Book summary

Stephen Ambrose's long fascination with the journey of Lewis and Clark led him to write this book. He chronicles the expedition and shares his knowledge of and passion for the landscape of the trail followed by the two captains, and he also tells the story of Meriwether Lewis's life after the expedition. Captain Lewis was a celebrity in the first decade of the nineteenth century, but despite the patronage of his mentor, President Thomas Jefferson, and the admiration inspired by his trailblazing journey, he was unable to parley his fame into any successful career, and his life ended violently while he was still in his thirties.

Media reviews

"A remarkably balanced historian, Ambrose is neither a revisionist nor an apologist....In this cynical age, 'Undaunted Courage' is a dubious title, but Ambrose makes it stick."