Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Epic Exploration of the American West

Paul A Lewicki: Good book on the early years of the revolution and the start of the USA , interesting coverage of the Lewis and Clark expedition!!!

United States on Dec 20, 2023

Jay W: Reads very slow but well worth the investment in time. Extremely interesting and well written. Great insights into the early1800’s of the US West.

United States on Dec 04, 2023

R Scheese: Just finished "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose. Earlier this year, I had read "Golfing with Lewis and Clark" by Lex McMillan, and many who read my review recommended I take up Ambrose's account of the expedition.

"Undaunted Courage" is a riveting exploration of the Lewis and Clark expedition with a major emphasis on the life of Meriwether Lewis. Ambrose skillfully weaves historical facts with a compelling narrative, providing valuable insights into leadership, risk-taking, and resilience. The book is a captivating read that highlights the spirit of exploration and the discoveries and accomplishments of the remarkable cross-country journey.  Some great inspiration for those tackling a major project or facing challenges.

United States on Nov 26, 2023

N. Collette: Ambrose thoroughly researched and shares an active voice full of thoughts opinions. Inspiring and tragic story of Lewis. Entertaining read.

United States on Apr 26, 2023

Kindle Customer: An amazing frontier adventure.

Canada on Nov 05, 2019

Dmckinleyp: Stephen Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" is a great entry in the ranks of what you might call popular history...books with a serious purpose and covered in the right amount of depth to fully inform the reader, without the extensive detail that characterizes history written for historians. It focuses more on Captain Meriwether Lewis than on Captain William Clark, in fact it is as much a biography of Lewis as an account of the expedition, as the subtitle makes clear: "Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the opening of the American West." Not that Clark was a mere supporting character, far from it, but Lewis bore the greater responsibility of planning the journey and reporting directly to Jefferson and Congress on their progress and results. He also received greater reward afterward, including appointment as Governor of the territory of Louisiana in 1807 - which had tragic consequences, which I will leave to the reader to discover.
After a 100-page section outlining Lewis's early life and career, the historical background, and his and Jefferson's ambitious planning of the project, Undaunted Courage follows the Lewis and Clark expedition from its beginnings in the Pittsburgh area...

United States on Oct 08, 2018

Antonio: Stephen E. Ambrose è noto soprattutto per i suoi saggi sulla II Guerra Mondiale, per cui è stata per me una sorpresa imbattermi per caso in un suo testo sulla spedizione di Lewis e Clark.

Cercavo un testo completo ed esauriente sull'argomento, e questo testo ha pienamente soddisfatto le mie aspettative: esso è in realtà una biografia di Meriwether Lewis ma, considerato il fatto che la spedizione costituì il più grande compimento della sua vita e la morte sopravvenuta poco dopo, si traduce per il 70% nel racconto della spedizione stessa.

Il testo presenta alcune interessanti digressioni sulla figura di Thomas Jefferson (tra i padri fondatori della nazione americana ma la cui importanza è pressoché ignota al lettore italiano) e sul suo significato per la fondazione degli Stati Uniti come sono oggi.

Il racconto è avvincente ed estremamente completo, scritto in un inglese semplice e con un piglio divulgativo.

Ovviamente lo consiglierei a coloro che sono interessati all'argomento in sé: chi non cercasse una monografia sulla spedizione ma qualcosa di più ampio sulla Frontiera di inizio '800 rimarrebbe in parte deluso.

Italy on Apr 17, 2016

Christian Nugue: M. Ambrose focuses on the context of the expedition. He insists on the role of President Jefferson as the driving force behind the entreprise, on his visionary guidance and on the impact of the Corps of Discovery on Western Indian nations.
All these aspects are dealt with superbly in this book, a swiftly moving, full-dress treatment of the expedition. It is essentially a biography of Meeriwether Lewis, conveyed with passionate enthusiasm by M. Ambrose, and sprinkled with the most famous and vivid passages from the traveler's journal. Great performance.

France on Aug 24, 2014

David Rowland: The western half of the United States in 1800 was a vast unknown land so President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition to find a way from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and to describe the country and peoples that he found in that huge blank on the map.

On 22 May 1804 Lewis, his partner William Clark and their expedition set out from St Louis, Missouri and after a momentous journey across the great plains and over the Rocky Mountains he camped beside the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River on 10 November 1805.

Stephen Ambrose in his sweeping account of the journey of the first white Americans to cross the unknown part of the continent brings the events vividly to life and when reading his account I tried to imagine what the country was like before white Americans settled there and built their towns, cities, railways and roads. Reading the original words of Lewis's diaries can be quite difficult because of the way he uses language so Ambrose performs a valuable service for us by putting into modern language Lewis's words. Clearly this is a labour of love for Ambrose who has himself followed in the footsteps of Lewis and...

United Kingdom on Jul 20, 2014

Philippides: this is a great book about an important part of the history of the US, but it is more than that, it is a book on leadership because it narrates the motivations, courage and determination of a group of individuals to achieve a goal that, at the time, seemed unachiaveable.
Excellent prose. I do recommend this book

Spain on Mar 29, 2014