Undaunted Courage

Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

By: Stephen E. Ambrose

Narrated by: Cotter Smith

Captain Meriwether Lewis was hand-picked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and acquire the American West. In 1803, Lewis and his partner William Clark led an expedition up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean and back. They endured incredible hardships and saw amazing sights. Stephen Ambrose has pieced together previously unknown information to provide a colorful and realistic backdrop for the expedition, as seen through Lewis' eyes. Adventure, politics, suspense, drama, diplomacy, romance and personal tragedy combine to make this outstanding work of scholarship as engaging as any work of fiction.©1996 Stephen E. Ambrose, All Rights Reserved (P)1996 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"Stephen Ambrose is that rare breed: a historian with true passion for his subject. Here he takes one of the great...stories in American history and breathes fresh life into it." (Ken Burns)

excellent.

enjoyed every minute of this well written book and the history of the brave men who conquered the west

Vision. Organization. Discipline. Courage.

It was a good overall view of events, personalities, and descriptions of people, places, and experiences.

Outstanding read!

Ambrose at his best! it's sad, that now he belongs to the ages! Favorite book!

Outstanding book

Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a historic encounter of a true story.

The telling of the men who opened the West.

In an age known more for its bitter fights to grasp power over others, this event reminds us of who we should hold up as examples, instead if those we seem to keep voting for

Amazing Travelers

An amazing experience, walking listeners through an historical event that shaped the look of our country.

Excellent book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The book was exhaustive enough to really get a feel for what happened on this incredible journey. Ambrose?s analysis was interesting and in areas where some conjecture was necessary he presented several of the leading ideas and comments, which I felt was very appropriate considering the sometimes incomplete history of the story. The only area that I was disappointed in was the last few chapters. Perhaps some of my disappointment was the fact the last few chapters dealt with the events after the expeditions conclusion and I wasn?t ready stop hearing about the fascinating stories of the Indians, bears, and other dangerous encounters. I gave it 4 stars and would highly recommend.

A good book but unfortunately a highly abridged narration.

This book was fascinating. The narrator was good. The prologue and epilogue were interesting. Unfortunately when o bought this one I didn't realize it was an abridged version. Wish I had bought the full version. Other than that I was very happy with it.

This should be an American History Text Book!

Where does Undaunted Courage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My audible books fall into categories, one of them being American History. So... I can say, this is in the top five books I've heard on the Amerian west.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen E. Ambrose? Why or why not?

I would like another book by Ambrose but next time, I want a more complete ending. I felt as if there were things left unsaid at the end.

Have you listened to any of Cotter Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have listened to Cotter Smith previously and when I see he is the narrator, I am comfortable with buying the audible version. I am not certain everyone puts too much thought into rehearsing and checking pronunciation of words prior to recording and Smith's dedication comes thru.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A great tag line if this were a movie would be, "what history teachers didn't tell us!"

Any additional comments?

When we are school, prior to college, most people just study for the test and a good grade. However, when a great teacher really explores the depth of a time period and has passion about it, the information stays forever. Listening to this book, I was "there" with the people, understood and felt what they did. That's what makes a good audible book!

A must read!

A story that every American should know. Im very grateful to the author for sharing his work!