Why this book: I was on a cruise on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho which had a significant Lewis and Clark focus. I’d recently read Steven Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage and my friend Rick Woolard who was on the cruise with me recommended this short book as a nice augmentation. I read it in a couple of days.

Summary in 3 Sentences: I’ve described this book as an excellent short, digestible description of the entire Lewis and Clark expedition with certain pieces injected from the perspective of Seaman, Meriwether Lewis’s Newfoundland Dog which accompanied him on the entire trip. Pringle tells us in the introduction that Seaman’s adventures during the expedition that he includes in the book reflect what L&C included in their journals, though he writes that he does include some of Seaman’s responses that only make sense given what is known (eg, he wagged his tail when Lewis returned to camp.) It was an excellent summary of what I’d read in Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage and written in simple language that a young person would be able to follow and enjoy – I sent a copy to my son to read to his children.

My Impressions: Short enjoyable read – about 195 pages of large print on medium sized pages, and though written in children/young adult language, this book provides an excellent overview and summary for anyone interested in learning about the entire Lewis and Clark expedition. He also points out several incidents from Lewis and Clark’s and journals from others in the Corps of Discovery about Seaman’s actions and contributions to the expedition which didn’t make the cut to be included in the other literature I’d read about the Corps of Discovery.

I’d recommend that someone interested in learning about the L&C expedition start with this book, and then move on to one of the other four highly regarded books on that expedition, to fill in the fascinating details. Those four books of which I am aware, are: Undaunted Courage by Ambrose, Lewis and Clark Among the Indians by Ronda (which I’m still reading), This Vast Enterprise – a New History of Lewis and Clark by Fehrman, and The Journals of Lewis and Clark Expedition Day by Day by Moulton (These last two I haven’t read, but they both come highly recommended by friends of mine who have read them.)