blame to go around. The downside of this edition is that the iBooks version is sold without the maps of the print edition. It is unconscionable for Apple to charge what it does for this book and not provide the maps. This story - indeed any such history - cannot be understood properly without it's geographical context, and this comes only with maps. Until Apple corrects this sordid practice of selling fatally incomplete editions, I shall never purchase another iBook of any genre.