Acts of Discovery: Visions of America in the Lewis and Clark Journals - Softcover

Furtwangler, Albert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0252063066 ISBN 13: 9780252063060

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1999

Synopsis

Navigators, naturalists, and diplomats, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark wove science and raw adventure together in their journals as they blazed a trail from St. Louis to the Pacific. Casting their achievements against a broad interdisciplinary background, Albert Furtwangler investigates the process of discovery itself and shows how the information gathered by Lewis and Clark on their expeditions challenged the science, the politics, and the artistic ideals of the Jeffersonian age and helped shape the way we see America.

About this title

Review

"Albert Furtwangler's unpredictable meandering gives the dry, plodding words of Lewis and Clark a new life." - Times Literary Supplement "There have been good accounts before of Lewis and Clark's journey across the North American continent and of the journals in which they recorded their observations, but few of them match this critical study in placing that adventure and its text in such interesting and meaningful contexts for students of American culture." - Nineteenth-Century Literature "Destined to become a valued contribution to literature on the trans-Mississippi West for its recapitulation of the major events of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and for its up-to-date assessment of their historical meaning. The author is articulate in his diagnostic treatment of the expedition's remarkable documentation and its place in America's 'age of enlightenment.' His evaluation of the expedition within the context of the pursuit of human progress is fortified through his incorporation of the works of classical scholars and modern scientists." - Irving W. Anderson, South Dakota History "An extraordinary book-extraordinary in its scholarly range and imaginative reach. The answer to the question 'Is there anything left to be said about Lewis and Clark?' is a resounding 'yes' in good measure because of this compelling book."-James P. Ronda, Western Historical Quarterly "Albert Furtwangler's work not only is splendidly written but also offers a fresh perspective on a well known story... It is a remarkable new appraisal of one of America's literary epics. As such it belongs on the bookshelf of all those interested in the American experience."-John L. Allen, Journal of American History "The evidence marshaled by Furtwangler in supporting his rather striking claims is substantial and quite interesting to both the general and scholarly reader... Furtwangler's book is a wonderfully told and well-researched account of the historical expedition itself, as well as a record of important aspects of the cultural and social milieu in which it took place." - Harold K. Bush, Jr., Western American Literature

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0252063066
• ISBN 13: 9780252063060
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288