At least every other winter I try to read Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage - his well researched version of the adventures of Lewis and Clark.

Please allow me to address one issue up front - Ambrose was the target of  some fairly aggressive criticism erupting around the time of his death in 2002 regarding charges of inaccuracies and of plagiarism, initially focusing on his book The Wild Blue, but later lots of folks jumped on the band wagon, and suggest several of his other works were “tainted”. 

Personally I’ve enjoyed his writing style and have read his major historical works over the years - should he have documented and quoted his sources better - yes - but I would certainly encourage you not to pass over his works if you have an interest in history.  History records, if you care to do a bit of research, were / are often highly politicized and interpreted within very narrow perspectives of the author - often to accomplish an agenda far removed from the initial “historical event”.   Enough. 

Undaunted Courage holds a special appeal to those who love the West and its great rivers.  Jefferson’s charge to young Lewis and his band was to explore and document a course across the great unexplored regions of the mid- and northwest - hoping obviously for a water course to lead to the pacific.   The descriptions of their travels over the rivers of the region, particulary (for me) the rivers of Montana and Yellowstone, offers almost magical glimpses into days long past.  It helps I suppose that many of the rivers that Lewis and Clark adored are some of the greatest fly fishing rivers in the world - the Missouri, Madison, Gallatin, etc, and we’re a hop, skip, and a jump away from Three Forks here in Bozeman. 

If winter’s dragging on in your neighborhood, and you’ve not read this intriguing book, give it a try.  I guarantee you’ll look at the rivers of the region with new eyes next time you’re out in our neck of the woods.  It’s a hefty read, chock full of detail that at times can seem laborious, and the direct quotes from Lewis, Clark, and other authors of the time take a bit of getting used to given their weakness in spelling - but this is a great one for your library. 

I’ve been once again inspired to track down a version of the actual journals that L&C kept - we’ll do some research and recommend a set in the near future…..

Technorati Tags:

Tags: Books: Yellowstone and the West