{"product_id":"this-vast-enterprise-a-new-history-of-lewis-clark-9781982174248","title":"This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis \u0026 Clark","description":"\u003cb\u003eA major revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition: For the first time in a generation, \u003ci\u003eThis Vast Enterprise\u003c\/i\u003e offers a fresh and more accurate account of one of the most important episodes in American history, humanizing forgotten figures and shattering long-held myths.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Original, compelling, and memorable...Fehrman sheds new light on a fabled story, and tells it in a way that puts all of us back in a vanished but resonant world.\" --Jon Meacham - \"Here, at long last, is the Lewis and Clark expedition presented in living technicolor.\" --Hampton Sides - \"Spectacular...Fehrman paints an incredible, vivid, you-are-there portrait.\" --Garrett M. Graff\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Fehrman's rigorous account sheds light on previously overlooked historical figures and political machinations...drawn from an impressive mountain of research involving dozens of archives, over 100 interviews, and Indigenous oral histories passed down over generations.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1806, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return from their journey--having led the Corps of Discovery across eight thousand miles of rapids, mountains, forests, and ravines--they bring an incredible tale starring themselves as courageous explorers, skilled survivalists, underrated scientists, and peaceful ambassadors. While there is truth in those descriptions, there is also distortion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom one of the most exciting new historians to emerge in the past decade, \u003ci\u003eThis Vast Enterprise\u003c\/i\u003e offers a novel take on the expedition: a gripping narrative that draws on lost documents, stunning analysis, and Native perspectives. Craig Fehrman spent five years visiting more than thirty archives, interviewing more than a hundred sources, and collecting oral history passed down over centuries. He came to see 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 here we meet John Ordway, a working-class soldier who fought grizzlies and towed the captains' hulking barge. We hear from Wolf Calf, a Blackfoot teenager who watched his friend die in a battle with Lewis and his men. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEach chapter moves to a different person's point of view, describing their desires and contradictions. We see Thomas Jefferson operating in an age of bitter partisan unrest--his secret political maneuvers to fund the expedition, revealed here for the first time, are a case study in presidential power. We witness the strategy and strength of Black Buffalo, completely upending our understanding of Lakota-American diplomacy. York, in his chapters, finds ways to wield power and make choices in an era that didn't allow him much of either. Clark is not a folksy Kentuckian but a student of the Enlightenment. (Fehrman discovered his college notebook; no previous biographer even realized that he went to college.) Lewis is someone willing to sacrifice everything for his country and his mentor, Jefferson. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the end, the captains are men who needed help--from Sacajawea, from the Corps, and from each other. Mile after mile, the expedition pushes on through hailstorms and flash floods, frostbite and infections, rattlesnakes and rabid wolves, with the Spanish cavalry in fierce pursuit. Fehrman balances the story's adventure with the humanity of its protagonists. The result is a thrilling reminder that even the most familiar moments in history can still surprise us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Craig Fehrman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Avid Reader Press \/ Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 544\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781982174248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCraig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent six years writing and researching \u003ci\u003eThis Vast Enterprise\u003c\/i\u003e. His first book, \u003ci\u003eAuthor in\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eChief\u003c\/i\u003e, was described by Thomas Mallon in \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003eas \"one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.\" Fehrman lives in Indiana with his wife and children.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Craig Fehrman \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47876623696029,"sku":"9781982174248","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_7f75e1d0-b7d0-45c7-b515-ae4d14182dcd.jpg?v=1777383459","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/this-vast-enterprise-a-new-history-of-lewis-clark-9781982174248","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}