The Definitive Journals of Lewis and Clark, Vol 11 - (Definitive Journals of Lewis & Clark) by Meriwether Lewis & William Clark (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Lively and curious, possessing a keen eye for detail and a knack for skin-dressing, Private Joseph Whitehouse produced an account that stands as the only surviving record by any army private in the Corps of Discovery expedition. In simple and well-paced sentences he painted full portraits of the unusual group of men he accompanied on one of the greatest adventures in American history. Whitehouse's journal is published here in full for the first time--including entries from a second copy of his journal that extend the narrative for five months beyond previous editions. Although Whitehouse's career after the expedition was checkered and he disappeared after 1817, his vivid eyewitness account will long be remembered. Whitehouse's journal joins the celebrated Nebraska edition of the complete journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which feature a wide range of new scholarship dealing with all aspects of the expedition from geography to Indian cultures and languages to plants and animals.

Review Quotes

"If you want Lewis and Clark whole, this is the edition to buy. Moulton spent more than two decades pulling the pieces together and did a masterly job."--Anthony Brandt, American Heritage

"Meticulously edited, with detailed (and absolutely necessary) footnotes, these volumes are a triumph of scholarly publishing. . . . One version or another belongs on most readers' shelves--and should accompany any road trip through the West."--The Atlantic Monthly

"Moulton not only edited the transcriptions of the journal entries; he also provided a detailed index and oversaw a team of consultants who provided expert annotations on botany, zoology, astronomy, archaeology, linguists and medicine. As a result, readers can understand the expedition in its full context. It's no wonder that the series has received many plaudits."--Omaha World Herald

"The journey of the Corps of Discovery, under the command of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, across the West to the Pacific Ocean and back in the years 1804-06 seems to me to have been our first really American adventure, one that also produced our only really American epic, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, now at last available in a superbly edited, easily read edition. . . . This important text has not been fully appreciated for what it is because of two centuries of incomplete and inadequate editing. All three editions previous to this excellent one from the University of Nebraska . . . were flawed by significant omissions."--Larry McMurtry, New York Review of Books

"The paperback edition, as well made as the original, is a real bargain--and a necessary investment for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the expedition as it played out day by day."--Gregory McNamee, Washington Post Book World

"The University of Nebraska Press has become the pre-eminent publisher of Lewis and Clark titles, including what is now considered the definitive edition of the journals edited by Nebraska history professor Gary Moulton."--John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

About the Author

Gary E. Moulton is Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of American History at the University of Nebraska. He is the recipient of the J. Franklin Jameson Award of the American Historical Association for the editing of the Lewis and Clark journals, and he won the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Nebraska.