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Title: Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose ISBN: 0-684-82697-6 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 02 June, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (280 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Unabashed admiration for Lewis and Clark
Comment: You don't have to do any reading between the lines, nor in fact, go far into this book before you realize that the 1803-1806 journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark into the unknown American west, holds a very special place in Stephen Ambrose's heart. He says as much; "in short, we have been obsessed with Lewis and Clark for twenty years". And understandably so. It is a fascinating tale. As told here by Ambrose it is part biography of Lewis, part travelogue, and pure history writing at it's finest. Although Lewis and Clark are central, the journey is as much a story of the vision and ambitions of president Thomas Jefferson, who in fact authorized the trip. "From Jefferson's point of view, the captains [Lewis and Clark] were on an expedition to explore newly acquired territory, to find the water route to the Pacific, to extend commerce, to collect specimens for science, and to establish an American claim on the Oregon country". From this description of objectives we get a clear picture of the times and the spirit of adventure; the sense of elan and the feeling of optimism that was typical of the young American nation. The unknown west was seen by the intellectual Jefferson as some sort of quest, an eager venture to be undertaken by his explorers.
Ambrose describes it all in loving detail and is able to recreate this sense of enthusiasm for the west with it's promises for the future of America. Ironic then, that the instrumental character - Meriwether Lewis is shown to be a man of anything but good cheer and optimism. While a competent soldier and good leader for the expedition, the man was alcoholic and suffered bouts of deep depression. His ending was grim, convincingly argued and poignantly portrayed by Ambrose, as an act of suicide by a demented mind.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Must Read!
Comment: Just like the great Lewis and Clark expedition, this book gets off to a slow start, but don't give up on it. It takes a while to lay the groundwork for this great true adventure in American history. And, being essentially a biography of Meriwether Lewis, it ends on the sad note of Lewis's suicide, leaving the reader melancholy at the sad ending of perhaps our greatest explorer. But what lies in between the start and the finish is a tremendous work of one of the great true adventure stories that has ever occurred.
The first one hundred pages are somewhat dry and tedious, but the reader finds a new found respect for the attention to detail that went into the planning and preparation for this expedition. American schools teach very little of this great event and Ambrose superbly picks up where our history classes leave off.
The reader learns that Lewis was, in effect, a jack of all trades when it comes to being an explorer. In addition to his already polished skills as an outdoorsman, Lewis readied himself by learning medical techniques, how to properly record animals, birds and fish, as well as flora and fauna, mapping, astronomy, mineralogy, and virtually every other necessary knowledge or skill that would be helpful in making the expedition a success.
I don't want to give away too much of the book, so suffice it to say, once the expedition begins, Ambrose puts the reader right there with the Corps of Discovery at every turn. The descriptions of plants, animals, Indians and mishaps along the way are near perfection. If you have ever traveled the route, you will see in your mind, exactly what Lewis and Clark must have been seeing for the very first time.
Ambrose has put together a true classic for every lover of American history. True life adventure is told here, only as can be told by one of Ambrose' reputation for interjecting suspense into true life events. You will not want to put down this book.
Rating: 3
Summary: Underestimates the reader's imagination and memory
Comment: I was disappointed in this book, which I listened to on tape. It was terribly wordy, and took every opportunity to drum in the obvious or reiterate the dangers, deprivations, triumphs, etc. It seems to be a characteristic of popular histories to assume that the reader has no imagination and lots of time, and that fattened-up-by-repetion-or-too-much-detail is better. I did think that the information delivered was interesting and balanced. Still, the L & C expedition, as well as the lives of its participants and leaders, are interesting and inspiring enough not to need alot of commentary.
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Title: The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Bernard DeVoto ISBN: 0395859964 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 30 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Nothing Like It In the World : The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0743203178 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 06 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Crazy Horse and Custer : The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0385479662 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery by Stephen E. Ambrose, Sam Abell ISBN: 0792264738 Publisher: National Geographic Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title:Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery ASIN: B00005MEPN Publisher: PBS Home Video Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $24.58 |
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