Special Offers see all
More at Powell'sRecently Viewed clear list
Guests | May 6, 2013
1 comment
|
 
$9.95
List price:
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editions
Other titles in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series:
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West (Lewis & Clark Expedition)by Stephen E Ambrose
Staff Pick
At the heart of the immense and growing interest in Lewis and Clark in recent years stands this book. WWII historian Stephen Ambrose had long harbored a private obsession for the Expedition of the Corps of Discovery, and in Undaunted Courage he was able to capture this passion, successfully conveying it to countless readers across the country. Though Ambrose lends Lewis and Clark's story a sense of historical immediacy by quoting the original journals freely throughout, what makes this book so successful is Ambrose's readable, jargon-free writing style and his thriller-writer's talent for shaping a compelling story. Whatever the reason for its success, Undaunted Courage not only topped every national bestseller list, it also inspired a Ken Burns PBS documentary about Lewis and Clark, a second, beautifully produced Lewis and Clark book in conjunction with National Geographic (Lewis and Clark: Voyage of Discovery), as well as our current national fascination with the most famous and historically significant expedition in our history. Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:From 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. Review:"Ambrose, his wife and five children have followed the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition for 20 summers, in the course of which the explorer has become a friend of the Ambrose family; the author's affection shines through this narrative." Publishers Weekly
Review:"Stephen Ambrose is that rare breed: a historian with true passion for his subject. Here he takes one of the great, but also one of the most superficially considered, stories in American history and breathes fresh life into it. Lewis comes alive as we've never known him." Ken Burns
Review:"Specialists will appreciate this biography, but general readers will also be enthralled by Ambrose's well-written account." Library Journal
Synopsis: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 abook 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 - Le
Description:Includes bibliographical references (p. 493-496) and index.
About the AuthorStephen E. Ambrose is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller D-Day and multi-volume biographies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He is founder of the Eisenhower Center and President of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans. He lives in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Helena, Montana.
What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment: 
Product Details
Other books you might likeRelated SubjectsFeatured Titles » History and Social Science History and Social Science » Military » World War II » General History and Social Science » Pacific Northwest » Lewis and Clark History and Social Science » US History » 19th Century History and Social Science » US History » 20th Century » General History and Social Science » World History » European History General History and Social Science » World History » General
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Follow us on...
|
||||||||||
