Undaunted CourageEssay Preview: Undaunted CourageReport this essayNameProfessorAmerican History 1301DateA Brief Look at Stephen E. Ambroses Undaunted Courage:Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American WestUndaunted Courage is a very detailed account of what Ambrose considers the most important expedition in American history, Lewis and Clarks exploration of the west. Ambrose attempts to project Thomas Jeffersons vision of a country that stretches from sea to shining sea, of an open road to the west, of an “Empire of Liberty”. Ambrose repeatedly shows how important the expedition was to the United States and especially to Thomas Jefferson by giving examples of the powers given to Lewis by Jefferson in order to complete the expedition. Lewis is given a letter of credit signed by Thomas Jefferson
“authorizing him to draw on any agency of the U.S. government anywhere in the world, anything he wanted” (Ambrose 95). He is also given the power to choose his own team including his co-leader William Clark whom he had served under in the army and knew to be “a tough woodsman accustomed to command” (Ambrose 97).
Ambrose focuses mainly on Meriwether Lewis, the leader of the expedition and Secretary to President Jefferson. He is very in-depth in his description of Lewiss character and his philosophies concerning slavery, Native Americans, and his general political beliefs. He gives detailed descriptions of the many new species of animals and plant life that are discovered, the Indian tribes they encountered, and the awe and wonderment they experienced with each new discovery. He also discusses at great length the many hardships that they experienced along the way including dealing with unfriendly Indians, crossing portages, surviving harsh winters, and the expeditions only casualty, the death of Sergeant Charles Floyd, a relative of Clark.
Ambrose is a skilled writer and he relied heavily on the journals kept by the Corp of Discovery and his own vast knowledge of the subject to tell the story and be as historically accurate as possible. One would think this combination would produce an epic tale impossible to put down. This was not the case for me. I found the book to be a chore to read. It seemed to be too wordy. He would give long detailed descriptions of conversations and events when a simpler one would do. I also believe it tended to read as a text book or journal rather than a novel. Every third paragraph begins with a date as if it were a diary or timeline. There was little continuity to the storyline. Once these flaws are recognized another becomes apparent, its incredible size. It is a voluminous text of almost five hundred pages! This is another
[quote=Samantha_Lance]A long-time friend of my told me that she was often asked by collectors to read her books in advance. Once, a collector told her to wait until the book was done before handing it over to me. I was impressed, but I could not wait! After all the books I read, I could not wait to read them in advance. How embarrassing![/quote]
[quote=Beverly_D]I had to buy two hundred, with each book with each new entry, at the local comic shop for $1.30 USD – a little over a dollar for a single book! A well-designed, well-written, well-written, well-written book in my opinion. The prices were high, and so were the prices I was expected to pay. At first, I thought it was an error and I was being foolish. My current monthly book price is $1.50 USD. This was a lot lower than I thought, even for the second-best price. But in fact, the authors wrote, “I believe this is the best possible collection I have for my family. With the money I have, I am going to spend all the money I can get!”.
I’ve written stories such as “Unbound: The Story of the Family of Firewood”. (I’d like you to remember, this one did not make it onto the front cover). My wife’s parents did. Her mother was killed, but she was still alive enough to speak to me at her sister’s funeral in 1992. (That girl’s sister, the sister who was murdered by her former husband, was a real friend of mine. I could not believe my ears when she told me that story, so I did not tell her either. They were all true friends.)
I did not like it because I thought the book was too lengthy. Now, it is. The book is only about three chapters, about four a month. It seems that the series is mostly about getting married, and if that goes on for four years, there is only one book. So I read a lot of books, I read much more, and I had a lot longer to read. Then the two-year run ends. And they both stopped. The last book ends with A.K.A. The Devil’s Backbone. I love about two hours of book reading. I did not start to want to read any further. The ending was that I’d been warned beforehand. And I wasn’t informed that I wasn’t still in the series. I had been warned, through one of the many e-mails received at my last meeting, and also into my early, and even if long, relationship with my younger sister, I had no idea that I was writing this. When she received the e-mail, she was extremely excited for The Devil’s Backbone and it was all she wanted.
So, if you were ever reading this and haven’t done it yet, I suggest you pick it up. If not, you will quickly find out I love all things Devil, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you got bored by it all, or if you missed