Name: Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
ISBN: 9780780773998

Stephen E. Ambrose

From the bestselling author of "D-Day" comes the definitive book on the most momentous expedition in American history--and one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. "An adventure filled with high romance and personal tragedy, involving the greatest expedition ever undertaken in the history of this country".--Alexander Theroux, "Chicago Tribune". Illustrations throughout. Maps.

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

'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a pioneering voyage across the Great Plains and into the Rockies. It was completely uncharted territory; a wild, vast land ruled by the Indians. Charismatic and brave, Lewis was the perfect choice and he experienced the savage North American continent before any other white man. UNDAUNTED COURAGE is the tale of a hero, but it is also a tragedy. Lewis may have received a hero's welcome on his return to Washington in 1806, but his discoveries did not match the president's fantasies of sweeping, fertile plains ripe for the taking. Feeling the expedition had been a failure, Lewis took to drink and piled up debts. Full of colourful characters - Jefferson, the president obsessed with conquering the west; William Clark, the rugged frontiersman; Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition; Drouillard, the French-Indian hunter - this is one of the great adventure stories of all time and it shot to the top of the US bestseller charts. Drama, suspense, danger and diplomacy combine with romance and personal tragedy making UNDAUNTED COURAGE an outstanding work of scholarship and a thrilling adventure.

The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier

Undaunted Courage

Kelsey Lynn

I'm not a big history person, so I was a little concerned when my book club picked this. 
However, while long-winded at times, this was a thoroughly interesting read. A true view of this journey, that has been romanticized through history, however, in reality, was rife with issues. 
It was very eye-opening to finally learn the actual story.
However, my brother who picked this grew up with this story and tales of Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett, and was excited about an adventure, I think his dreams were crushed by the reality and he was very disappointed. So if you romanticize this story, it might be one to skip, lest having your dreams crushed haha.

Wynn Netherland

Drawing heavily upon the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Ambrose employs the type of ensemble cast storytelling that made Band of Brother such a good read.