-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A New History of Lewis & Clark
by Craig Fehrman
In the epic tradition of Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage, This Vast Enterprise offers a bold new take on the Lewis and Clark expedition, humanizing forgotten figures and shattering long-held myths about one of the most beloved episodes in American history.
Celebrated young historian Craig Fehrman, whose first book, Author in Chief, was hailed by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as "one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years,"delivers a major new account of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned from their long journey, in 1806, they brought an incredible tale starring themselves as courageous explorers, skilled scientists, and peaceful ambassadors. There was truth in those descriptions. But there was also distortion.
For the first time in a generation, This Vast Enterprise offers a fresh and more accurate account of their expedition—a gripping narrative that draws on new documents, stunning analysis, and Native perspectives. Fehrman's central insight is that the success of Lewis and Clark depended on much more than just Lewis and Clark. We all know Sacajawea, and some of us know York, the Black man Clark enslaved. But This Vast Enterprise introduces us to John Ordway, a working-class soldier who fought grizzlies and towed the captains' bulky barge. It introduces us to Wolf Calf, a Blackfoot teenager who watched his friend die in a battle with Lewis and his men.
To capture this cast of characters, each chapter in This Vast Enterprise moves to a new point of view, describing that person's desires and contradictions with an unprecedented level of care. Fehrman balances the story's inherent adventure with the humanity of its protagonists. One chapter shows Thomas Jefferson operating in an age of bitter partisan unrest—his secret maneuvers to fund the expedition, uncovered here for the first time, are a case study in presidential power. Another chapter reveals the strategy and strength of Black Buffalo, a Lakota leader, completely upending our understanding of early Lakota American diplomacy. In his chapters, Clark is not a bad speller but a student of the Enlightenment. (Fehrman found Clark's college notebook.) Lewis is someone whose psychological demons feel at once heartbreaking and modern.
And yet, in the end, the captains are men who needed help—from Sacajawea, from York, and from each other. Their expedition truly was a vast enterprise, a sprawling and federally funded military mission that came down to the heroic sacrifices of a few human beings. This book portrays those people, all of them, for the first time. It is more than just a work of history—it's a testament to the power of innovative research and emotional storytelling, and a thrilling reminder that even the most familiar moments in history can still surprise us.
"A valuable fresh look at a storied moment in American history...The book's wide-angle perspective is appropriate, since Lewis and Clark favored a more democratic decision-making style than was usual on a military expedition, and the inclusion of multiple Native points of view makes it clear how complex and fraught the team's mission was. Fehrman's approach gives added depth to his chronicle of the breathtaking natural wonders encountered and extraordinary hardships overcome on the Corps' transcontinental trek." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Riveting...Grounded in outstanding scholarship...By writing from various points of view, Fehrman broadens the long-held narrative of the expedition, enriching what we know of its successes and failures...Fehrman has done a great service to American history in this must-read." —Booklist (starred review)
"There are innumerable accounts of the Corps of Discovery, and it remains one of America's favorite stories ... Yet Fehrman manages to breathe new life into this well-worn tale through his masterful retelling. Fehrman deftly moves Captains Lewis and Clark out of the spotlight and brings in perspectives we've not heard before—like those of Lakota leader Black Buffalo, working-class sergeant John Ordway and a Blackfoot teenager named Wolf Calf—and he expands our understanding of the critical characters we've come to know in lore and legend... . Like Adam Higginbotham's Challenger and Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, This Vast Enterprise delivers a brilliant new interpretation of a story that deserves to be known in its entirety." —BookPage (starred review)
"In his spectacular new book, every bit as audacious as the original expedition, Craig Fehrman rewrites our memory of the journey of Lewis and Clark, broadening the lens to show the many personalities—many long forgotten—who in 1804 made up the most daring American experiment yet. He paints an incredible, vivid, you-are-there portrait of an American nation being imagined and created for the first time and all those, from Thomas Jefferson to Native American chiefs, whose lives were forever altered by two of the most famous explorers in history." —Garrett M. Graff, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Devil Reached Toward the Sky
"Craig Fehrman has done what he set out to do: shed new light on a fabled story, and tell it in a way that puts all of us back in a vanished but resonant world. His rendering of the Lewis & Clark saga is original, compelling, and memorable." —Jon Meacham, author of And There Was Light
This information about This Vast Enterprise was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent five years writing and researching This Vast Enterprise. His first book, Author in Chief, was described by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as "one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years." Fehrman lives in Indiana with his wife and children.
If you liked This Vast Enterprise, try these:
by Caroline Dodds. Pennock
Published 2024
A landmark work of narrative history that shatters our previous Eurocentric understanding of the Age of Discovery by telling the story of the Indigenous Americans who journeyed across the Atlantic to Europe after 1492
by Shannon Burke
Published 2016
An adventure which illuminating how extreme circumstances expose the truth about the natures of individual men and their bravery, loyalty, and friendship.
by Peter Stark
Published 2015
In 1810, John Jacob Astor sent out two advance parties to settle the wild, unclaimed western coast of North America. More than half of his men died violent deaths. The others survived starvation, madness, and greed to shape the destiny of a continent.
I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
