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Undaunted Courage

Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West

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Undaunted Courage

By: Stephen E. Ambrose
Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
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About this listen

From the New York Times bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the definitive book on Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time.

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first map of the trans-Mississippi West, provided invaluable scientific data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and established the American claim to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Ambrose has pieced together previously unknown information about weather, terrain, and medical knowledge at the time to provide a vivid backdrop for the expedition. Lewis is supported by a rich variety of colorful characters, first of all Jefferson himself, whose interest in exploring and acquiring the American West went back thirty years. Next comes Clark, a rugged frontiersman whose love for Lewis matched Jefferson’s. There are numerous Indian chiefs, and Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition, along with the French-Indian hunter Drouillard, the great naturalists of Philadelphia, the French and Spanish fur traders of St. Louis, John Quincy Adams, and many more leading political, scientific, and military figures of the turn of the century.

High adventure, high politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy combine with high romance and personal tragedy to make this outstanding work of scholarship as readable as a novel.©1996 Ambrose-Tubbs Inc. (P)1996 Books on Tape Inc., All Rights Reserved; AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon and Schuster Audio Division, Simon and Schuster Inc.
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Americas Expeditions & Discoveries North America United States World

Critic Reviews

Ken Burns Stephen Ambrose is that rare breed: a historian with true passion for his subject. Here he takes one of the great, but also one of the most superficially considered, stories in American history and breathes fresh life into it. Lewis comes alive as we've never known him.
All stars
Most relevant
This biography of Meriwether Lewis is sublimely written and narrated. We catch a glimpse into the hazards, and wonder of the 1804-1806 expedition’s discoveries and the characters who achieved so much, so early in their lives. The story is tragic in Lewis’ untimely departure and the reader is left with the sense of disappointment at what could have been, as well as respect for what he did achieve! Worth your time!

A sublimely written and narrated biography of Lewis and the expedition of Lewis and Clark

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Such a great book very informative incredibly well researched and fascinating reading an absolute must in American classics

Excellent

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