“An invaluable and easily digestible account of the epic journey.” — Booklist Following orders from President Thomas Jefferson, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from their wintering camp in Illinois in 1804 to search for a river passage to the Pacific Ocean. In this riveting account, editor Gary E. Moulton blends the narrative highlights of the Lewis and Clark journals so that the voices of the enlisted men and of Native peoples are heard alongside the words of the captains. All their triumphs and terrors are here—the thrill of seeing the vast herds of bison on the plains; the tensions and admiration in the first meetings with Indian peoples; Lewis's rapture at the stunning beauty of the Great Falls; the fear the captains felt when a devastating illness befell their Shoshone interpreter, Sacagawea; the ordeal of crossing the Continental Divide; the kidnapping and rescuing of Lewis’s dog, Seaman; miserable days of cold and hunger; and Clark's joy at seeing the Pacific. The cultural differences between the corps and Native Americans make for living drama that at times provokes laughter but more often is poignant and, at least once, tragic. “An invaluable and easily digestible account of the epic journey.”— Booklist “What makes this single volume of journal selections more powerful than its contemporaries is the use of other corps members' diaries to provide further details about the journey. . . . This book will bring the expedition alive to a new generation of readers.”— Library Journal “Masterfully edited and annotated by Gary E. Moulton.”— St. Louis Post-Dispatch "An invaluable and easily digestible account of the epic journey." Booklist. "What makes this single volume of journal selections more powerful than its contemporaries is the use of other corps members' diaries to provide further details about the journey. . . . This book will bring the expedition alive to a new generation of readers." Library Journal. "Masterfully edited and annotated by Gary E. Moulton." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "If you're going to read just one book . . . you should hear the story from the explorers themselves." Elise Christenson, Newsweek. Following orders from President Thomas Jefferson, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from their wintering camp in Illinois in 1804 to search for a river passage to the Pacific Ocean. In this riveting account, editor Gary E. Moulton blends the narrative highlights of the Lewis and Clark journals so that the voices of the enlisted men and of Native peoples are heard alongside the words of the captains. All their triumphs and terrors are here the thrill of seeing the vast herds of bison on the plains; the tensions and admiration in the first meetings with Indian peoples; Lewis's rapture at the stunning beauty of the Great Falls; the fear the captains felt when a devastating illness befell their Shoshone interpreter, Sacagawea; the ordeal of crossing the Continental Divide; the kidnapping and rescuing of Lewis s dog, Seaman; miserable days of cold and hunger; and Clark's joy at seeing the Pacific. The cultural differences between the corps and Native Americans make for living drama that at times provokes laughter but more often is poignant and, at least once, tragic. Gary E. Moulton is Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of American History at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. His editing of the Lewis and Clark journals earned him the J. Franklin Jameson Award of the American Historical Association and the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Nebraska. Also of interest In paper The Definitive Journals of Lewis and Clark From the Ohio to the Vermillion Up the Missouri to Fort Mandan From Fort Mandan to Three Forks Through the Rockies to the Cascades Down the Columbia to Fort Clatsop From the Pacific to the Rockies Over the Rockies to St. Louis Seven-Volume Set John Ordway and Charles Floyd Patrick Gass Joseph Whitehouse In cloth The Lewis & Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery Volume 1: Atlas of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Volume 2: August 30, 1803 August 24, 1804 Volume 3: August 25, 1804 April 6, 1805 Volume 4: April 7 July 27, 1805 Volume 5: July 28 November 1, 1805 Volume 6: November 2, 1805 March 22, 1806 Volume 7: March 23 June 9, 1806 Volume 8: June 10 September 26, 1806 Volume 9: John Ordway and Charles Floyd Volume 10: Patrick Gass Volume 11: Joseph Whitehouse Volume 12: Herbarium of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Volume 13: Comprehensive Index Thirteen-Volume Set More Lewis & Clark The Men of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Lewis & Clark: Pioneering Naturalists Out West: A Journey through Lewis & Clark's America The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark across the Continent Lewis & Clark among the Indians: Bicentennial Edition Visit the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online Gary E. Moulton is Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of American History at the Unive