The Essential Lewis and Clark

by Landon Y. Jones

The journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark remain the single most important document in the history of American exploration. Through these tales of adventure, edited and annotated by American Book Award nominee Landon Jones, we meet Indian peoples and see the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and western rivers the way Lewis and Clark first observed them -- majestic, pristine, uncharted, and awe-inspiring.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook, Adventure, Science, American History

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another road trip book! Nicely edited and a fun read through the journals -

Their’s was a much bigger road trip than mine but reading it made me feel like I was still traveling 💞

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes these edited Lewis and Clark diary entries of their epic and fateful journey of scientific exploration from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River and back essential? For one, it helps to get some idea of the scope of what is included and what is omitted. Roughly half of the material within the Lews and Clark diaries is included here, and the book presents itself as offering the highlights, which is an accurate judgment. If you like reading about travels and about the exploration of the American West [1], and if you have a taste for historically accurate drama as well as find ethnography to be of interest, this is a worthwhile book. To be sure, it is not the full story, and the editor steps in to summarize material that is judged to be lengthy, but if one does not have the time or the inclination to read about 500 pages or so of material to get the full diary entries and letters of Captains Lewis and Clark during the two years of their journey into the unknown, this makes for a suitable abridgment that ought to satisfy as well as inform, and hopefully whet the appetite of the reader or listener for more.

The book is organized chronologically by diary entry, and more or less alternates between periods read by Lewis and Clark, which are helpfully voiced by two different men to differentiate between the two. Given the assignment to explore from the newly purchased Louisiana Territory to the coast of the Pacific along the Missouri River, with the aim of determining if there was some passage directly to the coast, the two men and their party also served to make a strong claim for the United States to the territory they traversed, which became a core part of the American West, setting up a fort along the Pacific coast during their first winter, where they suffered through a miserable and wet period of months. Lewis and Clark show themselves in their account to be brave, honorable, clear-sighted, and unflappable, and gracious to the divine providence they received in their encounters with bullies, thieves, and grizzlies, from which they managed to escape with their lives, contrary to what might have been expected given the perilous travels they made. The story ends as it should, with a letter to Jefferson summarizing the journey, including the items gathered by the explorers, and apologizing for its brevity.

There is a lot to appreciate about this book and about the journey it details. Throughout their travels, Lewis and Clark show themselves to be shrewd observers of the habits of the indigenous people they encountered, if very much people of their own time. They are quick to give a great deal of credit to Sacagawea, who as a Shoshone woman herself was a key member of the party in terms of his translating work, and whose young son was the subject of much of the authors' solicitude and care. Indeed, one would have a difficult time imagining two better ambassadors for the United States to the tribes of the Upper Missouri and Columbia River basins than Lewis and Clark, two people who better balanced the other and able to retain the confidence and friendship of each other despite difficult travels where they faced violent thieves, nearly single-handedly ended Sioux river piracy, and survived friendly fire incidents while surviving through difficult and unknown country. This is a book still worth reading, even if its ethnography appears quaint by our contemporary standards, not least to show contemporary readers the massive scope and ambition of early Americans in filling up the empty spaces of their knowledge with Americans seeking to make the most of the land that God has given us.

[1] See, for example:

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[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been interested in how Native Americans lived before Europeans came to America and never could find a good book. I was surprised on how much detail Lewis & Clark described the tribes they encountered. They were the first outside group (whites and one black slave) that many Native Americans ever encountered. Really interesting stuff. It would be a great book for a high school or college level history class. In my opinion, students would learn more from this book than the standard history text book.

[Ryan Mauldin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think listening to this book as the direct journal entries from Captain Lewis and Captain Clark is the proper way to tell the story. In this manner we get to be a part of the exact verbiage delivered to Thomas Jefferson 220 years ago…

[Backoff51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used Lewis' and Clark's journal entries. Really good. You were pulling for them to make it home even though you knew they would.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, In my opinion, this should be mandatory reading for all high school students in the United States.
This book is an abridged version, indeed the basic and important notes taken from the actual journal entries written by Lewis and Clark during their expedition.
Having already read Stephen E. Ambrose’s classic, “ “”Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier “, which is a more poetic way of telling their story, and “ The Journals of Lewis and Clark” by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. , which are the original notes taken mainly by Clark but also some entries by Lewis during their famous expedition. Which made for a fascinating read, but seems a bit lengthy for some readers.
This Essential Lewis and Clark”, is whittled down to some of the most interesting anecdotes of the expedition and makes for a much easier reading. On the audio CD, Tom Wopat does a marvelous job in reading the part of William Clark.

[Jan Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a selection of some of the entries in the journals of Lewis and Clark. The best parts were about Sacajawea.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent longer reading this slim volume than the Captains Lewis and Clark spent finding a route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back again.

But it is a great book, in part because it is so short. I would have appreciated more notes (Dear Mr. Publisher: discreet footnotes beat endnotes EVERY TIME). A map or two would also be nice, and photos of certain curiosities if available. Nevertheless, it is a good read, and brief.

I bought the book at the greatest possible place to buy such a book--the bookstore at the foot of the GATEWAY ARCH in St. Louis, Missouri. I immediately began reading it while still on vacation. Then was drawn off course somehow, caught in a Missouri ebb tide, no doubt.

The book was filled with interesting stories of wild animals, incredible herds of buffalo, antelope, deer, and elk, mosquitoes so dense they entered the men's mouths when they talked or breathed (and drove the men nearly mad and made even sleep all but impossible), unknown tribes with many curious customs and as many reactions to the flotilla of white men as there were tribes.

But did I mention there were NO MAPS?

Most Unexpected Discovery in Reading THE ESSENTIAL LEWIS AND CLARK:

--All the unexpected things the men had to eat to sustain themselves, including roots, dogs, horses, mules, bear, and oxen. They ate so many dogs, they developed a taste for the meat. Once they reached the Pacific, they learned to eat whale blubber from a 150-foot whale that had beached itself. Captain Lewis said the blubber as prepared by the locals (I forget which tribe) tasted like a cross between beaver and dog, and all the men found it delicious.

Second Most Unexpected Discovery:

--How surprisingly effective their medical treatments were, including using mercury to cure venereal diseases and using sweat lodges to cure just about everything else. Between saunas and super-heated springs, they used heat and cold to great effect.

Third Most Unexpected Discovery:

--Captain Meriwether Lewis was shot through the upper thigh with a serious exit wound through the buttock. No serious bones or vessels were involved. Within one month Captain Clark described Lewis as being healed and not only walking but even running as well as before. For his part, Lewis was certain who shot him, and described him as a good man who was nearsighted but a man who worked as hard as any and was essential to the expedition.

Clark added that the man only had the use of a single eye. Lewis and the shooter were on an island hunting elk, and had split up. After he was shot, Lewis initially was convinced his friend shot him, but the man apparently pretended to be too far away to hear Lewis shouting, and by the time the two were reunited Lewis had become nearly convinced he was shot by Indians. Later Lewis found the bullet in his buckskin pants and was positive it was the type of bullet used by his friend's rifle. But he made no effort to prosecute the man and just accepted the fact that the man had apparently lied about accidentally shooting him.

Finally--I was impressed that this journey took two solid years. And even more impressed that the crew made it there and back in nearly complete safety.

[Ricky Mikeabono · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for the entirety of the journals, but this is all I could find on audiobook. It was extremely interesting, but a bit too select and Essential for my taste. I wanted to learn more about the drudgery of the trip, not just the exciting encounters with Indian war parties and strange animals.
Some interesting things I learned about Lewis, Clark, and their team of 40+ adventurers that wasn't covered in high school history: they were genuinely bad-A (fighting Indians and grizzly bears in hand to hand/paw combat), super braggadocious ("the one path we took is without doubt the best"), they loved to eat dog followed by young horses (preferring both over salmon), they slept with a ton of squaws (often freely offered to them, and a source of constant VD), they shot and ate every animal the encountered in the name of science (just like Darwin), frequently played miracle doctors to the natives (even if their cures were mercury based, they apparently worked), and only one of their party died the entire time (from appendicitis, unrelated to the trip).
I didn't realize that the west coast already had white settlements, where they recovered and resupplied themselves. Apart from the extremely hard task of crossing mountains, they mostly traveled along as the guests of various Indian tribes, winning their favor and buying supplies with a mighty chest of trinkets. One other interesting tidbit, according to Lewis and Clark, Sacajawea was just one of the interpreters hired for the trip, and a rather simple-minded one who was frequently sick and slowing them down. From reading these journals I can't figure out how or why she has been made out to be a hero other than some strange affirmative action by the treasury. The accounts also laid to rest (and perhaps created) many myths about Native Americans, as Lewis and Clark were ethnographers as well as adventurers and scientists.
This edition was so short but so intriguing that I will need to return to the rest of the journals in the future.

[Jimmy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've visited Jefferson's home in Monticello a few times and been fascinated by the eclectic decor - much of which was received as a result of his sponsorship of Lewis and Clark's expedition. Which prompted my interest in their expedition.

"The Essential Lewis and Clark" provides excerpts from Lewis and Clark's diaries throughout the exploration. That the information survived at all is miraculous. That someone went through and edited the spelling and made the notations legible is a gift. This ends up being a good introductory book to the exploration.

Through these diaries, we learn that the two explorers depended heavily on their company of men, worked to keep the group emotionally stable, and recognized the importance of the natural evidence they were gathering. They were armed with some anecdotal information - gossip, really - about the Native Americans they might meet on their path, but had limited real knowledge. And, although guides were hired, with Jefferson tasking them to follow waterways that were seasonally-unpredictable, again, they were handicapped by having only limited real knowledge.

We learn much about the day-to-day life of the explorers, and about what they personally endured - but not about their route. Although both Lewis and Clark describe their steps (which at times must be corrected by footnote), there are no maps. If you're not a map savant, you'll find this to be a key gap in a book such as this - particularly given that the actual diaries must have been filled with maps and drawings. I'm not intimately familiar with the Missouri River or Yellowstone, and so I left this book more interested in Lewis & Clark, but more confused about where they set foot, than I started.

Which means I'll probably be picking up another Lewis & Clark book, the next chance I get, if it has a map in it. So a great introduction - that lack of a map or five or six was frustrating. So now I'm more interested in Lewis & Clark than ever!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a necessary book. One for young Americans to read. Tho it starts slow, it is taken from Lewis and Clark, in their own voices, from their journals and a letter.

There are so many surprising things about it. Lewis and Clark’s education and intelligence. The stoic natures of their report. Their general goodwill, that turned with confrontation. Their hopes. Their constant bravery in laying down their weapons and going out to meet the native inhabitants, without knowing for sure whether they would live or die. They had cause to wonder.

I consider myself a hiker and wilderness traveler, having spent a season and parts of seasons out of doors and on the trail. But what I knew even before I began this book, was that nothing I did, never more than 3 days from resupply, could compare with an expedition like this, months and then years from help. On uncut trails. With grizzlies to my black bear, and Indian tribes at war with each other, to my occasional drifter. My trail is cut. My 711 obvious. My gps working.

And still there were times in my own hikes that let me appreciate what they did.

The very charge given them by Jefferson, as well as their statement in the final letter to the President — that we have found the most practical way across the continent to the pacific — seems absurd. How could they know? And yet, they were intrepid. They did see the pacific. And they were good enough woodsmen to see a little note set on a pile at a turn in the river—and this is how they communicated regularly.

One other thing. There were so many opportunities for overstatement. And lording their heroism. And they did not. There are markers of honesty. And even the occasional embarrassment thru the book. These were Americans unlike the Americans today. And yet we can appreciate them. And try and be more like them.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars
The journals themselves are interesting and provide lots to think about but I found myself wishing that Jones would have provided the reader with more of an equal balance between Lewis and Clark's writing. Clark's writing was certainly present when Lewis dropped off writing for a while but when Jones had the opportunity to use Lewis's entries, he seemed to favor those greatly. Maybe there's a good reason for that--Lewis's entries tend to have been written better and with more details regarding scenery, etc. but there are times when Lewis tells what Clark was doing and, perhaps, it would have been nice to at the very least hear from Clark at those times. Sometimes Lewis was writing about Clark's experiences when they were taking separate tasks on and Lewis could only have known about what Clark was doing from hearing from Clark or other members of the Corps of Discovery. When they were separated from one another, it would have been nice to get to see both of their journals for the days.

Still, the compilation was fairly well done and I enjoyed reading it. There's a lot to get out of these journals and it's worth taking a look at them! Jones's compilation of selections from the journal is comprehensive and especially worth it if you're on a bit of a time crunch to get a grasp on the expedition.

[Gordon Down · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an extraordinary and engaging collection of journal entries recounting the very early days of a young nation!

I won't repeat what is already reviewed, but a few points struck me: In one entry Meriwether Lewis reflects on his life and future on the occasion of his 31st birthday. He speculates that with good fortune his life is half done. In other words, his optimistic hope would be to live to 62. A sobering reminder of how lifespan expectations have changed in 200 years. Secondly, close to their arrival home, Cptn. Clark records the celebration of Independence Day on July 4, 1806 - his country is only 30 years old...wow, what a fascinating time that was to be alive. And lastly, I was struck by how readily they accepted danger and death, from disease, accident, or hostilities. We have become a nation overly obsessed with our safety and security. While they were in no ways reckless or even physically careless (as young males oft can be), they just accepted the very real possibility of imminent death with a calmness that we would do well to embrace.

[Doctor Thunder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinated by this. So much more vivid and action packed and interesting than I expected it to be. I would estimate at least 80 to 90 percent dealing with their encounters and dealings with various native peoples. Lots of eating horses and dogs and roots and berries to survive, sicknesses treated with Rush's Pills (mercury) and bark and eye water (?), sex with native women, smoking and speaking with native men by sign or interpreters, encounters with previously unknown (by Europeans) animals like polar bears, and minor disasters of capsizing canoes or stolen axes or animals and only occasional outbreaks of violence between them and the native people. I want to read this or other selections of their writings or accounts of their travels now. Great to hear the language of the time, good voices used for audio book, and 95% made up of their journals from the voyage, with occasional narration to give an overview of their journey.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

As i grew up on the east coast and now reside in the weat- i was curious to learn more of their explorarion as rhere are many historic markers around me. I found it interesting the desceiptions used to describe native customs and practices and had to remind myself that these are 2 white men that come from a time where natives are exotic and a threat. They kill a lot of animals for fun, more than necessary for survival. Overall glad i know more about their journey and wish to know the other perspective. It is interesting in the end of tje book to see that their expedition was for capitalist means and the land was "open for business" when there were already nations inhabiting it. This book easily shows the relationship of land and environment of take without consequence- which we have continued to live by unfortunately.

[Nathan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original Great American Road Trip! Essentially the Cliff's Notes of the journals of Lewis & Clark, this work brings it all together in a form a lot easier to wrap one's head around. The author includes important entries, and summarizes many of the "shoe leather" bits. Readers should be aware of a certain amount of ethnocentricity typical of the era. While often called the "Corps of Discovery," the expedition members frequently found themselves basically asking for directions from the natives who'd already lived there for generations. Then there are the repeated "savages" and "civilization" references, and nevermind that the expedition would have failed horribly without lots of native help and know-how.

The audiobook has two different narrators reading the entries of Lewis and Clark respectively, to help the listener distinguish them.

[Esther Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise read on the Corps of Discovery. The only argument I would make is that even though it’s meant to be a volume of short journal entries, there are gaps where the author skipped leave some important information out. The author picks and chooses various journal entries for the reader, which is fine, but I prefer to read the journals unabridged.

Still, this is a great little book for someone whose attention span isn’t long. I would recommend this to middle schoolers if they’re researching on Lewis and Clark.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Corps of Discovery was the original American road trip, from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back again in 1804-06. The expedition's leaders, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, kept copious notes about the people, places, plants and animals they encountered. Landon Jones edited and annotated their journals in a way that makes them easily accessible. Delightful reading for those who enjoy history.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the fact that the editor kept the spelling that L&C used. But I do wonder that they didn't settle on a preferred spelling of many words. Was neither one as OCD as I am, or was it really such a different time and place!
Fascinating story. I can't really imagine striking off into unknown territory.
This time next week, I'll be paddling on the Upper Missouri River. :-)

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original journals of the Lewis & Clark expedition, as it happened. While difficult to read because of spelling (and lack of context), this book chronicles the first-ever exploration of the U.S. interior.
Still, good stuff.

Underlying journal behind Steven Ambrose's book, "Undaunted Courage".

[John Fulcoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this collection of diary excerpts! Some almost hard to believe tales of hardship and run ins with grizzlies and hazards of all sorts. I need to look up a map now and take a deeper look into the route.

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually like reading "essential" or abridged books, but I didn't think I would ever be tackling the full Lewis and Clark journals. The Essential Lewis and Clark provides a great taste of the journey, and the audiobook I listened to was a great way to hear it.

[litost · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading first person accounts, gives the feeling of being there with them. The best writing, though, was by the editor, Landon Jones, in his summaries and set-ups between sections. Because it is excerpts from the journals, at times it felt disjointed.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing adventure. Mountains, bears, rattlesnakes, ice, snow and rapids on the rivers. Then there were the Indians too. All this just over 200 years ago. Read with a map open so you can plot the journey

[Chelsea McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language, misspellings and nature & war terms were difficult to read/interpret which is why it took me so long to read this. However, what these explorers accomplished and recorded was incredible!

[Jacob Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Expedition of Lewis and Clark is something I’ve found most fascinating throughout the majority of my time on earth. Being fortunate enough to read (listen) to accounts from these two gentlemen is something I found most enjoyable!

This shit was dope. Heavy on the Lewis but no complaints here.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well read audiobook. Abridged reading of the journals of Lewis and Clark.
I love their use of words. The story is spellbinding.

[Brandi True · Rating 5 out of 5]

I completely lost myself in this book. Loved everything about it.

[Zac Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild story, colorful language

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this audio book while traveling - for some miles along and through a route that Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery themselves traveled. Always interesting!