Synopses & Reviews
When President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their great exploratory expedition of the lands west of the Mississippi, the journey was destined to become the most famous and significant American land expedition in history. Jefferson must have realized the timeless importance of the mission, for he urged the captains to keep multiple records of all they saw and experienced during the journey. Those records, dutifully kept from the departure of the expedition in 1803 to its conclusion in 1806, provided invaluable information about the wonders of the American West.
In the next 150 years the journals were published in several versions scrupulously authentic, dubiously revised, and complacently counterfeit. This book is the first comprehensive account of the various versions and of the persons responsible for them. It tells of the dedicated scholarship, inspired judgment, and exciting discovery of new materials, as well as the misguided enthusiasm and journalistic skulduggery that marred the publishing history of the journals, field notes, and letters of members of the expedition. The author breaks new ground in his use of previously unpublished letters written by the editors of the two major editions. An appendix introduces a recently discovered manuscript version of the journal kept by one of the expedition members.
The book also includes an appraisal of books and articles written about the expedition and a resume of the illustrative materials, sketches, and maps that enriched the accounts. A History of the Lewis and Clark Journals is thus itself a significant expedition into a historic period in America's past.
Synopsis
A History of the Lewis and Clark Journals] includes coverage of the diaries and journals of all members of the famous expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1804 - 1806. In addition to co-leaders William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, the chroniclers were Charles Floyd, John Ordway, Patrick Gass, Nathaniel Pryor, Joseph Whitehouse, and Robert Frazer. Paul] Cutright is to be especially commended for his exhaustive coverage and] thorough documentation. This is a fine book and a major contribution to the historiography of the nation's most celebrated explorers. Minnesota History. This is not a book about the expedition, of which there are already perhaps too many, but a history of the journals written by the two captains and a number of the enlisted men. A work such as this is of great value to anyone interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition. An invaluable reference work. Western Historical Quarterly.
About the Author
Paul Russell Cutright, Sr.and#160;who received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, wasand#160;aand#160;professor of biology. He was the author of, among other works, two previous books and many articles about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.