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Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer

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This was another of those works that I found difficult to put down once I began reading the first page. I have always been aware of John Ledyard, having stumbled across is name in other works, but actually knew little of him or his exploits. This work changed that.

As the author so well points out, not many have heard the name John Ledyard recently. As a bit of a test, I asked three advanced high school history classes if anyone could give me an idea of who he was and what he did. Not one answer did I get. What a pity. The young Ledyard, shortly after dropping out of Dartmouth (have you ever noticed how many great men of note have dropped from Dartmouth and gone ahead and led quite interesting lives?), and began his restless wondering that did not cease until his death at the early age of 37 in a sort of pest hole in Cairo, Egypt, from an apparent over zealous self-medication overdose of one of those medications which were more poison than anything. In his years of wondering that he did, he was on the crew, acting as a Royal Marine, of Captain Cooks' third voyage. He drifted from the United States to Europe and then travel well into Siberia, alone, until he was arrested as a spy by the agents of Catherine the Great. His plans were to take a trading ship, sail to the North American Continent and walk from the west coast to the east, doing what Lewis and Clark did about fifteen years later, but going in the opposite direction and completely alone with no support staff what-so-ever. Did I mention that Ledyard was a bit of a dreamer? He was on his way to explore Africa, again alone, when he met his untimely death. The fact that Ledyard failed to complete most, if not all of his goals, has cast a bit of a shadow over his accomplishments over the years, which is a pity, because for sheer human effort, he did accomplish more than most. He certainly inspired many explorers of the next generation and beyond. Keep in mind that through all of his travel, he was all most completely without funds, being on the edge of complete poverty to the point of starvation many times.

Bill Gifford has done a wonderful job with this one and given us another great popular history which is quite readable and insightful. This cannot have been an easy task as most of the needed documentation concerning Ledyard has long been lost, destroyed or completely changed and altered by his contemporaries and family. Much like Sir. Richard Burton's wife, it seems his family was not all that thrilled about some of the things he addressed in his letters. A pity, but this was rather common practice in that day and time. The author followed the path Ledyard took across Siberia, actually spent times sailing on a reproduction of Cooks Ship and has explored much of the New England country side where Ledyard got his start. His writing style is quite smooth and each page is a wealth of information. In this case I have to admire the author almost as much as Ledyard, scraping together all these facts could not have been an easy job. The author has also given us a very nice picture of what life was like in those times and this is always interesting. This is not a scholarly work, although the research is good, and I don't feel it was intended to be. It is a very detailed and readable popular biography about a little known, but very interesting character out of our history. I felt much richer for having read it. Thank you Mr. Gifford!

I do highly recommend this one.

Don Blankenship

John Ledyard was one of the most extraordinary 18th-century Americans. He was an adventurer who sailed with Captain Cook (and saw him killed in Hawaii), who made an initial attempt to explore the interior of North America (15 years before Lewis and Clark), and who also attempted to explore the interior of Africa--then a giant empty spot on most maps. He was also a picaresque: he lived by his wits and his fists, he womanized, he spied for Thomas Jefferson, and he had powerful connections in both Europe and America. He is also, as author Bill Gifford points out, largely unknown today. When Ledyard died in 1789 his death was lamented in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. Now Gifford's `Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer' attempts to resurrect him.

Gifford does a good job of making the case that Ledyard was the first American explorer (at least of any modern significance). Ledyard was lucky (and gutsy) enough to get involved in some of the numerous European scientific expeditions begun in earnest in the late 1700s, and who reported back with his uniquely American perspective. (Gifford even spends time sailing aboard the 'Endeavour'--a replica of Cook's 'Resolution'--to give his readers a feel for what Ledyard had experienced.) But Gifford also suggests that Ledyard was the "first modern American," by which he means Ledyard was the first to look beyond the small world of the American colonies, and even to adopt "modern" views (e.g., that unchristian "savages" on pacific islands were not the natural inferiors of Europeans). On this count, Gifford is perhaps reaching too far. Certainly Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were acutely aware that there was a world beyond America's shores, and there were others at the time who had "modern" views of the equality of non-Europeans.

Nevertheless this is a fine biography, well written and worth reading for those who want to rediscover one of the most traveled and worldly Americans in the early history of the United States.

This is a great account of the life of a very interesting character. As an avid follower of the adventure/explorer genre, I found this account of Ledyard to rank among the best. What makes this book so compelling is the work the author did in retracing Ledyard's steps, a technique which breathes life into the story, making it much more interesting than a straight historical account.

Don't let the picture on the cover of Ledyard in 18th century formal wear fool you, this guy was as rugged, and at times crazy, as anyone you will find in a Krakauer book.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who marvels at the exploits of the early explorers or who wonders what would compel someone to want to walk across a continent.

If you have ever backpacked across Europe sleeping on the floors of locals you had met along the way, or if you have ever spent your last peso, lira, franc or kopeck on a beer only to find that you didn't have enough money left over to pay the exit fee to leave the country then John Ledyard is your patron saint. John Ledyard would be writing for Lonely Planet and living on someone's couch were he alive today.

I met the author, Bill Gifford, on the deck of the HMS Endeavour, a replica of the ship Captain Cook had used to explore the Pacific. John Ledyard had traveled with Cook on the HMS Resolution on a later voyage. As paying crew, we were sailing from England to Norway by way of the North Sea at the break-neck speed of 9 knots. We had been riding gale-force winds for two days; the bow pitched up and down and rotated as we made our way through the rough sea. Sailing in darkness, the waves peaking well above the deck, Bill turned to me and said eloquently, "This is so cool!" which is probably what John Ledyard said during his trip in some comparable 18th century slang.

What makes this book such a great read is that this story is told by someone who walked (sailed, paddled and rode) in the footsteps of John Ledyard. Bill Gifford does a great job of presenting John Ledyard as an almost-successful explorer who was driven more by his heart than by his head. Enjoy this book...I did.

Gifford is a master storyteller, and Ledyard is one of the great untold stories in American history--a sort of super-Zelig. I'm hoping that Spielberg reads this book and makes a movie. Meanwhile, I'll settle happily for this page-turner.

Hardly anyone's ever heard of John Ledyard. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book about an obscure American explorer. Only a few pages into the book I realized I not only liked the book, but I wish I could have known Ledyard.

A dichotomy of differences--restless, yet lazy; chivalrous, yet not interested in celibacy; idealistic, yet clearly motivated by money--Ledyard's life was predictably unpredictable. His keen intellect and adventurous spirit won the admiration of notables, including Thomas Jefferson.

He frustrated his family. He irritated the head of his college. He broke hearts along the way. And he was always in need of funds. But he never lost his spirit.

Unable to pay for his schooling at Dartmouth, Ledyard carved a canoe out of a fallen tree, packed a lunch, pushed off from shore, and reclined in his new vessel as he let the water's current take him where it may. That it took him to the waterfalls and he barely escaped with his life didn't detour him from other adventures.

Ledyard sailed with Captain Cook on Cook's last journey, tried to reach the west coast of America (from Europe) by heading east through Siberia, and got arrested by Catherine the Great's men who tossed him out of Russia.

Using Ledyard's few remaining letters and journal notes, Gifford adds his own experience in following Ledyard's path. Gifford took a voyage on a replica of the ship Resolution that Ledyard sailed on and shared a bit more detail than I needed, but at least I got an idea of the conditions Ledyard endured.

Ledyard died in a filthy convent room at age 37, most likely the victim of his own self-medication. "He was seized with a pain in his stomach occasioned by bile and undertook to cure himself. Excessive vomiting ensued, in consequence of which he broke a blood vessel," wrote Carlo Rosetti, a Cairo merchant.

Armchair Interviews says: Ledyard may have departed this world too soon, but he left a story worth reading. We're fortunate Bill Gifford brought it to us.

When reading of early exploration, John Ledyard's legacy is usually summarized in a few sentences, or a paragraph at most. This deserving study by Bill Gifford sheds enormous light not only into who this man was, but also his unsurpassed exploratory efforts.

From the time he dropped out of Dartmouth College and canoed a hundred forty miles down river, the man felt that there was something more to life.

While on Cook's third voyage he experienced the world and craved for more. His thoughts on the Pacific Northwest and its untapped fur trade possibilities revolutionized his ideas even further to walking across America (from west to east) and claiming the land for our new nation.
When in Paris, he caught the attention of Jefferson who backed him on this endeavor. Ledyard was to go across Siberia, hitch a ride on a Russian ship and eventually land at Nootka Sound, then walk across America. Although apprehended by Russian authorities and his dreams shattered, his zest for fulfillment never ceased. He was then sent off to explore Africa where he ultimately died. It is no wonder he has been referred to as "The Traveller"

As he himself had said, "he traveled under the common flag of humanity" and "served the world at large". Although most times penniless and lacking in clothing, he always managed to find companionship wherever he was in the world.

And just as Mr. Gifford points out, he survived so much but not his temper.
A great read.

The book's title is a bit of an overpromise when it comes to Ledyard's qualities as an explorer. He was a great dreamer, a traveller, and a very 'singular' character (as it is called in the book), but not much of an explorer. The title of the other book about Ledyard "The man who dreamed of walking the world" is more to the point. He tried to be an explorer, but he didn't realise any of his goals.
Ledyard was at the very best somewhere at the sideline of history. His tales are a nice introduction to 18th century American and European history, for he seems to have mingled with a lot of people and visited the places that mattered in those times. It's nice to view the world of that time from the standpoint of this unique traveller, but don't expect a history of real exploration.

Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer tells of a celebrated American explorer who participated in some of the greatest expeditions of his times. He was not only present on Captain Cook's final voyage and helped pioneer the fruit trade, but joined Thomas Jefferson in planning for an expedition across North America - and made the journey nearly to Russia in Alaska before he was arrested as a spy. It's a wonder his story isn't better known - and LEDYARD follows all his journeys, providing a blend of history and true-life adventure to make it a fine pick for both school libraries at the high school to college level, and for general-interest public library collections.

As a descendent of Benjamin Ledyard, one of two cousins of John Ledyard who were more like brothers, I have always been interested in articles and biographies on "the First American Explorer." I found Gifford's book to be a great read, even coming hard on the heels of American Traveller, by James Zug.
Gifford's examination of the trip through Russia is the most complete analysis I have seen, and he is to be commended for his research in that area. If I may be permitted a slight negative comment, I might mention that Gifford, while using a number of nineteeth century sources to illustrate early Siberian travels, missed one prime source, in my humble, if biased estimation. He apparently didn't read far enough in our cousin Cass Ledyard Shaw's The Ledyard Family in America. If he had read further, he would have come across the story of my great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Childs Ledyard, who travelled across Siberia in a sleigh in 1881 with his wife and baby son, my grandfather. My Ledyard great-grandparents' observations were at least as pertinent as those Gifford cites.
That said, thanks are due to Gifford for his effort to resurrect the memory of "Ledyard the Traveller."
David J. Glass, Ed.D.