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66th out of 766 books
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1,210 voters
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
The Journals of Lewis and Clark are "the first report on the West, on the United States over the hill and beyond the sunset, on the province of the American future” (Bernard DeVoto).
In 1803, the great expanse of the Louisiana Purchase was an empty canvas. Keenly aware that the course of the nation's destiny lay westward—and that a “Voyage of Discovery” would be necessary t...more
In 1803, the great expanse of the Louisiana Purchase was an empty canvas. Keenly aware that the course of the nation's destiny lay westward—and that a “Voyage of Discovery” would be necessary t...more
Paperback, 576 pages
Published
April 30th 1997
by Mariner Books
(first published 1905)
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F***ing amazing journey, chronicled daily. Just blew my mind. The amount of wildlife they had to kill daily to feed 40 people, the amount of stuff they brought, the fact no one in western science had documented a Grizzly Bear until this trip (where they saw plenty), the amazing survival of all but one of the original crew. Sacajawea and her contributions, including having a baby on the journey. All the different Native American tribes and ways of life they encountered, the languages and the food...more
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I had wonderful history teachers in school but somehow never developed an appreciation for the story of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery until recently. Now I've read Ambrose's fine history and followed it with this version of the journals. It's edited to remove the nonstandard spelling and grammar so they don't interfere with a modern reader's enjoyment of the story itself. Reading these journals, I developed a special fondness for Lewis. Clark is extremely matter-of-fact, but Lewis c...more
I purchased this book while on our vacation, at the bookstore at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis (aka The Gateway Arch), but only started reading it along about November 12. It has been a very fun read, to see how Lewis & Clark got There and Back Again, and I am actually sorry that they have made it back safely to civilization, because I was enjoying reading the book so much.
As you learned way back in American History Class, in May of 1804 President Thomas Jefferson se...more
As you learned way back in American History Class, in May of 1804 President Thomas Jefferson se...more
Lewis and Clark are two well known mans that were sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwest passage. In 1803 they set out from St. Louis, Missouri on a keel boat on the Missouri river. They were to find specimens in the north west to give to Jefferson for new discoveries of animals they have found. This book is about Lewis and Clark who struggle through a 2 year trip to explore the Louisiana territory who Thomas Jefferson bought from a guy by the name of napoleon to expand united states....more
Ok, I aborted thus book after 50 pages or so. Not because it was uninteresting, it's just that a Lewis and Clark program was on Netflix, and after watching that, I just did not feel like reading it!
Excellent introduction. I like to read travel books while travelling on vacation. Last summer's vacation took me along stretches of the Lewis and Clark trail from Missouri to North Dakota. It was fun to read the book along the way (by flash light in my tent - I generally don't read while driving).
The view from my campsite at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (a gem) was very similar to the view on the cover. My tent was right on the river.
I also highly recommend journal writing. And it's so muc...more
The view from my campsite at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (a gem) was very similar to the view on the cover. My tent was right on the river.
I also highly recommend journal writing. And it's so muc...more
Did you know Lewis and Clark had a dog with them that went all the way to the Pacific and back?
2 likes · like · see review
A chronological combination of journal entries from members of the Lewis & Clark expedition in its search of an easy trade route from the United States across the recently-acquired Louisiana Territory to the Pacific Ocean. De Voto provided some great notes on the historical context of the journey, and there were very interesting notes on the indigenous populations they met along the way. This entered my reading list because of librarian Nancy Pearl's recommended reading for the bicentennial...more
I picked this up at the Fort Clatsop Museum where Lewis and Clark wintered over Nov. 1805- Mar 1806. There's quite a nice little musuem at this site with a life-sized replica of the fort and demonstrations of candle-making, how to shoot a musket, bow and arrow, as well as how to distill salt from seawater and other skills the explorers needed to know. Winter was unimaginably hard there at that fort, especially when the men all came down with a bad croup. It's truly a miracle they didn't perish....more
This abridged version of the journals highlights the observations and experiences made on the round trip from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean (the Northern boundary of the territory then known as the Louisiana Purchase). A great many stories of the Native American Tribes are brought through in great detail. Also, the landscape and living creatures of the region are brought forward in a way that leaves me wanting it unchanged. I will be reading more first-hand travel essays from here on out as sec...more
Can't say enough about this one. Must-read for anyone who loves history, adventure, the West, and a true story nonetheless. I couldn't put it down. The run-ins with grizzlies, the very hospitable and interesting Native Americans, the integral role of Sacajawea as well as Lewis' dog, and the geography of the West made this one better than fiction. To complement the book, can't do better than visit Fort Clatsop on the Oregon coast or the continental divide on the border of Montana/Idaho.
Ehhh...I gave up on this.
I had read Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage a few weeks ago, and so I thought this might be interesting. I quickly got bored and unenthusiastic. Some people might like it for its historical value as a firsthand account, but the edition I read was abridged, a watered-down four hundred or so pages.
This isn't a must-read. Maybe Gary Moulton's 13-volume set is. But, still, how exciting can a journal be...?
I had read Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage a few weeks ago, and so I thought this might be interesting. I quickly got bored and unenthusiastic. Some people might like it for its historical value as a firsthand account, but the edition I read was abridged, a watered-down four hundred or so pages.
This isn't a must-read. Maybe Gary Moulton's 13-volume set is. But, still, how exciting can a journal be...?
I'm sure this is a great book. I got just over 100 pages into it and I just couldn't go on. The book is JAM PACKED with material. Most of it being day-to-day travels where (mostly Clark) talks about what the weather was like that morning, how far they went, what the conditions of the Mississippi were like for that day, any small sandbars there were, the types of fauna and animals and just so much drudgery that it was too painful to continue. Not to mention that the author has an almost clear bia...more
Jun 25, 2009
Sumner Wilson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
All who are interested in how the Far West was opened to those who followed and settled the land.
Recommended to Sumner by:
no one
An account of the first expedition to the far sea. I was amazed at the perils they encountered. They would have died had it not been for the friendly native people they met. This occurred several time. Was also amazed at the loose spelling in the Journal, but then they were not grammarians merely explorers who opened the Far West. Very interesting account. So many people were interested in this old Journal. This is great.
Thanks,
Slugs Nineteen
Thanks,
Slugs Nineteen
From Notes found in the bottom drawer:
Anne B. deserves the rave reviews bestowed on her for her discussion of The Journals of Lewis and Clark as edited by Bernard DeVoto. I admit thatafter her preentation, I am much more in awe of the accomplishments of the voyage and of the co-leaders. Their individual personalities balanced that f the other to the benefit of the mission...qualities that I wish more of our modern work groups wuld adopt. I plan on keeping this book in my car to reread when I'm s...more
Anne B. deserves the rave reviews bestowed on her for her discussion of The Journals of Lewis and Clark as edited by Bernard DeVoto. I admit thatafter her preentation, I am much more in awe of the accomplishments of the voyage and of the co-leaders. Their individual personalities balanced that f the other to the benefit of the mission...qualities that I wish more of our modern work groups wuld adopt. I plan on keeping this book in my car to reread when I'm s...more
I just finished volume six of this comprehensive edition. I had taken a hiatus for a couple of months but now with emergence of nice weather, I have begun the journey home from Fort Clatsop to St. Louis. This lends itself admirably to outdoor reading at an early morning picnic table by a quite country pond. Such a journey seems fantastic to me and the skills necessary to complete it are quite remote from my experience.
Jan 28, 2012
Heather Clitheroe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-reads
Quite an interesting and, at times, entertaining set of journals. The book covers the trip made between 1804-106. The true strength of the journals - when you view them as literature - is in the small observations of life with the expeditions...the illnesses, the arguments, the man who keeps dislocating his shoulder, being chased by bears on a near-daily basis at one point. It can be, at times, quite beautiful and poignant.
Jan 28, 2012
John
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone - especially those that live in the west
Recommended to John by:
amazon.com
Excellent compilation of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The background history is interesting and useful. Before reading this book I could not understand why an area south of Portland, OR had a french name... or what Sergeant Bluff had to do with Sioux City, IA. If you live or travel in the areas where this expedition went, you need to read this to understand more about the names and places. It's interesting to read about these areas after having passed through many them a few weeks ago. Amazi...more
Apr 24, 2009
Juddelise Santana
added it
I GOT QUIZ ON THIS BOOK BY MY HIS PROF. AND I DID GREAT! BECAUSE IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE A DETAIL OUT OF THIS JOURNAL.THOSE ASTONIHISNG LANDSCAPE,WHAT THEY DISCOVERED, THE ANIMALS ENCOUNTER, EVERYTHING THEY WENT THROUGH IT IS RICHLY ACCOUNT BY THEM..HOWEVER, AT TIMES THE READING GETS PRETTY TEDIOUS....I DO RECOMEND IT...EXCELLENT!
I became interested in reading this book about the time that the mint was putting out the Lewis & Clark coins. I remember studying this in elementary school and not grasping the importance of the trek. In 2006 I was on a trip through North Dakota & Montana. I just happened to stop in a store and there was this fantastic book. As I read this book I was amazed at how accurately these men described the land they traveled through. It was exactly as I had recently seen it.
This book is edited...more
This book is edited...more
I read this as a young boy. Despite my lack of interest due to the grammar used in this tome, the concept of adventure drew me in and to this day I can remember talking to my dad about the true adventure and historical purpose of Lewis and Clarks' expeditions. If you can look past the tone and grammar, this is truly a priceless historical record and an exciting, ageless tale.
The content in the books was interesting and it was worth the read to experience the trip across the continent in their own accounts, but the writing was horribly dry and boring. It's very much a textbook-type read. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably look for a more exciting biography on the subject.
This is a huge book and quite difficult to read.
It consists of the original notes taken mainly by Clark but also some entries by Lewis during their famous expedition.
It rambles, the spelling is atrocious and not even consistently atrocious. Quite often one reads the entry for a date then finds it is followed by another, expanded entry for the same date.
It is hard work to read, just as it would be difficult to read the original notes and drafts of most books. So I am regarding it as an elephan...more
It consists of the original notes taken mainly by Clark but also some entries by Lewis during their famous expedition.
It rambles, the spelling is atrocious and not even consistently atrocious. Quite often one reads the entry for a date then finds it is followed by another, expanded entry for the same date.
It is hard work to read, just as it would be difficult to read the original notes and drafts of most books. So I am regarding it as an elephan...more
Fascinating to read the perspectives of the yet "unknown" land to non-native Americans. Their descriptions of the animals, hardships and the Native Americans are very revealing, both about their own internal biases and cultural background. At times the journal is laborious as they do catalog everything.
Before opening the book I was afraid it would be informative but generally hard reading, however I found it to be one of those books I could hardly put down to do anything else. I think i read it in record time and have recommended it to many of my history minded friends.
Wow! Another interesting book chock full of info and insight. I just love homeschooling with Sonlight so that I can read all these great books. I wish history would have been this interesting for me....I would have paid more attention! :)
Very simply, one of my favorite books of all time. This adventure was the result of President Jefferson's decision to send Lewis and Clark to the headwaters of the Missouri River after the consumation of the Louisiana Purchase. The preparation, the journey, the description of a different America, the Indian tribes, the forts, Sacagewea, the cold winter on the shores of the Columbia River and the Pacific and the return trip, make this book one of best adventures ever wrtten. The fact that it is f...more
Very fascinating read. Any outdoor adventurist would enjoy this book. To hear accounts of seeing the country, its landscapes, and animals for the first time....wild. I wish I could be there...without all the back breaking work.
It was cool to read a primary source like this for my class. It was much more engaging than I was expecting; it was definitely striking to see the inhabited "wilderness" of America through the cultural lenses of early 19th century men.
Probably the best revelation: the translations when they met a new tribe, which were like games of telephone. They seemed to collect people who spoke several languages, but only overlapped someone else with one. So a question could go from English to French to Hida...more
Probably the best revelation: the translations when they met a new tribe, which were like games of telephone. They seemed to collect people who spoke several languages, but only overlapped someone else with one. So a question could go from English to French to Hida...more
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Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.
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“Whilst I viewed those mountains, I felt a secret pleasure in finding myself so near the head of the--heretofore conceived--boundless Missouri. But when I reflected on the difficulties which this snowy barrier would most probably throw in my way to the Pacific Ocean, and the sufferings and hardships of myself and the party in them, it in some measure counterbalanced the joy I had felt in the first moments in which I gazed on them. But, as I have always held it little short of criminality to anticipate evils, I will allow it to be a good, comfortable road until I am compelled to believe otherwise. (William Clark)”
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“I called this island Bad Humored Island, as we were in a bad humor.”
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Mar 15, 2011 01:38pm