Recommended Reading: a Selective Bicentennial Reading List

Suggestions by Members of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc.*

Just added:

The Journals of Lewis and Clark edited and interpreted by Bernard DeVoto

Gunderson, Mary. 2003. The Food Journal of Lewis and Clark: Recipes for an Expedition. History Cooks, PO Box 709,Yankton, South Dakota. Presented in chronological style with quotes from the Journals, and well researched references to history of the trek. Bears the emblem of the Bicentennial Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Interweaves history of the expedition with recipes taken from the journals or from cookbooks of the19th century, foods from along the trail, and some Native American foods. Specialties from the journey such as Charbonneau’s Boudin Blanc, a Corps favorite, and Portable Soup, purchased by Lewis in Philadelphia, are included. Illustrated.

U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River division. Video. 2002. Lewis and Clark –The Eastern Legacy: Down the Ohio to the Western Wilderness. Narrated by Nick Clooney. Educational Use Copies may be available from S. Paige Lawrence Cruz, US Army Corps of Engineers, 502 Eighth Street, Huntington, WV 25701-2070

Schanzer, Rosalyn. How We Crossed the West: the Adventures of Lewis & Clark. 6-12 years. First published in paperback by Scholastic in 9/98 Now republished.

The Journals

Most recent:

Moulton, Gary (editor) 1983-2001. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. This is the definitive, modern, scholarly edition of the journals. Vol. 1-13.

Moulton, Gary (editor) 2000. Herbarium Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.357 pp. The 12th volume of the Journals (above) tells the story of the dispersion of many of the specimens collected by Lewis and Clark, and how they got back together again to be archived at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Prestholdt, Richard: 2002. The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1803-1806. A Bicentennial Calendar-2003. First of four in a set, one each year. Not really a calendar, but a collectible mini-journal with vital timeline summaries printed throughout. Join the expedition any time. Good classroom teaching device. Philadelphia and regional sites covered in this issue. Richly photographed. Prestholdt Images, PO Box 6291, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 www.prestholdtimages.com.

Earlier Editions

Allen, Paul (editor of the Nicholas Biddle narrative). 1814 . The History of the Expedition Under the Commands of Captains Lewis and Clark. (with a “Memoir of Meriwether Lewis” by Thomas Jefferson) Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, out of print.

Coues, Elliott (editor) 1893. The History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Reprint by Dover publications, New York. 4 volumes, 1364 pp.

Thwaites, Rueben Gold (editor) 1904-1905. Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806. 8 volumes, including one of maps. 1969 reprint, Arno press, NY

Books About the Expedition

Allen, John Logan. 1975. Passage Through the Garden: Lewis and Clark and the Image of the American Northwest. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 412 pp.

Ambrose, Stephen and Sam Abell. 1998. Lewis and Clark: Voyage of Discovery. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. 255 pp.

Chuinard, Eldon G. 1979. Only One Man Died: The Medical Aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ye Galleon Press, Box 287, Fairfield, WA 99102

Cutright, Paul Russell. 1982. Reprinted 2001. Edited by Philadelphia Chapter of LCTHF. Contributions of Philadelphia to Lewis and Clark History. Supplemented with maps designed by Frank Muhly, Chapter Founder. 50 pp. Available at The Philadelphia Print Shop, Germantown Ave, Chestnut Hill, Barnes and Nobles and Borders bookstores, or follow instructions on www.lewisandclarkphila.org.

Cutright, Paul Russell. 1976. A History of the Lewis and Clark Journals. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 311 pp.

Cutright, Paul Russell. 1969. Pioneering Naturalists. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 506 pp.

Duncan, Dayton, & Ken Burns. 1997. Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.250 pp.

Fazio, James R. Across the Snowy Ranges: The Lewis and Clark Expedition in Idaho and Western Montana. Photographers, Michael Venso and Stephen Russell. Available only from the publisher Woodland Press at 2080882-4767.

Hawke, David Freeman. 1980. Those Tremendous Mountains: The Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Norton, New York. 273 pp.

Jackson, Donald (editor). 1978. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents 1783-1854. Second edition. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 2 vols. 806 pp.

Jackson, Donald . 1988. Among the Sleeping Giants: Occasional Pieces on Lewis and Clark University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 136 pp.

Jones, Landon. (editor) 2000. The Essential Lewis and Clark. Ecco/HarperCollins 203 pp. A trimmed down journal with 270 “essentials” chosen by the author, who has been the editor of People and Money magazines. Small and concise. A good commuter read.

Ronda, James P. 2001. Jefferson’s West: A Journey with Lewis and Clark. Thomas Jefferson Foundation. 80 pp. Examining the mind of Jefferson as he dreamed of exploring the West while facing the power struggle of a new nation with world powers of Europe.

Salisbury, Albert and Jane. Lewis and Clark – The Journey West. A reprint of the 1950 book Two Captains West which first drew Philadelphia Chapter Founder Frank Muhly and his wife Rose into a lifelong fascination with the explorers and the journey.

Schmidt, Jeremy and Thomas. 1999. The Saga of Lewis and Clark: Into the Unknown West. Photography by Wayne Mumford. DK Publishing, New York. 210 pps. In our opinion, exceptionally well done. Has quotes from Journals, panoramic photos, maps, illustrations. An entertaining text by two brothers who stress the naturalistic as well as the adventurous side of the journey, and tie it in with today’s lingo and experience. Excellent for youth or adults. Has plant list, biographical list of members of the Corps and other indices.

Snyder, Gerald S. In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark.

Medicine

Peck, David J. 2002. Or Perish in the Attempt: Wilderness Medicine in the Lewis & Clark Expedition. FarCountry Press, Helena, MT. A new treatise on the subject.

Paton, Bruce C. 2002. Lewis & Clark: Doctors in the Wilderness. Fulcrum Publishing. 228 pp. “…provides an interesting and understandable background for the reader on the theories and applications of early 19th –century medicine, including the common use of the depletive therapies of bleeding and purging.” Ron Loge, MD, from We Proceeded On, the Foundation Magazine.

Environmental

Botkin, Daniel B. 2000. Passage of Discovery. Perigee/Penguin Putnam. 247 pp. He contrasts what Lewis and Clark saw and changes we see today made by man or by nature. A thoughtful treatise on riverine ecology, earth history, fisheries, and wildlife management by this professor of biology at George Mason University.

Biographies

Ambrose, Stephen E. 1996. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Simon and Schuster, New York, 511 pp.

Cohen, G. Bernard. Science and the Founding Fathers

Dillon, Richard. 1965. Meriwether Lewis: A Biography. Coward –McCann. New York

Thom, James Alexander. 2000. Sign-Talker: The Adventure of George Drouillard on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ballantine Books.466 pp. Chosen by some historians as the Expedition’s most “critical member” half-breed “Drewyer” as the explorers spelled him, lent characteristics of his mixed Shawnee and French-Canadian culture in dealing with the tribes encountered and with members of the Corps in this novel..

Videos

Hamilton, Mark. 2001. video, a personal journey. Discovering Home: A Sojourn on the Lewis & Clark Trail by Paddle and Mule. Robert McConnell Productions. Available at 800-532-4017

Jenkinson, Clay S. 2001. video. The Lewis & Clark Expedition. Available from Empire for Liberty, 888-828-2853, (www.empirecatalog.com) Leading impersonator of Meriwether Lewis today, Jenkinson makes an engaging introduction to the character of Lewis before a Washington state audience a month after the attack on the World Trade Center. Draws parallels between the clash of cultures today and Lewis’s efforts at attracting Indian tribes to their “Great White Father” Jefferson.

Books on Indian Tribes, Sacagawea, and her infant son

Ronda, James P. 1984. Lewis and Clark Among the Indians. University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 310 pp. A classic.

Tinling, Marion. 2002. Sacagawea’s son: The Life of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Mountain Press/young adult. Called “Pomp” or Pompey by William Clark who took him as a ward for a short time. The author carries him into an adult world of many cultures., traveling in Europe, returning to the West as a Mountain Man, scouting in the Mexican War, taking up Indian causes, and dying on a Montana Gold Trek.

McMurtry, Larry. 2002. Sacagawea’s Nickname: Essays on the American West. Hardback. New York Review Books. 12 essays. Not much about Sacagawea. Maintains his characteristic romantic view touched with irony and his commentary on writers about the West.

Schultz, James Willard. 2002. paperback. Bird woman: Sacagawea’s Own Story. A modern edition of Schultz’s early 20th century novel. Story was taken from an old Mandan woman who claimed to have known Bird Woman. No modern scholarship. There isn’t much known factually and there are two versions of her life and death. More books may be coming especially for children.

Landeen, Dan and Pinkham, Allen. 2000. Salmon and His People: Fish and fishing in Nez Perce Culture. Confluence Press, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, Idaho. 249 pp. A mixture of tribal history, humor and folklore from the Nez Perce people who were to provide the explorers with horses and fish, two essentials for their survival .

York, William Clark’s Slave

Betts, Robert B. 2001 revised edition. In Search of York: the Slave Who Went to the Pacific with Lewis and Clark. University Press of Colorado. Can be ordered from Barnes and Noble.

Holmberg, James J. 2001. Dear Brother: Letters from William Clark to His Brother Jonathan. Yale University Press, Filson Historical Society. 322 pp. Newly discovered, 55 letters recount family information on Clark’s life after the expedition. A rare look at how he deals with his slave York who had completed the journey to the Pacific and back as a member of the Corps of Discovery and also other slaves in this Kentucky family. Clark’s inner feelings as head of Indian Affairs and the Indian view of him are revealed. Contains letter written to Jonathan after Lewis’s suicide.

Lewis’s Dog Seaman
Smith, Roland. 1999. The Captain’s Dog. Harcourt Brace.

Karwoski, Gail. 1999. Seaman, the Dog Who Helped Lewis & Clark Explore the West. Peachtree press. Although Seaman is named only a few times in the Journals, he captures the imagination of dog lovers. This is a historical novel, therefore, drawing on a few facts, and told from the dog’s point of view, sensory and tactile. Lewis named Seaman’s Creek for him on July 5, 1806.

Albers, Everett C. 2002. The Saga of Seaman-the Story of the Dog Who Went with Lewis & Clark. paperback. Northern Lights Press, Bismarck. Told in poetry, first person, followed by interesting history of the discovery of Lewis’s Newfoundland Dog Seaman’s real name. Due to bad handwriting and the whim of early interpreters of the Journals, he was known as Scannon until 1985!

For Children

Blumberg, Rhoda. 1995 paperback The Incredible Journey of Lewis & Clark. Winner of the Golden Kite Award. Beech Tree Edition. William Morrow & Company, New York A delightful book for early teens up with mention of preparations made by Lewis in Philadelphia.

New Books that Set the Stage for Lewis’s Visit

Mires, Charlene. 2002. Independence Hall in American Memory. University of Pennsylvania Press. Lewis’s visit to Philadelphia was at the time, a secret, as his mission was not widely known. This book pictures in entertaining words a building that was integral to his visit.

Nash, Gary. 2002. First City: Philadelphia and the Forging of Historical Memory. University of Pennsylvania Press. Nash is professor of history at U. of C., Los Angeles. A thorough view of how cultural memory affects our City’s history, Blacks, Revolutionary, etc. His book mentions the publication of the Thwaites (above) edition of the L&C Journals by the American Philosophical Society in 1904-05.
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*Prepared by Norma Martin Milner of Palmyra, N.J. (856-829-3142) with input from Philadelphia Chapter Founder Frank Muhly of Mayfair, Philadelphia; 2003 Annual Meeting co-chair Nancy M. Davis of Philadelphia; Jim Merritt of Pennington, N.J., editor of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation magazine, “We Proceeded On”; Anne Mackintosh of Cherry Hill, N.J., webmaster; and Charles Reed of Radnor, Temple professor emeritus of psychology.