by Stephen E. Ambrose
from Simon & Schuster
| | | List Price: | $30.00 | | Price: | $20.89 | | You save: | $9.11 (30%) | | | Media: | Hardcover | | Availability: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
Editorial ReviewFrom the bestselling author of the definitive book on D-Day comes the definitive book on the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis was the perfect choice. He endured incredible hardships and saw incredible sights, including vast herds of buffalo and Indian tribes that had had no previous contact with white men. He and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first map of the trans-Mississippi West, provided invaluable scientific data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and established the American claim to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Ambrose has pieced together previously unknown information about weather, terrain, and medical knowledge at the time to provide a colorful and realistic backdrop for the expedition. Lewis saw the North American continent before any other white man; Ambrose describes in detail native peoples, weather, landscape, science, everything the expedition encountered along the way, through Lewis's eyes. Lewis is supported by a rich variety of colorful characters, first of all Jefferson himself, whose interest in exploring and acquiring the American West went back thirty years. Next comes Clark, a rugged frontiersman whose love for Lewis matched Jefferson's. There are numerous Indian chiefs, and Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition, along with the French-Indian hunter Drouillard, the great naturalists of Philadelphia, the French and Spanish fur traders of St. Louis, John Quincy Adams, and many more leading political, scientific, and military figures of the turn of the century. This is a book about a hero. This is a book about national unity. But it is also a tragedy. When Lewis returned to Washington in the fall of 1806, he was a national hero. But for Lewis, the expedition was a failure. Jefferson had hoped to find an all-water route to the Pacific with a short hop over the Rockies-Lewis discovered there was no such passage. Jefferson hoped the Louisiana Purchase would provide endless land to support farming-but Lewis discovered that the Great Plains were too dry. Jefferson hoped there was a river flowing from Canada into the Missouri-but Lewis reported there was no such river, and thus no U.S. claim to the Canadian prairie. Lewis discovered the Plains Indians were hostile and would block settlement and trade up the Missouri. Lewis took to drink, engaged in land speculation, piled up debts he could not pay, made jealous political enemies, and suffered severe depression. High adventure, high politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy combine with high romance and personal tragedy to make this outstanding work of scholarship as readable as a novel. A biography of Meriwether Lewis that relies heavily on the journals of both Lewis and Clark, this book is also backed up by the author's personal travels along Lewis and Clark's route to the Pacific. Ambrose is not content to simply chronicle the events of the "Corps of Discovery" as the explorers called their ventures. He often pauses to assess the military leadership of Lewis and Clark, how they negotiated with various native peoples and what they reported to Jefferson. Though the expedition failed to find Jefferson's hoped for water route to the Pacific, it fired interest among fur traders and other Americans, changing the face of the West forever.
Customer Reviews:
- Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
- Excellent deal
I'm quite satisfied and happy with deal. The book is as described, fast delivery and nicely packaged.
- Book Review: Undaunted Courage
While the main purpose of this book is a biography of Meriwether Lewis, the author includes all of the influential characters, events, and setting of the early 19th century United States, starting with the third President, Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson's vision of America is a country stretching from sea-to-sea. It is as if Jefferson had an almost divine image of America. This is a special land, entirely different from the Old World in Europe, which is precisely why it was so important for the United... more info
- Undaunted Courage
This is one of the greatest books written on the Lewis and Clark expedition. It has every element of a great novel let alone the historic, factual, epic it is. There are passages that can make one weep as well as those which terrify. Some day, hopefully soon, a movie-maker will turn this book into an award winning film and reveal to the public the depth and majesty of this great American adventure.
- A Story of True Courage
This was the first Stephen Ambrose book I ever read. Now I'm hooked. His attention to detail is incredible. How those guys survived attacks by savages, grizzly bears, and other forces of nature is hard to imagine.
Ambrose takes the reader step-by-step through the journey, from the inception, up the Missouri River, to the Oregon Coast, and then all the way to the explorers' triumphant journey home, and beyond.
This is primarily a tribute to Meriwether Lewis, the courageous military commander and... more info
Similar Products:
Portions © Amazon.com, Inc. |
