Into the Wilderness: The Lewis and Clark Expedition

New Books for New Readers

by James J. Holmberg

"When Thomas Jefferson sent a team of explorers to discover a way to the Pacific Ocean two hundred years ago, the western border of the United States was the Mississippi River. It was Jefferson's dream to uncover the mysteries of the distant lands beyond. In 1803, the president sent a team of thirty men, lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific, and back home again. During this monumental, two-and-a-half-year expedition, Lewis and Clark gathered samples of plants, animals, and Indian crafts. Into the Wilderness describes the difficult yet successful journey that made these men the celebrated heroes they are today. James J. Holmberg, curator of special collections at the Filson Historical Society, is the author of Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark.

64 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2003

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sentences are constructed and written for a grade school reader. Got boring!
Plus, too many comments were left hanging. Example: "...they planned to go up the Mississippi." We know that they followed the Missouri course. (Further, I had not heard that they planned to use the Mississippi.) The author did not explain why they changed their mind. The next mention was "The journey west of the Mississippi was about to begin." I hate loose ends like that.

[Diane]

Entertaining.