Lewis and Clark Trail, The: Then and Now (Lewis & Clark Expedition) [Hardcover]

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (Author), William Munoz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Lewis & Clark Expedition

When the Lewis and Clark expedition departed on its voyage of exploration in May of 1804, the region of North America west of the Mississippi River was a blank spot on the map. Lewis and Clark were to fill it in with rivers and mountains, Indian tribes, and animals new to European Americans. Today the West is a completely different place from what it was two hundred years ago. Every inch has been mapped, and much of its land has been covered by farms, ranches, cities, and towns. Award-winning author of more than a hundred nonfiction books for children, Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and photographer William Muñoz capture the contrast between the American West then and now in this informative volume, aided by old prints, photographs, and paintings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-This book adds little to the body of work already available. The title promises comparisons between the trail's past and present but for the most part this is another recounting of the journey. The stress is so much on the "then" that when mention of "now" comes, it seems to interrupt the flow, intruding on readers' growing interest in the progress of the expedition. For example, just as the explorers have crossed the Bitterroot Valley and prepare to turn west into the mountains, Patent discusses the Bitterroot Valley today and how modern techniques have helped pinpoint the site of the camp. The two-page chapters are each introduced with a quotation-usually from an expedition journal-and illustrated with full-color photographs and historical paintings. This does not allow for much depth in or development of the topics. The journey and the participants make for fascinating reading and Patent does a good job of conveying the hardships involved. There are, however, some problems with the text. Told in the first chapter that the goal is to reach the Pacific Ocean, readers will be surprised to find no mention of the explorers reaching the coast. Only the inset map shows that the second winter camp, Fort Clatsop, is located by the Pacific. Patent extols the talents and backgrounds of the men chosen for the Corps of Discovery but then readers come to "Clark also brought along his black slave, York," verbally relegating the man to subhuman status. Rhoda Blumberg's The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark (Morrow, 1995) is a much better choice.
Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. In this well-illustrated, large-format book, Patent provides a succinct narrative account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, beginning with a realistically harsh, you-are-there introduction to life with the Corps of Discovery. Among the many books on the subject appearing in time for the bicentennial of that event, including Patent's Animals on the Trail with Lewis and Clark (2002), this one distinguishes itself by incorporating information about how the land, rivers, vegetation, wildlife and trails today differ from what Lewis and Clark saw 200 years ago. Each double-page spread focuses on a specific topic, such as "Meeting the Sioux" or "The Great Falls," and most are introduced with a small map and a journal entry by Lewis, Clark, or another expedition member. The full-color illustrations will include maps, present-day photos, and reproductions of the period. A well-written presentation of the topic. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1 edition (November 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525469125
• ISBN-13: 978-0525469124
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,938,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid introduction to the Lewis & Clark Expedition, June 8, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lewis and Clark Trail, The: Then and Now (Lewis & Clark Expedition) (Hardcover)

The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition is the one great exploration of the American continent that was actually undertaken by Americans rather than by Europeans visiting the New World. "The Lewis and Clark Trail Then and Now," with text by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and Photographs by William Munoz, compares the way things have changed along the route almost two hundred years later. When Lewis and Clark left St. Louis in May of 1804 the United States was a land without telephones, railroads, cars, electrical equipment or dozens of other modern conveniences we take for granted. The region of North American between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean was fill of rivers and mountains, native tribes and indigenous animals, all waiting to be "discovered." Today, this entire region has been mapped, and a lot of that uninhabited land is now covered by farms and ranches, towns and cities. Even the mighty Missouri and Columbia Rivers that Lewis and Clark followed have been damned. Still, there are wilderness areas, such as the Rocky Mountains, where what you would see today has changed little from the time Lewis and Clark first trekked through their landscapes.

However, overall the emphasis in this book is more on the "then," even though most of the pictures are of the "now." There is a reproduction of an 1802 map showing the great area of the unexplored American West and some early 19th-century paintings, but the photographs are of contemporary vistas and shots of some of the equipment taken on the expedition. The book does not make an attempt to match up old paintings with new photographs, but rather tries to combine them to give a sense of the places visited and the peoples met along the way. Ultimately, the book fills in the spaces between that unfinished map at the start of the book and the completed map made by Clark that appears at the end. Each chapter is essentially a two-page spread on chronologically arranged topics from Members of the Expedition and Life on the River to Finding the Shoshone and Descending the Might Columbia. The net effect is a concise look at the history making expedition and how it fulfilled President Thomas Jefferson's mandate. Young students assigned to research the topic or simply interested in this part of American history will find "The Lewis and Clark Trail: Now and Then" provides a solid look at the subject.

3.0 out of 5 stars Only a nice enough look at the subject, November 9, 2008

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lewis and Clark Trail, The: Then and Now (Lewis & Clark Expedition) (Hardcover)

I truly am fascinating by Lewis and Clark and the whole Corps of Discovery Expedition and all, but this book, besides some nice pictures and photos, really did not do much for me. Patent gives a summary of the expedition in two-page sections with nice enough information but not a whole lot of passion or even apparently interest in the subject. It was almost like a school project of comparing the modern area with what the Corps saw--informative and rather boring. The book is well organized and is educational enough, but I don't think it's going to gain the Corps of Discovery any new fans.