William Clark and the Shaping of the West

by Landon Y. Jones

Overview

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.

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803226975
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	10/01/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

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

Table of Contents

Maps
Prologue: A Dark and Bloody Ground
ONE: America's First West: 1722-1772
TWO: General George Rogers Clark: 1772-1789
THREE: Lieutenant Billy Clark: 1789-1795
FOUR: Soldier and Citizen: 1795-1803
FIVE: "Ocian in view! O! the joy!": 1803-1806
SIX: This Wild Country: 1806-1809
SEVEN: Life without Lewis: 1809-1813
EIGHT: Territorial Governor: 1813-1820
NINE: "The Red-headed Chief": 1820-1829
TEN: Resistance and Removal: 1829-1838
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index

Editorial Reviews

“[A] sweeping, battle-strewn bio.”—Men’s Journal

Men's Journal

“Jones’ masterful biography brings to life the gritty and brutal existence of life on the American frontier.”—Kevin J. Hamilton, Seattle Times

Seattle Times - Kevin J. Hamilton

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

Oregonian - Peter Sleeth

“William Clark’s remarkable life story is told with color, panache and authority.”—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Los Angeles Times Book Review - Jonathan Kirsch

“A deeply researched, splendidly written biography.”—Owen Edwards, Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine - Owen Edwards

“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

Washington Post - Mark Lewis

“[A] sweeping, battle-strewn bio.”—Men’s Journal

Men's Journal

“William Clark’s remarkable life story is told with color, panache and authority.”—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Review

— Jonathan Kirsch

Los Angeles Times Book Review

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

— Peter Sleeth

Oregonian

“Jones’ masterful biography brings to life the gritty and brutal existence of life on the American frontier.”—Kevin J. Hamilton, Seattle Times

— Kevin J. Hamilton

Seattle Times

“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

— Mark Lewis

Washington Post

“A deeply researched, splendidly written biography.”—Owen Edwards, Smithsonian Magazine

— Owen Edwards

Smithsonian Magazine