epic adventure, engaging from start to finish

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Undaunted Courage is a well written and extremely engaging account of Meriwether Lewis's epic adventure to the Pacific Ocean via the Louisiana territory (which the US had recently purchased from France). The mission was to explore and map the route to the Pacific with the hopes of discovering a direct water route (rivers, lakes, etc), record the fauna and flora of the region, and lay the foundation for trading and political relationships with the native population, and report back all data gathered to the the president (Thomas Jefferson), established US government, as well as scientific and other institutions. The story starts with the background and inception of the mission, and then details the events and chronology, ending with the results and aftermath of the project. The author quotes generously from Lewis's journals, as well as correspondence from Jefferson and others. Although this was a long and detailed account, if was interesting and engaging from start to finish. I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

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