970 General History of North America
Duncan, Dayton. Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. (Illus.) NY: Knopf, 1997. xx+250pp. $40.00. 97-73823. ISBN 0-679-45450-0. Index; C.I.P.
C, T, GA ++
This attractive book with a well-written text and an excellent presentation of historic paintings, photographs, maps, and original quotations from various of Lewis and Clark's journals, is a good educational document for studying American history. The book is a companion volume to Ken Burns's four-hour PBS documentary on Lewis and Clark, created with financial support from General Motors Corporation. The book's preface is by Burns, and Stephen Ambrose, Erica Funkhouser, and William Least Heat-Moon, who also appear in the film, contributed chapters. The account begins with a reference to President Thomas Jefferson's 1803 Louisiana Purchase, which doubled our country's geographic area. Jefferson's interest in getting scientific information about traveling to the Northwest Passage across the continent resulted in his selecting and training Meriwether Lewis, who, with William Clark, led a small Corps of Discovery from St. Louis up the Missouri River, over the Rocky Mountains, and on to the Pacific Ocean (1804–1806). The information on terrestrial exploration collected by this outstanding 33-member military group—including a slave named York and the Indian woman Sacajawea with her baby son—provided important environmental knowledge that stimulated regional settlements over time.
The contributors to the book recently traveled the 4,000-mile Lewis and Clark Trail, and their personal observations are shown in the film, together with quotations from the journals, written during the original expedition. The first Americans to encounter impressive unknown geographic settings, from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains, and stressful weather conditions in various areas containing theretofore-unseen animals created a fascinating historic report. Both the book and the video, through their narration and pictures, reveal interesting features of the events the Corps of Discovery encountered. By understanding these experiences, students who read the book with care and view the videos will learn much about the major events that took place during the greatest expedition in U.S. history. As we approach the bicentennial of the expedition, in 2004, both the book and the video of the Lewis and Clark series ($29.98) will maintain their value for years. Also, a 61-minute CD ($16.98) with narration, folklore, and the sound track from the video is on the market. People with an interest in learning about this great historic event can receive the well-researched book, the video, and the CD from PBS for $81.96, a very good buy. (Call I-800-645-4727.) Certainly, Americans of all ages will learn much from this useful packet of information that illustrates an important historic event in our country's 19th-century development.—Jack DeForest, environmental economist, Fairfax County, VA
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