Rating: 
Summary: Well detailed articulation, but painful read...
Review: Going into reading this book, I knew very little in the way of details about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and give Ambrose credit for vividly capturing what America was like in its early days (just the concept of time/space in absence of modern transportation and communications makes you appreciate the context of this point in history). In addition, in reading the story, one truly appreciates just how amazing an accomplishment the expedition was in traversing great distance across the country and back, all the while persevering through unknown trails, sometimes hostile Indians, sickness, forces of nature and the challenges of maintaining morale and discipline over the long haul. Finally, the vision and conviction Thomas Jefferson displayed, not only in green lighting the expedition, but in imaging a cross-continental US at a time when the country was comfortably a wholly east coast entity, is pretty wondrous.Sounds like I should of loved the book, right? Well, the details are compelling and the stories are evocative, but somehow the book fails to come together in a more than the some of the parts fashion. Other reviewers have rightfully pointed out that part of the dissatisfaction of the book is that at the end of the day, Lewis was an enigma whose life didn't have the fairly tale ending that his accomplishments would seem to point to. But more fundamentally, I must say that I find Ambrose's writing style to be bloated, using ten words when two would have accomplished the point. Moreover, his approach was too much that of the historian, conveying all of the facts at the cost of telling a compelling story, full of drama, intrigue and doubt of what await around the bend. It's a shame, because a little better structure (e.g., Ambrose couldn't seem to decide whether Jefferson or Lewis was the main protagonist for good chunks of the book) and a lot crisper editing, would have made an interesting history lesson into a compelling read.
Rating: 
Summary: Lewis & Clark Expedition
Review: Stephen Ambrose has skillfully reduced to 475 pages one of the great sagas of American history - the exploration of the U.S. northwest by Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their Corps of Discovery. It had long been Thomas Jefferson's dream to obtain some definitive information about this territory and in Lewis he found the right man for the job. For some 18 months Lewis trained and planned for this expedition like a boxer for a fight. With Jefferson and university professors Lewis studied intensely - botany, zoology, celestial navigation, geography, medicine, and more - because Jefferson wanted to know everything about this area - about its geography, flora, fauna, rivers, mountains, climate, soils, birds, fish, animals, and about the people living there - their food, weapons, dress, customs, medicines, languages - everything.
So Lewis prepared himself mentally and at the same time (eventually with Clark's assistance) he compiled lists of the supplies that would be required and identified the skills that the participants would have to possess to survive. He concluded that they'd have to be single, tough, strong, disciplined, and would have to include expert boatsmen, hunters, fishermen, woodsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, gunsmiths - and interpreters with a knowledge of the indians, their languages, and sign language.
Lewis began his preparations for this major undertaking in 1801 while living in the East Room of the White House and serving as Jefferson's personal secretary and confidant. By March 1804 Lewis had formed his Corps of Discovery and had it positioned and ready for departure up the Mississippi River. Lewis described in his journal that 'departure day' was the 'greatest day of his life' - and why not!? He was about to embark on one of the greatest exploratory journeys in the history of man. The journey would involve traversing some 8,000 miles up and down unmapped rivers, across prairies, over the Rockies twice, and confrontations with bears and some 50 different indian tribes and nations - some hostile. Their boats would have to be sailed, rowed, poled or pulled, and when they had to finally be abandoned in the mountains the corps would have to find indians willing to trade with them for horses. Not infrequently they would have to rely on the indians for food, as well, since over the course of the 2 years and 5 months that they were gone the 33-man corps was often on the verge of starvation.
Lewis' job was to keep the corps together, healthy, disciplined, with good morale, and functioning, while he, personally, was observing, collecting, and recording in his journals all that information he knew Jefferson wanted. Most historians think Lewis did a good job, but he did have to confront many hardships and obstacles enroute, and in the end he was unable to complete one of the most important tasks that had been set before him - he failed to publish the journals that he'd compiled on the expedition. This failure cost him personally in terms of fame and fortune, and it deprived mankind in general, since the accounts of the expedition that were finally published by others lacked the personal insights, observations, and judgements that only Lewis, himself, could have provided.
Ambrose has written an exciting book about 19th century history, heroes, and adventures - without, however, any Hollywood endings. Hollywood endings, we know, were invented in the 20th century!
Rating: 
Summary: Informative historical reading.
Review: Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose-
Book Review
The book Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose was written about the expedition that Lewis and Clark lead across the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. The story starts from the very beginning of the expedition, with all of the years of preparation, thought, and planning, and political expectiations for this potentially dangerous trip that had a goal of reaching the Pacific Ocean and then back again to Washington. The book goes into great detail about the struggles and triumphs of Lewis and Clark. The author expresses his opinions of what Lewis and Clark are feeling at certain points, and what might have been going on in their minds every time they made a decision. This book has the most information about the Lewis and Clark expedition than any book I have ever read before, and was very well detailed, hiding nothing back. This book wasn't the most interesting book I have ever read about the history of Lewis and Clark, but it was by far the most informative. The author did all of his research before writing this book, and I feel comfortable knowing pretty much all there is to know about the expedition. The book could have been more interesting, but over all, I would recommend it to anyone wanting a good book on the Lewis and Clark expedition. This book I will give 4 stars. I recommend it to ages of 13 and older. Just because of the fact that this book was a little more difficult to read than some of the others I've read. But over all, I think author Stephen E. Ambrose has written a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A Journey Through The Past
Review: "Undaunted Courage" is a wonderful journey through the past. It is detail and detail, mixed with adventure and adventure, with a pinch of suspense added in to create the feeling that you are there. The book has led me to a keen interest in Thomas Jefferson and his many little known but great contributions to America, which in turn led me to another journey through the past involving Thomas Jefferson in the book "West Point" by Norman Remick. Like "Undaunted Courage", "West Point" is another monumental feat of research. I have to thank Mr. Ambrose for writing like the good and interesting teacher who stimulates the student and opens the doorways to further knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful journey
Review: Undaunted Courage was a particularly enjoyable and fascinating read. Stephen E. Ambrose does an exceptional job of making you feel as though you are along on the expedition with Lewis and Clark. Intimacy and detail are merged with adventure and suspense to craft an incredible sense of "being there". After reading this book I developed a keen interest in the Native American tribes that he encountered, which led to an avid interest in Native American history in general. That journey has been extraordinary, and it is the mark of superb teacher (ultimately that is what Ambrose is) that he or she opens doorways to further knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: Lewis & Clark for the Common Person - Outstanding!
Review: The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis & Clark Expedition were momentous chapters in our country's history. Accordingly, sometime ago I attempted to read about the adventure from Lewis' and Clark's journals. I gave up. The journals are a tough slog. As he does so well, Ambrose has made the account of the Lewis & Clark Expedition accessible to the "common person." No novelist could write a better story. This is the kind of book that keeps you turning pages--eager to see how the story ends, but a little sad when the words finally run out. Many reviewers comment about the marvelous, exciting adventures of the "Corp of Discovery" that were completed with "Undaunted Courage." However, Ambrose's narrative is bigger than the expedition itself as it delves into other enlightening topics. For example, Ambrose provides a good accounting of the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory and interesting insights into Jefferson's role in making it happen. Among the founding fathers, Jefferson took a leading role in advocating a limited role for government. However, he was willing to do just about whatever he deemed necessary in order to obtain the Louisiana Territory and fulfill his vision of a nation that would cover this land from sea to shining sea. Ambrose shows just how far Jefferson was willing to go to snatch the Louisiana Territory for the U.S. Native Americans played a critical role in assisting the Corps of Discovery. In fact, without the assistance of the various tribes they encountered along the way, Lewis & Clark seem unlikely to have successfully completed their trek to the Pacific Ocean and back. Ambrose's narrative illuminates our understanding of how Native Americans were viewed by Jefferson, Lewis & Clark. It was generally a condescending and patronizing perspective. Lewis is clearly the focal point of Ambrose's book. It is obvious that Ambrose holds Lewis in high regards...and rightly so. Periodically, however, Ambrose steps back for a more analytical and critical assessment about Lewis' and, to a lesser extent, Clark's, leadership. These guys did a lot of things right; and there is a lot to learn about leadership from Lewis & Clark. Despite the hardship and the risks, Ambrose narrates a story that makes me wish I were there for the adventure.
Rating:
Summary: A Monumental Feat Well Documented By Stephen Ambrose
Review: The story of Lewis and Clark and The Corp of Discovery is told in this easy to read book by Stephen Ambrose. The exploration of the American West in the early 19th century could probably be compared to Americans landing on the lunar surface in the late 20th century. They were going into unexplored territory and the risks were high. Their ability to communicate and cooperate with Indian tribes along the route was key to their success. Ambrose also documents well the natural hazards they had to deal with--the mountains, the weather, the prickley pear, the wild animals. (Compared to today, the shoes/boots/moccasins they wore were primative---one can imagine the difficulties one would encounter walking across the plains in substandard shoes.) And being an Oregonian, I can imagine the misery of spending an entire winter on the Oregon coast at Fort Clatsop with rain every day, soggy clothes, awful food, and the desire to see home again. There are numerous books on Lewis and Clark, but this one is by far my favorite. With the bicentennial coming up, it should be a must read for high school history students.
Rating:
Summary: Ambrose knows how to write history and proves it
Review: .... This was an awesome book. Ambrose is a historian by training who writes for popular consumption. Meaning you get an excellently researched book, that has footnotes, without the pedantic plodding that history is often stereotyped with, largely stemming from the boring survey books so many are forced to read as part of a required college class. More importantly though is that Ambrose is an amazing writer, he can really tell a tale. He understands the key necessity of primary sources and that history is the anecdotes of someone else's experience. His story, the history, comes to life with the appropriate background and first hand accounts that bring to life the times of which he writes. This is the amazing story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is a story that Ambrose is passionate about, having spent countless hours walking the trail himself with his family in addition to pouring over the journals themselves. The resulting work is a fascinating view of the world of Lewis and Clark and the incredible journey they took. Like any good historian Ambrose creates the world view from which the characters and the story takes place. This provides the contextual understanding of Jefferson and Lewis's motivation and generates what I consider to be one of history's true joys, the "a-ha" insight into a historical event that gives real meaning to your knowledge. The fulfillment of the "get thee understanding". This is the meat of knowing that hangs on the bones of fact. For example I found it insightful regarding the modus operandi and attitude of the Virginia Tobacco plantations, versus say that of the German farmers further south. The descriptions of the various native American's and their cultures that the expedition encountered was amazing. I thought it striking that grizzly bears were so common in the Rockies. And lastly I was shocked that Meriwether Lewis committed suicide while traveling from St. Louis to D.C. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Agree With Author Of "West Point"
Review: I agree with the prior reviewer Norman Remick who is the author of "West Point" (I looked him up), another book about Thomas Jefferson and Something, who said that Stephen Ambrose is the best "historical non-fiction novelist". It's a whole new category of novel based on historical facts, not on ones own imagination. Ambrose is a master at it.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging!! Breath taking!!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Undaunted Courage. Ambrose tells of the Corp of Discovery's expedition with pin point accuracy and inciteful reflection interpreting significant encounters. I felt as if I were one of the party members rowing along, portaging a canoe or fending off grizzlies. It made me question my own toughness as I imagine their encounters, victories, suffering and frustration.
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