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Summary: the long journey
Review: the book is a testament to a journey that took over two years to complete. the author uses the sights,sounds and feelings of the men themselves. it is incredible to think that a voyage like this was undertaken nearly two hundred years ago and completed. the loss of only one life reaffirms the leadership qualities of both lewis and clark. i wish there were more details on the return journey which moves along rather quickly. the book takes you along on a fantastic expedition and after everything he and his men went through, ends tragically with the untimely death of lewis.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting saga poorly told
Review: After finishing this book I felt almost like I had been on the expidition. I was tired, depressed and happy to be back. This book could have been many things, but mostly it is a prosaic account of the Lewis and CLark expedition that casts little illumination on the people and actions involved. I never found myself fully engaged in the story and never really got a feel for what it actually meant. Jefferson looms in the background but functions mostly as a bookend to the journey itself. I think I expected more perspective, and certainly more flair in the writing. In truth, I found myself nodding off frequently while reading this - not a good sign when one is reading about one of the great adventures of the 18th century.
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Summary: Error on page 307!
Review: A highly readable and thorough account of the L&C expedition. I especially enjoyed the insight into Lewis' personality and character. However, I discovered a large oversight on page 307 of the paperback edition, when Ambrose speaks of the campsite called 'Fort Rock Camp', "on the site of today's city named The Dalles, Washington".....The Dalles is located in OREGON, not Washington!
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Summary: wow, that was long trip
Review: Ambrose chose a huge sprawling subject and wrote a medium size book that does not sprawl at all. In order to accomplish this he had to write in an almost telegraphic style. This book is largely descriptive with frequent, but brief interpretive asides. Ambrose's admiration for Meriwether Lewis is great, but he is not remiss in pointing out when the brave captain was rash and showed bad judgement. One ominous theme that Ambrose keeps returning to is the mental illness that ran in Lewis's family. He is careful never to explicitly label an act of rashness as an "episode", but he implies it. Anyone fascinated by native American cultures should read this book. It offers a tantalizing look at several tribes either at or immediately following "contact". If you know anything about the later history of the tribes of the Upper Missouri and Pacific Northwest, this book just drips with tragedy and none of it is spelled out in a silly melodramatic way; Ambrose's restraint makes the impact that much greater. One thing that I found jarring about the writing in this book was Ambrose's irregular tendency to insert sentences in vernacular rather than standard written English. Lewis and Clark and their expedition are occasionally referred to as "guys" and what they are carrying is called "stuff". This sort of casual voice seemed out of place to me and broke the mood of the narrative. If you don't expect history books to be particularly literary, but just to tell a good story, then you'll think this is a terrific book. If you are looking for a meditation on the ramifications of the L&C expedition with regard to the settling of the American West, then this book is a little sparse on analysis, although it is good about reporting salient information. Having read it, I guess I feel prepared to read more in-depth account about smaller segments of this story.
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Summary: This book brought out the courage in men
Review: I thought the direct approach to the Pacific Ocean was not possible. Otherwise the book brought the characters to life and exposed their vulnerabilities as well as their bravery.
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Summary: This is interesting, but leaves something to be desired.
Review: I think that this book is really interesting, but all it really seems to be is a large culmination of facts. It makes for an EXCELLENT piece of history, but I was looking for much more emotion and power when reading. I was continually waiting for someone in the story to get excited or upset about anything. It's pretty dry, but a very good piece of a history text.
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Summary: Too much hero worship, too little history
Review: The book reads like a college term paper where the author had a requirement to submit x-number of pages. The book is impossible to really get into. There is little narrative and too much hero-worship. Hardly a paragraph goes by with out an "Undoubtedly, Lewis would have...", "Knowing Lewis' character..." or "We can only assume that in light of Lewis' commitment..." If that's not bad enough, how many time do we have to hear that, given the detail of Lewis' journal for the pages we have, the missing time periods must be lost for surely Lewis would been consistent in his recordkeeping. This book should be about 30% shorter without the authors distracting "commentary"
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Summary: an outdoorsperson's fantasy in real time
Review: Great read. My first Ambrose. Did he ever tell what ever happened to the guys in the Corp Discover? One went back with the trappers and "was never heard from again." but what about the othres? Ambrose said most died young. Did i miss what happened to Gass, Dioullard, etc? Help appreciated bravo10@airmail.net. thanks.
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Summary: This book changed the way I look at the American West.
Review: After reading this book, I have a greater appreciation for the west and how it was settled. I grew up in Idaho and have traveled and hiked in many of the areas in which Lewis and Clark explored. After reading the book, I am certain I will look at the country in a different way.
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Summary: Magnificent History Lesson
Review: Reading this book took me into another world where many of the places I have already been were discovered for the first time. In the eyes of an explorer, what could they have felt? Ambrose's writing was wonderful in presenting characters that lived, breathed and travelled at great personal risk over a frontier that wasn't nearly as deserted as they believed. His ability to describe a world were news travelled as fast as a man on the fastest horse gave heart to what life was like in the time of the expedition. I am not a big reader of non-fiction but recommend this book highly to anyone that wonders what "pioneer spirit" is.
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