Donate Hampton Sides Books — Free Albuquerque Pickup

I accept Hampton Sides donations anywhere in the Albuquerque metro with free pickup — the whole collection: Blood and Thunder, Ghost Soldiers, Hellhound on His Trail, In the Kingdom of Ice, On Desperate Ground, Americana, and The Wide Wide Sea. You don't sort or price anything. Bring it all; first printings and signed copies are recognized, and the rest funds New Mexico literacy.

Published June 2026 · By Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project

Hampton Sides is a Santa Fe–based historian and journalist whose narrative histories are bestsellers — and one of them, Blood and Thunder, tells the story of Kit Carson and the conquest of the very ground we live on. His books are read all over New Mexico, and when a collection gets cleared, most people just want it to land somewhere good. That's exactly what I'm for: I take the whole thing, free, and I check every book.

What I take: all of it

You don't have to know what's valuable

Here's the honest picture: Sides's books are recent, so most copies are common and modest in value — but true first printings (especially of Ghost Soldiers, 2001, and Blood and Thunder, 2006) and signed copies are collected, and he signs often at New Mexico events, so authenticated signatures turn up here more than elsewhere. A non-collector can't always tell a first printing from a later one or a book-club copy. That's exactly the distinction I check. Bring the whole shelf and I'll recognize the first printings and signed copies, set them aside, and keep the reading copies in circulation, with any hidden value identified and handled properly.

Why donate instead of selling it yourself

For a signed first you know is special, selling on your own is fine. For the rest — book-club editions, later printings, paperbacks — listing each book is more work than it's worth. Donating handles it in one call: no research, no pricing, no listings, no shipping, free pickup at your door, reading copies to new readers, and any first printing or signed copy recognized and supporting New Mexico literacy. Here's where donated books go.

How free pickup works

Call or text 702-496-4214 (or schedule online), tell me roughly how much there is and where you are, and we set a time. I come to you and load it all. I cover Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, the East Mountains, Santa Fe, and the surrounding region, and I handle whole-house and estate cleanouts regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I donate Hampton Sides books in Albuquerque?

Right here — free pickup anywhere in the metro for the whole collection: Blood and Thunder, Ghost Soldiers, In the Kingdom of Ice, and the rest. Call or text 702-496-4214.

Are Hampton Sides books collectible?

Most are recent and common, but true first printings (Ghost Soldiers 2001, Blood and Thunder 2006) and signed copies are collected. Bring it all and let me check.

Book-club editions and paperbacks too?

Yes — book-club editions, worn paperbacks, reading copies. Just don't throw any of it out first.