Other editions of book Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Captain Meriwether Lewis was hand-picked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and acquire the American West. In 1803, Lewis and his partner William Clark led an expedition up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean and back. They endured incredible hardships and saw amazing sights. Stephen Ambrose has pieced together previously unknown information to provide a colorful and realistic backdrop for the expedition, as seen through Lewis' eyes. Adventure, politics, suspense, drama, diplomacy, romance and personal tragedy combine to make this outstanding work of scholarship as engaging as any work of fiction.