The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark Across the Continent

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060159820 ISBN 13: 9780060159825

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1988

Lavender sets the stage with an account of the imperial rivalries between England, Spain, France, and the United States, and their role in Thomas Jefferson's decision to sponsor an expedition that might strengthen the young country's claims to lands it had purchased but never seen. Lavender then takes us through the steps that led to the selection of Meriwether Lewis as the Corps of Discovery's leader with William Clark as coleader. From there the great adventure story unfolds, and we follow Lewis and Clark and their company on their journey through vast, uncharted territory as they seek a transcontinental route to the Pacific.

From the Publisher:

Brilliantly distilled from diary entries and contemporary accounts and with masterly scholarship and high drama, David Lavender recreates one of the greatest adventure stores in American history--the transit and exploration of the American continent by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

About the Author:

David Lavender's publications include One Man's West, Bent's Fort, The Fist in the Wilderness, and California: Land of New Beginnings, all available in Bison Books editions.