Our Natural History: The Lessons of Lewis and Clark

by Daniel B. Botkin

Book Overview

Often referred to as America's national epic of exploration, the 28-month Lewis and Clark expedition was certainly America's greatest odyssey. Commissioned in 1804 by Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off on the greatest wilderness trip ever recorded. Beginning in St. Louis, they navigated up the Missouri River and through the prairies, enduring a winter with the Mandan Indians in North Dakota, reaching the summit of the Rocky...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195168291
• ISBN13: 9780195168297
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.8" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Our Natural History: The Lessons of Lewis and Clark

Botkin discusses changes in the ecosystem within the United States, using the detailed observations made during the Lewis and Clark expedition as a reference for what nature had been like before the impact of European settlement. Topics include rivers, grizzly bears, timber wolves, buffalo, salmon, forests, and prairies. The book is as much a compressed summary of the expedition as it is a concerned, scientific look at how choices made in the last 200 years have altered our ecologic environment.

Our Natural History

Dr. Botkin has a superb ability to ascertain the broad parameters of a topic and then clearly and concisely delineate the details. He has the all-too-rare ability to cut through the complexities of a problem, reducing them to clear,understandable terms. This skill is of inestimable value in identifying ways to cope with, if not solve, seemingly insoluble problems.His use of baseline information provided by the journals of Lewis and Clark enables a reader to appreciate just how dramatically conditions have changed in the two centuries since the expedition penetrated and then methodically reported on what lay along and beyond the "wide Missouri."The book is interesting, well written and a valuable resource for those interested in the changes wrought by the the settlement of the Louisiana Purchase.

The Lewis and Clark Journals: A Light On Today's Problems

Using the journals reporting the manifold findings of the Lewis And Clark Expedition, Dr. Botkin has contrasted the explorer's findings with today's conditions along the L & C Trail. He has a superb ability to ascertain the the broad parameters of a topic and then clearly and concisely delineate the details. He has the all-too-rare ability to cut through the complexities of a problem so as to reduce them to clear, comprehensible terms.This skill is of inestimable value in identifying ways to cope with, if not solve, seemingly insoluble problems.

An innovative look at Lewis and Clark

Unlike the previous reviewer, I find a book to be a fantastic success if it raises new questions and new perspectives for me. In this case, Dr. Botkin provides a very accessible natural history perpective on the Lewis and Clark Trail...greatly needed as popular interest ramps up with the bicentennial upon us. Whether your interest is in the rivers, plants, or animals of the trail, you will find thought-provoking reading here. It might even raise some questions for you!:->