William Clark and the Shaping of the West - by Landon Y Jones (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: New York: Hill and Wang, c2004.

Book Synopsis

Between 1803 and 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark cocaptained the most famous expedition in American history. But while Lewis ended his life just three years after the expedition, Clark, as the highest-ranking federal official in the West, spent three decades overseeing its consequences: Indian removal and the destruction of Native America. In a rare combination of storytelling and scholarship, bestselling author Landon Y. Jones vividly depicts Clark's life and the dark and bloody ground of America's early West, capturing the qualities of character and courage that made Clark an unequaled leader in America's grander enterprise: the shaping of the West.

Review Quotes

"William Clark and the Shaping of the West is engrossing history, the kind of book that is hard to set down."--Peter Sleeth, Oregonian

"[A] sweeping, battle-strewn bio."--Men's Journal

"A deeply researched, splendidly written biography."--Owen Edwards, Smithsonian Magazine

"It was Clark, not Lewis, who nursed Sacagawea when she was ill and who later paid for her son's education. It was Clark who wrote the misspelled entry--'Ocian in view! O! The Joy!'--that so charmingly evokes the moment when their party finally sighted the Pacific. And it was Clark who enjoyed the more interesting life, as Landon Y. Jones makes clear."--Mark Lewis, Washington Post

"Jones' masterful biography brings to life the gritty and brutal existence of life on the American frontier."--Kevin J. Hamilton, Seattle Times

"William Clark's remarkable life story is told with color, panache and authority."--Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Review

About the Author

Landon Y. Jones was the managing editor of People magazine for eight years and wrote and edited for Life, Time, Money, and People for thirty-seven years. His books include Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation and The Essential Lewis and Clark. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey, and Bozeman, Montana