Sometimes history comes alive through the details. In this Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Lewis & Clark expedition there are two photographs of historic artifacts that certainly make the whole adventure come alive for me. First, there are pages from William Clark's journal which contains accounts of weather conditions and geographical observations, as well as sketches fo the scenery and wildlife. Second, there is a letter of credit, written by President Thomas Jefferson in his own hand, so that the expedition could return home by ship (it was never used as Lewis and Clark returned home overland). There are historic paintings of Lewis and Clark, as well as Sacagawea and York (the black man who astounded the Plains Indians), but it is these photographs of actual items that prove the most inspirational.

R. Conrad Stein provides a more than adequate introduction to the expedition known it is day as the Corps of Discovery, which left St. Louis in the spring of 1804 for a two year journey up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The goal was to explore the land the United States acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. One of the key consequences of the expedition that traveled 8,000 miles was that it proved, once and for all, that an inland waterway in North American did not exist. Part of the Cornerstones of Freedom volume on the Louisiana Purchase is devoted to the Lewis & Clark expedition, but this volume, of course, provides much more information.

A truly fascinating read of exploration and attempted location of the mythical water passage across the western U.S. from the geographical perspective. From the mid 1600's up to and including the Lewis and Clark expedition, geographical mappings of the west were theoretical and conjectural, leading to misconceptions and inaccuracies in cartography and images of unexplored lands. With loyal support and backing from Jefferson, Lewis and Clark set out to locate the legendary water route across America for U.S. commerce, while at the same time collecting and taking notes on cartography, botany, zoology, geology, ethnology and natural resources, along with postulating future agricultural possibilities for the nation. Although the image of a fabled water passage was shattered and the idea of a totally agrarian society was somewhat fragmented, the Lewis and Clark expedition did succeed in being the premier stepping-stone for western expansion and maintained the imagery process of the west right up to the present time. A spellbinding read.

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 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.

Lewis and Clark, A Prairie Dog for the President, is a fun read that's nicely paced. Author Shirley Raye Redmond uses whimsy and humor to tell this historic event: President Jefferson sends the eager Lewis and Clark off to explore the West. The vast young nation has never been fully explored. The president wonders how long it will take to get to the end of it and what they will find. One of my favorite parts is the banter over what to name the barking prairie creature they discover and send back to Jefferson.
"You can call it a ground rat."
"No, it looks like squirrel. I'll call it a barking squirrel."
"Squirrels don't bark. Dogs bark. We should call it a prairie dog."
"That's it!" Lewis and Clark agreed.
Later it starts all over again, when the President asks, "Is it a gopher?"
The illustrations by John Manders are just as pleasing. I like the facial expressions on the people and animals, especially the mischievous smile of the prairie dog. Manders is skilled at portraying action and emotions. And like the author, his sense of humor is so much fun. A buffalo and bear pose to be sketched. A buffalo won't fit in a shipping crate. Prairie dogs pop in and out of holes, eluding capture. A poor scout is so weighed down with "presents" for the President, he must be hoisted onto a boat.
Together, Shirley Raye Redmond and John Manders have created a delightful book.

If there is any event in American history that has been thoroughly documented it is the Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803-06.
Surprisingly, one area that has been generally overlooked is the medical aspect of the expedition. A retired cardiac surgeon and wilderness medical expert, Bruce C. Paton, has remedied that oversight with this fascinating book.
In a highly readable, non-techinal manner, Paton examines the state of medicine in 1800 and discusses the medical preparations made by Meriwether Lewis for the journey including, at the urging of President Jefferson, his meetings with leading scholars of the time.
The story of Lewis' meeting with Dr. Benjamin Rush, the advising physician to the expedition, is interesting not only for the advice given to Lewis but for Rush's varied interests and activities. Rush's list of 10 steps to follow in order to maintain the health of the expedition members provides the reader with a stark reminder of the state of medical care in early 1800.
In addition, the author discusses the diagnoses and treatment of three specific major medical crises that confronted the expedition: the gunshot wound suffered by Lewis, the illness of Sacagawea and the death of Sergeant Floyd. While the death of Floyd did not affect the ultimate success of the expedition, the author speculates on what the outcome might have been had Sacagawea or Lewis died. That they did survive may have been due more to luck than the treatment they received.
Only one member died during the incredible three-year ordeal despite limited medical knowledge and medications that were largely ineffective.
This is a must book for anyone remotely interested in the Lewis & Clark expedition. Highly recommended.

This is a highly readable, brief account of the journey of Lewis and Clark, America's premier explorers. The duo set out in 1804 at the behest of President Jefferson to see if in fact there was a "Northwest Passage" (waterway) to the West Coast, and to explore the sorrounding regions. Most fascinating are the tales of encounters with various Indian tribes, as well as the weather related hardships endured by the Corps of Discovery. Reads nicely for young people or as a general introduction to the subject for adults. The book could have used some more illustrations and maps, but otherwise nicely researched.

E WARREN CLARK was a very young American scientist and missionary
who taught chemistry for the former Tokugawa shoguns and later
at Tokyo University. His 1878 book, LIFE AND ADVENTURE IN JAPAN,
republished heregives a superb look at life in Japan in the early Meiji era. The editors' introductions put the book into context

I found Life Is Change Growth Is Optional to be easy to read, enticing and to the point. This book compares the cycles of human psyche to the cycles of the life of a tree. Using the four seasons to demonstrate the variety of changes the author matches the growth and withering of the tree to the growth and dorment cycles of the human psyche. The print is big enough for us oldsters to read!