Stephen E. Ambrose Jr. - Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Pros: Readable, richly detailed, uses primary sources, insightful analysis.
Cons: Could have used more illustration--but Ambrose's words are worth a thousand pictures.

As some of you know, right now I’m teaching 8th Grade as a student teacher. US History and German, and I’m having a great time in both classes. In both classes, however, I find that I have areas where I don’t know as much as the textbook does, so I’m ...

Pros: Detailed, Fascinating, Readable
Cons: None

I was getting tired of reading my standard fare of best-selling fiction, and I felt the need to educate myself - even if might be a little boring. Well, I found to my delight that fact, is once again stranger and more amazing than fiction. The fact is...

Pros: Great story, great writer
Cons: Nothing

I received this book as a gift, and what a pleasure to read. I love history and this book gives it to you in spades. Ambrose brings to life Thomas Jefferson, as never before, his dream of a gateway to the west. There are so many times you can pictures...

Pros: Eminently readable
Cons: None whatsoever

Lewis & Clark....you vaguely remember them, don't you?

Stephen Ambrose takes those two names and turns them in to flesh and blood that your mind can conjure as if they were standing directly in front of you.

Even more, he...

Pros: An intelligent look into the courage and spirit that drove America's westward expansion
Cons: Much historical detail that bogs down the narrative in places.

My recollection from high school about Lewis & Clark was that they walked to the Pacific and back with an Indian squaw at the start of the 19th century, and had a trail and a college named after them.

After reading noted historian Stephen...

Pros: well put together, affectionately written
Cons: none

This is the first book by Ambrose that I've read, and it won't be the last. In my opinion, what makes a great writer is the passion with which the author writes. Ambrose's passion on the whole Lewis and Clark expedition is evident on each page. The way...

Pros: Superb and vivid writing!
Cons: None

To me, the Lewis and Clark expedition stands alongside the travels of Marco Polo, the voyages of Christopher Columbus, and the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, as one of the most historically significant journeys of exploration in history. Undaunted...

Pros: Excellent writing; Little Known facts are uncovered
Cons: No cons at all!

Stephen Ambrose is a well- known and well- respected historian and the author of dozens of best- selling books. He has a great love for history, and this passion is evident from start to finish in this book, “Undaunted Courage”. It tells the story of...

Pros: Detailed look at America in the early 1800s, Ambrose is brilliant
Cons: it ended too soon!

This book is so chock full of facts that you will have revelations in many areas of your life because of it. Don't just think you'll become knowledgeable about who Lewis and Clark were; know you'll learn about politics in the early 1800s, geography,...

Pros: A fantastic read, interesting, and fascinating.
Cons: None.

I love the American West, in fact I travel to the Rocky Mountains or the Pacific Northwest as much as I can from my Illinois home. None of this would have been possible if it hadn't been for the journeys of Lewis and Clarke. Stephen Ambrose sets down...

Pros: Writing style keeps you reading.
Cons: There aren't any, really.

Stephen Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, reads like a novel.
The main characters in this true-life drama come to life after
almost 200 years! Mr. Ambrose uses the diaries of the Lewis and
Clark as well as correspondence and documents of...

Pros: Wonderfully written, Stephen Ambrose is there with Lewis & Clark
Cons: None

I love history but I don't like a book that is hard to read and the author assumes that you know alot about the subject. Stehpen Ambrose is unique and a treasure for all. His writting style is so smooth and easy to read, but does not leave out the...

Pros: Excellent History Lesson
Cons: A bit too detailed at times

I have enjoyed this book so much because it is very factual and yet entertaining. I've learned as much about Thomas Jefferson from it as I have about Lewis and Clark. It brings to life subjects made dull by bored/boring history teachers such as the...

Pros: adventurous, exciting, imaginative
Cons: it ends

I have always been a fan of nonfiction, particularly autobiographies. This wonderful adventure takes you into the hearts and minds of Lewis and Clark and their adventures across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. This page turner is written like a...

Pros: Some comical moments; book may be useful for camping survival
Cons: The "adventure" dragged on

If you like legendary expeditions with a raving madman who eats dog meat and a 15-year-old impregnated by a 45-year-old French fur-trapper, then this is the book for you! Yes, this is a true story! Lewis wrote a detailed complaint to the government ...