Lewis and Clark: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Two men. Eighteen months. Four thousand miles of unmapped wilderness. In 1804, President Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark into the unknown western territories of a young nation. No one knew what lay beyond the Mississippi, what tribes lived there, or whether a water route to the Pacific even existed. What followed was the most ambitious expedition in American history: a 28-month journey that would double the size of the United States in practical knowledge and stake a claim to a continent. Lighton's account follows the Corps of Discovery from their departure at Camp Dubois through the bitter winters of the Great Plains, the deadly crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the triumphant sight of the Pacific Ocean. We see Lewis's scientific curiosity and Clark's unmatched skill as a cartographer and leader of men. The encounters with dozens of Native American tribes, grizzly bears, and constant starvation become a story of sheer human endurance. This is the epic tale of two men who walked into a blank space on the map and returned as legends, for anyone who loves the grit of exploration and the birth of a nation's geography.