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Bold Journey: West with Lewis and Clark
Private Hugh McNeal relates his experiences accompanying Lewis and Clark on their 1804-1806 expedition in search of a northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.
171 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 6, 2011
The Corps of Discovery as told by Hugh McNeal, one of its members. Not the best, but it made the point that this was not a pleasure expedition. It did make me want to look up a couple of incidents that I had not heard of before.
January 28, 2014
We read this book during our American Girl school year. The girls and I liked it. I read it to them at night while they lay in their teepee in the backyard.
April 9, 2019
"If I had known how cursed and lonesome and Godforsaken life in President Jefferson's army was, I would never have joined up." So begins this 18-year-old Private Hugh McNeal's account of his part in the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition.
I first read this when I was eleven years old. I have a fondness for history, and I like to think "Bold Journey" was one of the catalysts for that interest, so I was excited to have the chance to read it again after all these years.
And I loved the book even more after this second reading than I did earlier. It's categorized as being for grades five through eight and older readers, but it could very easily be a teen or adult book.
Though it is fictionalized, "Bold Journey" is based on real events and the author drew heavily from many sources, including the diaries of captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. McNeal's voice feels authentic and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. The long trip from the Ohio River to the Pacific Ocean was difficult in every way imaginable and in some ways the explorers hadn't imagined. They deal with poorly designed boats, clashing personalities, (Captain Lewis in particular can be quite irascible) illness, bad weather of all types, and starvation. There is plenty of drinking and fighting, and two members of the party are flogged and sent back east after instances of desertion and insubordination.
The account is compelling even if you already know the general story. McNeal tells it like it is, but often with a dry sense of humor, and always with a sharp eye for detail and a willingness to look for and find the hidden depths of the people he's with, seeing both the good and the bad.
I first read this when I was eleven years old. I have a fondness for history, and I like to think "Bold Journey" was one of the catalysts for that interest, so I was excited to have the chance to read it again after all these years.
And I loved the book even more after this second reading than I did earlier. It's categorized as being for grades five through eight and older readers, but it could very easily be a teen or adult book.
Though it is fictionalized, "Bold Journey" is based on real events and the author drew heavily from many sources, including the diaries of captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. McNeal's voice feels authentic and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. The long trip from the Ohio River to the Pacific Ocean was difficult in every way imaginable and in some ways the explorers hadn't imagined. They deal with poorly designed boats, clashing personalities, (Captain Lewis in particular can be quite irascible) illness, bad weather of all types, and starvation. There is plenty of drinking and fighting, and two members of the party are flogged and sent back east after instances of desertion and insubordination.
The account is compelling even if you already know the general story. McNeal tells it like it is, but often with a dry sense of humor, and always with a sharp eye for detail and a willingness to look for and find the hidden depths of the people he's with, seeing both the good and the bad.
August 1, 2015
This story of the Lewis and Clark expedition is based on truth and research, but told in a fictional format from the perspective of one the youngest member of the group, Private Hugh McNeal. After reading a number of things about Lewis and Clark, I appreciated the information gained here and having it written from a new perspective. This book takes them along the journey to the Pacific Ocean and discusses the different Indian tribes encountered as well as the other natural obstacles. It also gives different perspectives on the temperament and abilities of the two leaders. This would be a good student read and good to use in the classroom, especially some particular passages that give excellent descriptions.
November 2, 2022
Detailed account of the Lewis and Clark experience told from the point of view of a soldier. Graphic details of Milirary discipline, treatment of Indians, and conditions. One super bright point was the description if Sacagawea’s reunion with her tribe. The emotion led the white soldiers to see the Indians as more human.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2020
This children's historical fiction book brings the Lewis and Clark journey to life.
December 27, 2024
Had a unit study on Lewis & Clark a long time ago. Wanted to revisit after seeing the two and their Corps of Discovery show up in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, particularly in the chapter about the Nez Percé tribe that they met near the end of their voyage.
In her Creative Writing classes, Mom would frequently use Lewis & Clark's journey up the Missouri River as an example. She would sometimes draw a crooked, zigzagging, looping line from one end of the chalkboard to the other to represent both the journey and the "ups and downs" in their story.
If we were interested in a diagram for just the trip, there are several changes we could make. We would still want the whole board because the trip is a long one, in the thousands of miles. One of the questions the expedition sought to answer was, "Is there a water route to the Pacific?" The Missouri River alone gets you most of the way there, from St Louis in Missouri all the way up to Montana. (The book has an excellent map that I've used while reading other materials.) But there were waterfalls at Great Falls, Montana, to portage (carry boats and supplies over land) around, and then again when climbing the imposing Rocky Mountains to connect to the Columbia River -- so there would be breaks in the drawn line. If you sketched the current as arrows, they would show that the crew was rowing against the flow on the way up. Bends in the river could be so severe that sometimes they rowed for days just to travel a total distance of one mile. There's a change in latitude of 5-10 degrees going north, so as the year progressed nights got longer and colder, and wintering meant building a new wedge-shaped shelter at Fort Mandan, North Dakota. Probably the hardest part was that much of this was unexplored territory. (I don't think it's in this book, but: At the fork with Maria's River in Montana, it wasn't clear which turn would keep the travelers on the Missouri!)
And this book, as the subtitle " West with Lewis and Clark" suggests, is just the trip up! I would like to read more about the trip back; encyclopedia says there was a part where Lewis went one way and Clark another.
The main character is Hugh McNeal, a young Army private from Wheeling, West Virginia, who was recruited at Fort Massac because of his experience with the Ohio River.
The story agrees with what I've found in other sources. I wish it had more about how Captain Lewis was also a naturalist; in here, he's mostly the leader of the group. Also, I felt like I needed more information in some places, like why some of the crew tried to run away. It wasn't an easy journey, as described above. And there were casualties: Charley Floyd, for whom Floyd River (near Sioux City, Iowa) is named. But the penalty for desertion was said to be getting shot on sight -- and that's assuming the animals, the wilderness, hostile tribes, and who-knows-what-else didn't get runaways first.... It seemed to me that the surest chance of survival was to stick with the group!
I don't think I'll forget pirogue (canoe made from a hollowed-out tree) any time soon. (That word is in here a lot!) There was also flapdoodle, but that one showed up only once and I can't remember where....
I'm currently reading some other books related to this one. It's really interesting stuff and this book proves it!
In her Creative Writing classes, Mom would frequently use Lewis & Clark's journey up the Missouri River as an example. She would sometimes draw a crooked, zigzagging, looping line from one end of the chalkboard to the other to represent both the journey and the "ups and downs" in their story.
If we were interested in a diagram for just the trip, there are several changes we could make. We would still want the whole board because the trip is a long one, in the thousands of miles. One of the questions the expedition sought to answer was, "Is there a water route to the Pacific?" The Missouri River alone gets you most of the way there, from St Louis in Missouri all the way up to Montana. (The book has an excellent map that I've used while reading other materials.) But there were waterfalls at Great Falls, Montana, to portage (carry boats and supplies over land) around, and then again when climbing the imposing Rocky Mountains to connect to the Columbia River -- so there would be breaks in the drawn line. If you sketched the current as arrows, they would show that the crew was rowing against the flow on the way up. Bends in the river could be so severe that sometimes they rowed for days just to travel a total distance of one mile. There's a change in latitude of 5-10 degrees going north, so as the year progressed nights got longer and colder, and wintering meant building a new wedge-shaped shelter at Fort Mandan, North Dakota. Probably the hardest part was that much of this was unexplored territory. (I don't think it's in this book, but: At the fork with Maria's River in Montana, it wasn't clear which turn would keep the travelers on the Missouri!)
And this book, as the subtitle " West with Lewis and Clark" suggests, is just the trip up! I would like to read more about the trip back; encyclopedia says there was a part where Lewis went one way and Clark another.
The main character is Hugh McNeal, a young Army private from Wheeling, West Virginia, who was recruited at Fort Massac because of his experience with the Ohio River.
The story agrees with what I've found in other sources. I wish it had more about how Captain Lewis was also a naturalist; in here, he's mostly the leader of the group. Also, I felt like I needed more information in some places, like why some of the crew tried to run away. It wasn't an easy journey, as described above. And there were casualties: Charley Floyd, for whom Floyd River (near Sioux City, Iowa) is named. But the penalty for desertion was said to be getting shot on sight -- and that's assuming the animals, the wilderness, hostile tribes, and who-knows-what-else didn't get runaways first.... It seemed to me that the surest chance of survival was to stick with the group!
I don't think I'll forget pirogue (canoe made from a hollowed-out tree) any time soon. (That word is in here a lot!) There was also flapdoodle, but that one showed up only once and I can't remember where....
I'm currently reading some other books related to this one. It's really interesting stuff and this book proves it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2026
This book is a historical fiction novel for young people about Lewis and Clark’s expedition with the Corps of Discovery. We get the fictionalized account of a real soldier, Hugh McNeal.
While I could tell the author researched the topic, I couldn’t help but wonder why Captain Lewis was depicted semi villainous at the beginning of the book. He is shown as unreasonable and unwilling to listen to advice. I think the adventurous nature of the expedition was enough conflict without making one of the captains out to (sort of) be a villain. By the end of the book, McNeal realizes that Lewis is highly intelligent, brave, and takes responsibility for the failure of the experimental boat.
I am a highly cynical person, and I have read that books are sold based on the first three chapters, so I don’t know if the mean version of Captain Lewis got the author’s foot in the door of a publishing firm, or if McNeal’s attitude toward Lewis is character growth.
The adventure was solid, I just didn’t like the way the characters were portrayed. I remember watching Ken Burns’ series about the Lewis and Clark expedition and I don’t remember any of the historians reporting Lewis as being unreasonable. I need to read more nonfiction on my own to judge if this author is correct in his assessment.
While I could tell the author researched the topic, I couldn’t help but wonder why Captain Lewis was depicted semi villainous at the beginning of the book. He is shown as unreasonable and unwilling to listen to advice. I think the adventurous nature of the expedition was enough conflict without making one of the captains out to (sort of) be a villain. By the end of the book, McNeal realizes that Lewis is highly intelligent, brave, and takes responsibility for the failure of the experimental boat.
I am a highly cynical person, and I have read that books are sold based on the first three chapters, so I don’t know if the mean version of Captain Lewis got the author’s foot in the door of a publishing firm, or if McNeal’s attitude toward Lewis is character growth.
The adventure was solid, I just didn’t like the way the characters were portrayed. I remember watching Ken Burns’ series about the Lewis and Clark expedition and I don’t remember any of the historians reporting Lewis as being unreasonable. I need to read more nonfiction on my own to judge if this author is correct in his assessment.
November 30, 2022
Tyrell said "Give it five stars!" We all really enjoyed this novel based on the journal of one of the youngest members of Lewis and Clark's expedition. The children appreciated the characters (especially Pat Gass, haha) and adventures while I appreciated the insight into the members of the expedition.
--"Captain Lewis was our leader, a lonely man, a man too high and too far for us to reach. Now Captain Clark, he would have slapped his forehead and laughed aloud at his stupidity. And we would have laughed with him and admired him all the more. Captain Lewis just edged deeper and deeper down into himself, deeper than any member of our party, or any party, could ever reach." (142)
--"For two weeks on the trail, Reuben Field was your man. For two years, take John Shields." (144)
--"Captain Lewis was our leader, a lonely man, a man too high and too far for us to reach. Now Captain Clark, he would have slapped his forehead and laughed aloud at his stupidity. And we would have laughed with him and admired him all the more. Captain Lewis just edged deeper and deeper down into himself, deeper than any member of our party, or any party, could ever reach." (142)
--"For two weeks on the trail, Reuben Field was your man. For two years, take John Shields." (144)
December 13, 2018
This is one of two books I've read for school this year that has character voice, so I'm grateful for that.
November 7, 2022
An engaging account of the Lewis and Clark expedition, including many details I had never heard before.
August 27, 2016
This book was terrible. The author explains at the beginning of the book that he intended to have his characters portray attitudes that were common at the time regarding Native Americans. But the way in which the author had the Native Americans behaving also seems to be relying on stereotypes that people at that time had about Native Americans.
January 14, 2012
This was an interesting perspective on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but the ending was a little unsatisfactory-rather abrupt. It feels like he narrated the journey, but that it should have had more impact on his life than is shared.
November 7, 2007
Know almost nothing about American History this book still captured my interest till the end.
September 8, 2011
this book had said little on Sacajawea, but instead was from one of the men's ("crew's") view.
January 27, 2015
The story was absolutely terrific!
January 25, 2016
Interesting account of Lewis and Clark's adventures.
October 28, 2014
Boys would like this.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews