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Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West Audiobook
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(4.00) - 16 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the definitive book on Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time.
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first map of the trans-Mississippi West, provided invaluable scientific data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and established the American claim to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
Ambrose has pieced together previously unknown information about weather, terrain, and medical knowledge at the time to provide a vivid backdrop for the expedition. Lewis is supported by a rich variety of colorful characters, first of all Jefferson himself, whose interest in exploring and acquiring the American West went back thirty years. Next comes Clark, a rugged frontiersman whose love for Lewis matched Jefferson’s. There are numerous Indian chiefs, and Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition, along with the French-Indian hunter Drouillard, the great naturalists of Philadelphia, the French and Spanish fur traders of St. Louis, John Quincy Adams, and many more leading political, scientific, and military figures of the turn of the century.
High adventure, high politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy combine with high romance and personal tragedy to make this outstanding work of scholarship as readable as a novel.
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"A narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803. The history of the trip itself is fascinating but Ambrose' style, i.e. rambling, repeating himself and the use of the character's direct quotes in the early 1800s vernacular make the going pretty slow in places. "
— Chuck (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Ambrose takes us into the interior of an adventure filled with high romance and personal tragedy involving the greatest expedition ever undertaken in the history of this country.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“Ambrose uses his skill with detail and atmosphere to dust off an icon and put him back on the trail west.
— Publishers Weekly -
“An eminently readable resource.”
— School Library Journal -
“Specialists will appreciate this biography, but general readers will also be enthralled by Ambrose’s well-written account.”
— Library Journal -
“Ambrose’s epic, a combination of rhapsody and reality, feels like a final glimpse at a pristine Eden before the crowd of trappers and settlers altered it forever.”
— Booklist
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the 1996 Spur Award for Historical Nonfiction
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Winner of the 1997 Ambassador Book Award for American Studies
Undaunted Courage Listener Reviews
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Han, 1/12/2024
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Stephen Parsons, 5/17/2022
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John, 2/23/2021
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pat, 9/15/2017
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" I really enjoyed this. Being from North Dakota, I know the terrain very well, and I know what 30 below feels like. "
— Reloucks, 5/22/2011 -
" 3.5 stars <br/>Unfortunately, the writing is too academic to pass for a mainstream biography, yet too informal to pass as academic. Otherwise, an interesting look at the life of Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis & Clark expedition. <br/> "
— Brooke, 5/14/2011 -
" An in depth look at Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, William Clark, and the Opening of the American West (their trip to the Pacific and back). Great book. "
— Linda, 4/25/2011 -
" This is one of the best books of all time. If I was stranded on a desert island and could take only two books with me, this would be one of them. "
— Brianaustin, 4/22/2011 -
" An amazing piece of storytelling by historian Stephen Ambrose. "
— Randy, 4/16/2011
About Stephen E. Ambrose
Stephen E. Ambrose (1936–2002) was the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including Citizen Soldiers, Undaunted Courage, and D-Day, as well as biographies of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. He also founded the Eisenhower Center and was president of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. His book, Band of Brothers, was the basis for the HBO miniseries. He was also a contributing editor for the Quarterly Journal of Military History, a member of the board of directors for American Rivers, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council Board.
About Barrett Whitener
Barrett Whitener has been narrating audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the prestigious Audie Award and numerous Earphones Awards. AudioFile magazine has named him one of the Best Voices of the Century.