Scenes of Visionary Enchantment: Reflections on Lewis and Clark

By Dayton Duncan

Book Overview

Suffering from a case of "road fever" brought on by prolonged exposure to the journals of Lewis and Clark, Dayton Duncan has retraced the Corps of Discovery's route from Saint Louis to the Pacific and back again four different times during the past twenty years--to say nothing of his countless additional trips to landmarks along their route. In sweltering summer heat and in temperatures 45 degrees below zero, he watched yellow moons rise and heard buffalo thunder; navigated against the Missouri River's relentless current and stood on its surface, frozen solid overnight; canoed a dozen times through Montana's magnificent White Cliffs (Lewis's "seens of visionary inchantment"); and read the journals by candlelight in the expedition's fort on the Pacific coast. Along the way, Duncan wrote the essays that make up this book, essays that guide the reader on a journey of discovery along the trail of Lewis and Clark. More a revisiting than a retelling of the story of the Corps of Discovery, Duncan's book reintroduces us to people and places along the trail, reflects on events large and small that occurred during the expedition, and offers constant--and constantly entertaining--insights into why, two centuries later, the saga of Lewis and Clark continues to exert such a powerful hold on our national imagination.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803217242
• ISBN13: 9780803217249
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 202 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Why Lewis and Clark's discoveries remain so important today

There have been a great many fine books published in the last year on Lewis and Clark. One of the very best of those books is Dayton Duncan's Scenes Of Visionary Enchantment: Reflections On Lewis And Clark and richly deserves ongoing recommendation beyond the famous expedition's anniversary date. Presenting Duncan's retracing of the Corps of Discovery's route from St. Louis to the Pacific and back - four different times in the past twenty years, his travelogue commentary provides keen insights on people and places seen along the way, emphasizing why Lewis and Clark's discoveries remain so important today.