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This is an excleent book by Hampton Sides that covers the life and times surrounding Kit Carson. As I read it I was amazed at the history I did not know and the sweeping territory it covered.
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/bloodandthunder/
Read it once for enjoyment then dig back int o review the military lessons. It is enlightening. It is a classic for SW.
Concur with the assessment. His material on Carleton is worth the price of admission alone.
What folks need to be aware of is that this really isn't a biography of Carson (though it certainly looks like one). It's more a history of the Indian wars in the Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona region both before and during the Civil War, with a major focus on the Navajo people. It's a really fascinating look at a period often neglected by historical studies, and Sides certainly makes use of as many primary sources as he could locate. Thanks for bringing it up, Troufion! I've been up to my neck in research of late (mainly on this period and the post-War period of the Indian Wars) and it simply slipped my mind (even though I got it about a month ago...:o).