Saga of Lewis and Clark: Into the Uncharted West [Paperback]

DK Publishing (Author), Thomas Schmidt (Author), Jeremy Schmidt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lewis & Clark Expedition | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Beautifully written and illustrated, this book follows Lewis and Clark from the inception of their expedition to their celebrated homecoming. In an effort to seek out -- and stake out -- the fabled Northwest Passage, Captains Lewis and Clark led the expedition from Missouri through uncharted territory to Oregon. They fought rivers, suffered sunstroke, encountered and befriended Indians, and survived hunger, fatigue, and sickness. The journals brought back by various members, excerpted here, present the first written account of the area west of the Mississippi, including the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Illustrations focus on running maps that serve as time lines, current photographs of still-virgin wilderness, annotated sketches selected from the hundreds of plants and animals (which the expedition documented for the first time), and artifacts created or first archived by Lewis and Clark themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Storytellers are many, but illustrators are few--and few books on the epic journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are as beautiful as The Saga of Lewis & Clark. Illustrations from the original journals reveal the explorers' creative spelling and fine cartographic abilities; old drawings and etchings lend authenticity to the chronicle; and color photographs prove that the dramatic landscape they encountered remains wild in places.

The reproductions of paintings by Karl Bodmer and George Catlin from the 1830s are particularly stunning. The same paintings and journal excerpts appear in other illustrated accounts--including the companion volume to Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns's PBS special on the Corps of Discovery--but without the clarity and vibrancy achieved in this edition.

Brothers Thomas and Jeremy Schmidt are particularly adept as guides to the foreign landscape encountered by Lewis and Clark. Writers and naturalists with nearly two dozen books to their collective credit, they are clearly enamored with the Corps of Discovery and the West. Although one brother recently retraced the expedition's route from St. Louis to the Pacific, they don't let that experience intrude on a narrative that is richly embroidered with the explorers' own colorful language. Other works offer better prose, but as an introduction to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, this fine work succeeds handsomely. --Pete Holloran --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Thomas and Jeremy Schmidt recount the adventures of Lewis and Clark based on their lifelong experiences in the region, including traveling the trail themselves. Similar to Lewis and Clark, one is a historian and travel writer, the other an explorer and naturalist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; First Edition edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078948076X
• ISBN-13: 978-0789480767
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,328,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's an art book! No, it's an adventure book, December 15, 1999

By 

D. Swift (Jackson, WY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saga of Lewis and Clark: Into the Unknown West (Hardcover)

This is a terrific art book which, when you think about it, is plenty to ask of a topnotch adventure tale.

There are plenty of key works of Western art in this book, gorgeously reproduced. Karl Bodmer, John Clymer, CM Russell, not to mention several very sharp repros from the original Lewis and Clark journals. Talk about grit and charm.

The book's copious maps will appeal to fans of the excellent Raven series. They look like sharp aerial photos. Doubletrucked across the top of an already wide book, you take in maybe 300 miles of virgin terrain in one eyeful.

The writers are the true tex-istensialists, wandering Lewis & Clark's West under dire skies as well as perfect ones with casual competency. They give us a fresh spin on that legendary trek of two centuries ago, knowing that we are interested in the subject and not the writers themselves. Now, that's refreshing storytelling.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Audacity and Fierce Peril, June 6, 2002

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saga of Lewis and Clark: Into the Uncharted West (Paperback)

"The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by it's course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purposes of commerce." -Thomas Jefferson, Instruction to Lewis, June 20, 1803

The Saga of Lewis & Clark is richly illustrated with lavish full-color photography, annotated topographical maps, pictorial timelines, sketches of the animal and plant species first recorded during the "voyage of discovery," archival images of native cultural arts and crafts, quotes and pictures of the land Lewis and Clark viewed on their journey to the Pacific.

There are pictures of Clark's field journal and a fold-out map of the journey to put it all in perspective.

The chapters include:

Members of the Expedition - pictures of the letter from Jefferson and gorgeous

pictures of the scenery.
Underway - Bound for the Pacific through the interior of the continent
Onto the Plains - Stories of the Tribes living on the plains.
Off the Map - Confrontations with grizzly bears
Over "Those Tremendous Mountains"
On to the Sea - Rapids and finally, some pictures I recognize as home! I can almost smell
the salty sea now as I look at the pictures. We visited Fort Clatsop once with my aunt.
Homeward Bound - Humorous story about fending off the herd of bison. Yikes!
Log - Expedition Roster, Index, Credits, Animal Listings, Plant Listings, Glossary

A retelling of the greatest wilderness trip ever recorded. Thomas Schmidt and Jeremy Schmidt truly have created a magnificent keepsake of this journey into the uncharted West.

An Epic Journey!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative, beautifully illustrated account., April 4, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saga of Lewis and Clark: Into the Unknown West (Hardcover)

Beautiful, bright color photos pepper every page and often offer full-page spreads to accompany timelines, topographical maps, and rich accounts of the Lewis and Clark journey. Their words and experiences come to life in The Saga of Lewis & Clark, a survey which reveals different aspects of the travelers' discoveries and experiences, with Wayne Mumford providing the beautiful photography.