Journals of Lewis & Clark

By: Bernard DeVoto

Bernard DeVoto begins this volume with a well crafted 60-page introduction that explains the historical background to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Then, DeVoto gets out of the way and allows Lewis, Clark, and, on occasion, other members of the Corps of Discovery, to convey with their own words the drama, excitement and high adventure of this magnificent undertaking. Most of the more routine scientific data has been edited out, leaving behind Lewis and Clark's outstanding descriptions of the expedition's key events. It is not easy to forget Lewis' florid prose, through which he so emotionally and enthusiastically describes his initial sighting of the Great Falls of the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, or his encounters with the Nez Perce' and Blackfoot native tribes. DeVoto does, however, keep in a few of the more famous journal entries dealing with scientific observations. Lewis' descriptions of the wildlife, plants and physical geography along the route of the expedition show him to be a gifted naturalist, perhaps one of the finest in history.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B000UDKMUA
• Release Date: January 1953
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.6" x 8.4"