Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American WestA magnificent history of the American conquest of the West; a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy (The New York Times Book Review). In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of "Manifest Destiny," this land grab would lead to a decades long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely