Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

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Summary: Stepping into Paradise
Review: One elaborate sentence governed the emergence of the American West. It was penned by President Thomas Jefferson to Captain Meriwether Lewis, in 1803: "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by it's [sic] course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregan [sic], Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purposes of commerce." With Jefferson's pronouncement the stage is set for Stephen E. Ambrose and Undaunted Courage, his masterful re-telling of the story of the Corps of Discovery, as the expedition members were called, and especially of Lewis, its 30 year-old commander. Foregoing a college education to take over running of the family plantation in Virginia, Lewis was at an early age already an established member of the community. When the Louisiana Purchase became reality, it was to Lewis, his Private Secretary and friend of two years, that Jefferson turned to head the expedition. Accordingly, in May, 1804 Lewis, joined by William Clark and 29 others, crossed the Missouri and began his famous trek to explore the vast plains and mountains beyond the then-limits of civilization. Twenty-eight months later they emerged from the wilderness to a country that had never really expected to see them again. Early chapters are devoted to circumstances surrounding the outfitting of the expedition. Then, in Chapter 8 we set out on this tremendous voyage of discovery, a monumental undertaking that would prove to be a watermark of scientific knowledge of the new continent, achieving high praise for some, and grave disappointment to others. (Lewis had difficulty obtaining success after the expedition, committing suicide in 1809.) Ambrose calls him "the greatest of all American explorers," and this fine book brings Lewis and his company to life. I think you will enjoy it.

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Summary: Even non-history readers will be entranced!
Review: A quick, easy, and entertaining read. Non-history buffs don't turn away. Thus book reads as easily as any novel, and will make you want to load up your backpack and get started re-tracing the route of the Corps of Discovery. The author's own experiences along the route, and the maps make it oh so tantalizing!

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Summary: Must read for lovers of history or great adventures
Review: Travel with Lewis and Clark up the Missouri River into the Pacific Northwest. "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen E. Ambrose, a detailed account of Meriwether Lewis' journey with William Clark and the Corps of Discovery, taken from the explorers' words, allows the reader to experience firsthand the adventure into unknown lands. Ambrose details the life and times of Lewis, including the events that shaped his life and how ultimately the trip cost him more than he could have ever anticipated. The reader will have the opportunity to return to the late 1700s and early 1800s as seen through the eyes of Meriwether Lewis. Thomas Jefferson is also a prime figure in the story as he fosters the idea of the venture and the young mind of Lewis. Jefferson had the dream of expansion and development of the country and became instrumental in arranging the trip and preparing Lewis for his responsibilities on the trip. The relationships between contemporaries, Jefferson and Lewis and Lewis and Clark, is explored in great depth as these historical figures come to life in these pages. "Undaunted Courage" is a must read for lovers of history or for people who simply enjoy a great adventure.

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Summary: The Political Side of the Lewis & Clark Journey...
Review: Steven Ambrose's treatise on the political motivations of the Lewis & Clark Expedition will undoubtedly have huge popular appeal as the bicentennial of the Expedition approaches. The author has researched the motives behind Thomas Jefferson's historic decision to ask Congress to fund the Expedition, as well as his decision to select Captain Meriwether Lewis to command the voyage. The reader is escorted step-by-step along the journey -- immensely interesting by itself -- then further treated to an analysis of the miriad of small decisions made along the way. Any single poor decision -- in navigation, indian relations or daily survival -- could have changed history forever. Ambrose has concluded that Jefferson's decision to commission Meriwether Lewis for the "Voyage of Discovery" was perhaps the single most important point in American history -- the right man at the right time! Review by Mark Norrell (Pocatello, Idaho

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Summary: Politics and the Great Adventure
Review: I never really gave much thought to Lewis & Clark. Years ago in grade school we learned about them in our history books. So recently on a stop over at San Francisco (SFO) I picked up this book since I was looking for good reading on America's past. I just finished reading the recent biography on Lincoln, so I was in the mood so to say. This book is 100 percent enlightening. The details of the Lewis & Clark adventure are amazing. The politics of the era are just as fascinating. My only dispointment is that the "return trip home" seems too rushed, but otherwise the book is an excellent choice. Mike Goldman [e-mail]

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Summary: Regarding Prickly Pears
Review: I wish I could E-Mail Mr. Ambrose direct. On several pages of the book there was mention of trekking throught "prickly pears", I assume a species of cactis. I'm a cactis enthusiast and chart out the MOST NORTHERLY CACTIS that I find here in CA & Nev.. If anyone can give me more information on Mr. Ambrose's described prickly pears; seems at bit North but I may be wrong. Thanks Much, Dan Kriedt [e-mail]

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Summary: A fascinating look at America when she was young
Review: Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose Reviewed by Tom Quinn The reason America stretches from "sea to shining sea" probably has more to do with Thomas Jefferson's vision of the future country than it does with George Washington's or perhaps with any other founding father. Seeking to avoid a country of European-like warring states, Jefferson envisioned one nation extending from coast to coast. His further innovation was to see new territories, not as colonies subject to the federal government, but as states in every way equal to the original thirteen. Indians were considered by our third president as fully capable of citizenry, once educated. Strangely, he never credited slaves in the same way, even though Jefferson realized that slave-holding dehumanized owners and set this country on a disaster course. So much did Jefferson want a continental nation that he fostered several failed explorations of the western territories, both by philanthropic subscription as well as by government commission. One expedition was recalled when the government discovered its leader was a French spy. Eventually, the Lewis and Clark expedition achieved Jefferson's desire to map the northwest territory and spur commercial development. Jefferson's eager and sweeping vision of America is described in Undaunted Courage, the recent history by Stephen Ambrose of the Lewis and Clark trek which followed the US purchase of the Louisiana territory from Napoleon. Jefferson was a member of the Lewis and Clark troop all but literally. He hand-picked Merriweather Lewis as commander, seeing in his fellow Virginian and former army paymaster a practical, meticulous, loyal, and educated leader of men. Lewis lived with Jefferson in the White House for two years as his secretary and aide, all the while receiving Jefferson's humanist tutelage in everything from science and politics to philosophy and Indian affairs. He even sent Lewis to study with the young nation's foremost botanist in Philadelphia to prepare for the trip. Captain Lewis picked his good friend Lieutenant William Clark to co-lead the expedition which included a 15-year old Sacegewea, baby on her back, as they journeyed across some of the wildest and most dangerous territory in an exploratory feat worthy of Christopher Columbus or Francis Drake. Along the way, Lewis made celestial observations; sent Indian chiefs to Washington, DC, to meet the President; transcribed the vocabulary of Native American nations; made the first maps of rivers, plains, and mountains; recorded many new-to-science species of animals and plants in meticulous descriptions and drawings; and sought to displace the British and French traders who had already established trading relations with tribes in the area. He delivered Sacegewea's baby; treated his men with mercury for their syphilis and for other ills with pills from Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence); he barely escaped with his life from a grizzly; ordered his men flogged (after trial) for desertion and other misdeeds; built boats and forts; traversed rapids and mountains; and survived a fight with young Blackfoot warriors, killing several in the battle and escaping pursuit by riding almost non-stop for two days. He described vast panoramas, seeing buffalo as far as the eye could see; observing huge herds of elk, many beaver, and thousands of migrating squirrels; and writing of skies darkened by thousands of birds. Lewis' journals are filled with quaint and variable spellings and with acute observations. It was not uncommon for him to use hundreds of words in describing a single bird or the design and construction of Native American canoes. Lewis was feted in towns and cities on his triumphant return to DC where he spent many hours with Jefferson (one evening in the White House was spent on all fours as he and Jefferson together examined his maps of the heretofore uncharted territory). Jefferson received from Lewis plant and animal specimens, Native American artifacts, and even live animals. The most important mission of the journey was to record and publish the journals, opening the way for American commerce to displace European traders. The Lewis and Clark expedition stimulated the commerce all right, but Lewis never finished the task of publishing. He accepted Jefferson's appointment as Governor of Louisiana, but dawdled over a year before going to St. Louis to fill the post. He avoided editing his journals, dragging them around with him on his travels. He courted several women unsuccessfully and bemoaned his misfortune in letters to Clark. He drank heavily. Because of his failure to publish, Lewis' journals did not appear for decades, long after other travelers had given their own names to the many rivers and landmarks first mapped and named by Lewis and Clark. As a result, the true success of the Lewis and Clark expedition was not appreciated until late in 19th Century. As Governor, Lewis engaged in land speculation and tried to make his fortune by investing in one of the many fur trading companies then formed. He made political enemies and, when a bureaucrat in President Madison's administration called him to account for spending thousands of dollars of government funds, Lewis feared personal bankruptcy. He set out from St. Louis to DC to justify himself. After traveling down the Mississippi River, he took an overland route to avoid New Orleans, fearing a British attack in the years before the War of 1812. Enroute he was depressed (apparently a lifelong condition), and one gruesome night, Merriweather Lewis shot himself -- twice -- in a bungled, though eventually successful, suicide. He was yet in his thirties. Undaunted Courage is a fascinating look at America when she was young and at America's storybook heroes as they really were. America and its heroes remain impressive, warts and all. ###

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Summary: As good as they get.
Review: For a change, the mainstream critics are right: it's a masterpiece. It's one of those that once you start reading, you ignore the family until the birds are chirping and sun is peeking over the horizon. A true American classic, and the author has made a grand contribution in the literature of history

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Summary: Exciting account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Review: This account is fresh and exciting. Ambrose's descriptions of the breathtaking beauty and teeming wildlife of the unspoiled American West made me intensely jealous of Lewis and his compatriots. To read this book is to truly know what the motivations for the journey were and how inevetable it was that the west was settled. My only criticism of the book is that the last few chapters seemed hurried, as if Ambrose were so sad about the fate of Lewis that he couldn't bear to write more about it.

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Summary: excellent account of Lewis & Clark journey
Review: This is an excellent acount of the transcontinental journey of Lewis and Clark in 1803-1806, by prize-winning historian Stephen Ambrose. The book gains immediacy from the fact that Mr. Ambrose has actually retraced the steps of Lewis and Clark, and thoroughly knows the country _ the Missouri Valley, the northern Rockies and the Columbia River country of Oregon and Washington.