Learn all about Sacagawea (sometimes spelled Sacajawea), the Shoshone woman who accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their famous expedition, or Lewis and Clark in these books at the library.

Sacagawea | Lewis & Clark | The Lewis & Clark Trail

Sacagawea

Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off & Other Lessons from the Lewis and Clark Trail
By Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs
Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs first fell under the trail's spell at sixteen and has been following in Lewis and Clark's path ever since. In essays historical and personal, she revisits the Lewis and Clark Trail and its famous people, landmarks, and events, exploring questions the expedition continues to raise. In the resulting trip through history, Tubbs recounts her travels along the trail by foot, Volkswagen bus, and canoe--at every turn renewing the American experience inscribed by Lewis and Clark.

The Making of Sacagawea: A Euro-American Legend
By Donna J. Kessler
Although much has been written about the historical importance of Sacagawea in connection with the Lewis and Clark expedition, no one has explored why her story has endured so successfully in Euro-American culture. In an examination of representative texts (including histories, works of fiction, plays, films, and the visual arts) from 1805 to the present, Kessler charts the evolution and transformation of the legend over two centuries and demonstrates that Sacagawea has persisted as a Euro-American legend because her story exemplified critical elements of America's foundation myths -- especially the concept of manifest destiny.

Sacajawea's People: The Lemhi Shoshones and the Salmon River Country
By John W.W. Mann
This book tells the remarkable and inspiring story of the Lemhi Shoshones, from their distant beginning to their present struggles. Mann offers an absorbing and richly detailed look at the life of Sacajawea's people before their first contact with non-Natives, their encounter with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early nineteenth century, and their subsequent confinement to a reservation in northern Idaho near the town of Salmon. He follows the Lemhis from the liquidation of their reservation in 1907 to their forced union with the Shoshone-Bannock tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation to the south. He describes how for the past century, surrounded by more populous and powerful Native tribes, the Lemhis have fought to preserve their political, economic, and cultural integrity. His compelling and informative account should help to bring Sacajawea's people out of the long shadow of history and restore them to their rightful place in the American story.

Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The Story of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau
By W. Dale Nelson
When interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trader living among the Hidatsas, and his Shoshone Indian wife, Sacagawea, joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803, they headed into country largely unknown to them, as it was to Thomas Jefferson's hand-picked explorers.

Lewis & Clark

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
By Stephen E. Ambrose
High adventure, high politics and suspense combined to move this outstanding title onto The New York Times bestseller list. The author of D-Day and the father of Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs, Stephen Ambrose tells the extraordinary story of one of the most courageous expeditions in U.S. history – the trek of Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark across the uncharted territory of the American west.

Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery
By Stephen E. Ambrose; photographs by Sam Abell
Through the words of renowned historian and bestselling author Stephen Ambrose, and the spectacular photography of National Geographic magazine's Sam Abell, relive the epic trek of Lewis and Clark – one of the greatest triumphs in the history of exploration.

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery: An Illustrated History
By Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns
Plentiful excerpts from the journals kept by the two captains and four enlisted men in the Lewis and Clark expedition convey the raw emotions, turbulent spirits, and constant surprises of the explorers, who each day confronted the unknown with fresh eyes. A preface by Ken Burns, as well as contributions from Stephen E. Ambrose, William Least Heat-Moon, and Erica Funkhouser, enlarge upon important threads in Duncan's narrative, demonstrating the continued potency of events that took place almost two centuries ago. And a wealth of paintings, photographs, journal sketches, maps, and film images from the companion PBS documentary lends this historic, nation-redefining milestone a vibrancy and immediacy to which no American will be immune.

Voyages of Discovery: Essays on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Edited by James P. Ronda
Voyages of Discovery includes seminal primary source documents and essays that illuminate the origins, voyage, and aftermath of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Featuring several previously unpublished pieces, including a substantive introduction, photo essay, and afterward by James P. Ronda, Voyages of Discovery conveniently gathers the best essays on the Corps of Discovery under one cover. Articles by John Allen, Bernard DeVoto, Donald Jackson, Gary Moulton, James Ronda, and others address a wide variety of topics from the reasons for the Expedition, geographic knowledge before Lewis & Clark, and expedition science, to Lewis & Clark's reception upon their return.

Lewis & Clark and the Indian country: The Native American Perspective
Edited by Frederick E. Hoxie and Jay T. Nelson
Frederick E. Hoxie and Jay T. Nelson present the expedition's long-term impact on the "Indian Country" and its residents through compelling interviews conducted with Native Americans over the past two centuries, secondary literature, Lewis and Clark travel journals, and other primary sources from the Newberry Library's exhibit Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country.

The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark Across the Continent
By David Lavender
Lavender sets the stage with a lucid 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 and the Corps of Discovery's leader with William Clark as co-leader. 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.

Lewis and Clark: Pioneering Naturalists
By Paul Russell Cutright
First published in 1969, this book remains the most comprehensive account of the scientific studies carried out by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their overland expedition to the Pacific Northwest and back in 1804-6. Summaries of the animals, plants, topographical features, and Indian tribes encountered are included at the end of each chapter devoted to the particular leg of the journey.

Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes
Edited by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.; with Marc Jaffe
Nine descendants of the Indians whose homelands were traversed by the Lewis and Clark expedition contributed to this work. Some of the essays are based on family stories, some on tribal or American history, still others on the particular circumstances of a tribe today--but each reflects the expedition's impact through the prism of the author's own, or the tribe's, point of view. Thoughtful, moving, provocative, Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes is an exploration of history--and a study of survival--that expands our knowledge of our country's first inhabitants. It also provides a fascinating and invaluable new perspective on the Lewis and Clark expedition itself and its place in the long history of our continent.

Exploring Lewis and Clark: Reflections on Men and Wilderness
By Thomas P. Slaughter
This provocative work challenges traditional accounts of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition across the continent and back again. Uncovering deeper meanings in the explorers' journals and lives, Exploring Lewis and Clark exposes their self-perceptions and deceptions, and how they interacted with those who traveled with them, the people they discovered along the way, the animals they hunted, and the land they walked across.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark
By Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Together Lewis and Clark kept a journal, a richly detailed record of the flora and fauna they saw, the Indian tribes they encountered, and the awe-inspiring landscape they traversed, from their base camp near present-day St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River. In keeping this record they made an incomparable contribution to the literature of exploration and the writing of natural history. The journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition are also available online.

The Lewis & Clark Trail

Lewis and Clark's Journey across Missouri
Editor Sona Pai; primary author and photographer, Brett Dufur
This beautifully photographed and illustrated book explores in-depth Lewis and Clark's time in Missouri through journal excerpts, one-of-a-kind maps made by nationally known geographer James Harlan that locate the Corps of Discovery's campsites, and an along-the-river guide for travelers who wish to explore the historic towns, state parks, and other points of interest. Individual chapters also probe the river then and now, the Native Americans then in the state, the fur trade at the time, the last European settlement on the river, and contemporary flora and fauna of Missouri. The return journey through the state, when the men were speeding homeward, is also included.

Discovering Lewis & Clark from the Air
Photography by Jim Wark; text by Joseph A. Mussulman
In Discovering Lewis and Clark from the Air, aerial photographer Jim Wark and Lewis and Clark scholar Joseph A. Mussulman offer a fascinating new perspective on the Corps' historic journey. From Monticello in the east to Fort Clatsop on the Pacific coast, the wild continent the expedition crossed is revealed anew in breathtaking full-color photographs. Well-researched text accompanies each photo, including quotes from the explorers' journals. The view from above provides new information about the Corps' experience and stirs fresh wonder at their achievement.

Chasing Lewis & Clark across America: A 21st Century Aviation Adventure
By Ron Lowery and Mary Walker
Enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Lewis and Clark trail from an open cockpit plane as you float over the same route the Corps of Discovery traveled 200 years ago. Stunning photographs of mighty rivers, plains and mountains--coupled with an adventure story--reveal America's soul and appeal to historians, aviators, photographers and travelers of all types.

Backtracking: By Foot, Canoe, and Subaru along the Lewis and Clark Trail
By Benjamin Long
With a spirit of exploration long unseen, Ben Long and his wife, Karen Nichols, quit their jobs, sold their house, and set out to follow in the footsteps of Meriweather Lewis and William Clark. Their trek reveals what wilderness remains in the Rocky Mountain West.

More on Lewis & Clark

For more information about Lewis and Clark, check out the Explorers topic in the Missouri Valley Special Collections.

Book descriptions provided by BookLetters.