Customer Reviews

The Lewis and Clark Journals (Abridged Edition): An American Epic of Discovery

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an historian with an interest in the L&C expedition, I have dozens of books on my shelves detailing their adventure, including at least a half-dozen one volume editions of the journals. Until recently, Bernard DeVoto's 50 year old edition was the best. Now Gary Moulton's masterful editing of the definitive 13 vol edition of the journals is echoed in this single-volume abridgement that is destined to become the standard for the foreseeable future. If you must read a popular accounting of the Corps of Discovery, Stephen Ambrose's _Undaunted Courage_ is quite readable and provides ample context for the expedition. But then do yourself a favor and read Mouton's abridgement of the journals, and learn firsthand the thrill of reading L&C's original words. Recommended for all with an interest in the expedition.

Professor Moulton has done a tremendous job of abridging over one million words in this manageable volume of five hundred or so pages. This volume will be the functional equivalent of the DeVoto edition for the twenty-first century. An excellent job that preserves the personalities of both Clark and Meriwether Lewis. Too many editors cannot avoid the temptation of "correcting" the 1804-06 English of the pair.

The only better source for understanding the adventure of the
Lewis and Clark expedition would be the full 11-volumn set
edited by this same author for the U. of Nebraska. As a readable one-volumn summary of their fabulous and hair-raising
expedition, the editor has selected many of the most interesting
passages from the actual diaries of the participants, and many
readers will be able to vicariously experience the wonder at
what the men saw and how they reacted to the natives of the large region, as well as to the flora and fauna of a then-unknown part of the continent.
Frequently, the same adventure, or the same encounter, is told
in the words of multiple observers, and it is most interesting
to see how they reacted.
One of the most fascinating, and almost humorous, attitudes is
that of Lewis toward Grizzly bears and how that attitude changes quickly as he encounters the great bear. It is easy to
feel the superior attitude of Lewis as he relates the first warnings of the Indians about the ferocity and size of this distinct bear. He first writes: "...the indians may well fear
this anamal equiped as they generally are with their bows and
arrows...but in the hands of skillful riflemen they are by no means as formidable or dangerous as they have been represented."
He is speaking of someone who is acquainted with the black bear
of the Ohio valley.
Shortly thereafter he notes, writing of another grizzly, that he
was "...extreemly hard to kill..." specifying that bear had been
shot 10 times before finally expiring. Only a few days later,
after another terrifying encounter with a grizzly, where a party of hunters had to go after a bear wounded who had escaped,
after chasing one of his men, Lewis concludes, "...these bear being so hard to die rather intimedates us all; I must confess
that I do not like the gentlemen and had rather fight two Indians than one bear;..."
These passages are only a sample of the learning curve the great
explorers were on, and their own words show how they learned and
adapted so quickly that they made their amazing trek to the Pacific coast and back with no casualties other than Sgt. Floyd
who died of a burst appendix. The editor relates that Sgt.Floyd
couldn't have been saved even with the best medical care available at the time.
The book abounds with descriptions of birds and animals seen for
the first time by any white man, and both Captains provide details showing their dedication and ability; in addition, Clark
drew many significant maps of the area.
But the book isn't perfect; some decent maps should have been
provided, because the very small, sometimes confusing maps aren't helpful at all, and the serious student or reader will have to find some maps to accompany his reading. Not even one
example of the fine maps drawn by Clark is provided. A few more
of their drawings of animals would have been very helpful and entertaining.
But fascinating beyond belief are their copious observations and
notes of the native Indians they encountered. They show far more sympathy toward the Indians than might be thought possible
from upper-class East-coast white men, and both Lewis and Clark
reveal their wonder at the various customs and practices of
the Indians. Both the Captains the the others who kept diaries
frequently express appreciation of the skills and lifestyles of
the tribes, and this expedition helpled forge considerable friendships between the white Americans and their native counterparts.
The fact that later government mistreatment of Indians led to
wars and the loss of life is an indictment of later political
administrations in Washington, rather than any indictment of
these wonderful leaders and the members of this expedition.
But the writers whose words are provided here show a depth of
curiosity and thirst for knowledge of these different cultures
that has to astound most readers today.
And we have to read the exact words of those men who encountered the Blackfeet in present Montana to know just how
it happened that the only violent deaths happened there; the
Lewis journal entries are very revealing.
Hundreds of entries show just how cool and thoughtful all expedition members were as they encountered unbelieveable problems and obstacles, and how they met them with both good
humor and determination.
You can learn here why the Lewis and Clark expedition was one of
the greatest explorations in the world and why those particular
men were the absolutely best choice for their unique roles.
Anyone interested in American history needs to read these words
and imagine what these men saw and heard.

This one-volume abridgement of the 13-volume "definitive Nebraska edition" of 2001 is a fascinating read from historical and anthropological perspectives as well as being a gripping adventure story. The presentation of the 1804-06 trek of the Corps of Discovery is superb; the editor provides a comprehensive introduction that tells the story crisply, then presents selections from the journals of the officers and men of the Corps (judiciously annotated with sidenotes), and finishes with an afterword that lays out the fortunes of the Corps members after their return home. A really satisfying book!

I am so glad I bought this particular version of their journals. The original spelling mistakes Lewis and Clark made (of which there are many) are so quirky and charming and allow insight into how they would have pronounced things. I let this book take me along on their adventures every night before bed and was pretty much heartbroken when the book finally came to a close. I could not believe how close and personal I felt to history which occurred over 200 years past.

In this beginning year of the 200th anniversary of the famous Lucas and Clark expedition, the University of Nebraska Press has released an abridgement of the definitive edition of two men's journals as they traveled across an unknown land, mapping and recording what they saw of this new terrain for the first time in history.

The Lewis and Clark Journals is a welcome abridgement to the full thirteen-volume set that, while significantly shorter, still contains much of the magic and revelation that both Lewis and Clark experienced on their journey. Organized in diary form with dates for each entry, one is put into the minds of Lewis and Clark as they wrote of what they saw and how they felt about it. Accompanied with footnotes that answer any question about nineteenth century terminology, or foreign words that the reader of today cannot be expected to know; there are also maps detailing the route taken , as well as occasional pictures of the actual journal entries written by Lewis or Clark.

The Lewis and Clark Journals is a book to be welcomed by any reader interested in discovery and Lewis and Clark, or a student studying the subject and wanting to know more, or just an average reader who has always wanted to know what it was like walking into a land and world that was relatively unknown by any other white man. This is a book of discovery that is more certainly nonfiction and remarkable.

Originally published on May 12th, 2003 ©Alex C. Telander.

Go to BookBanter ([...]) for over five hundred reviews and over forty exclusive author interviews, and more.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sought to expand westward for commercial purposes which ended in obtaining land from France. He was confident that an expedition on foot seeking a route for establishing a waterway all the way to the Pacific Ocean was viable. When he needed an "errand" done right, he sent his Secretary of the President of the U S., Meriwether Lewis. As a result of his need for his legislature to appropriate $2500 to cover the cost, not realizing it would result in the death of Lewis -- after years of surveying, fighting off bears and other dangerous animals, Congress passed an act which Lewis as co-leader would abide by as appointed by his boss "to carry into execution."

They were to start surveying at the mouth of the Missouri river to explore ways and to map out the territory from detail orders and instructions from the president himself. The object would be to discover a direct water "communication" across this continent "for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States." It was to culminate in a transcontinental route for interoceanic trade.

Months later, on May 14, 1804, the adventure began with the departure of the Lewis & Clark Expedition into unknown territory. Thus, one of the most important events in history took place, called the Louisiana Purchase. Along the way, they were to be-friend the natives ("treat them in the most friendly and conciliatory manner which their own conduct will admit") and complete a census of all the nations. It was especially necessary to have the detailed information set out by President Jefferson on June 20, 1803, even to the point of choosing his successor as commander "on the accident of your death." Lewis was on his way (alone?) to give a report to his boss when he was killed in Tennessee on the Natchez Trace, not too far from the Alabama border. On a Sunday excursion down the trace, I had the opportunity to read the marker at the cabin where he died. It is one of life's mysteries one can only surmise, an anecdote of history and its consequences.

Somehow the rip-roaring adventure of the Lewis and Clark expedition is missing from this plodding tome--and I do mean tome. By religiously sticking to the antiquated spelling and including snippets of every day, what you gain in detail you lose in adventure. Scholarly historians will want to read the unabridged journals; for the armchair historian, this book misses the mark.