Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Ambrose, Stephen - Gordon S. Wood (review date 4 April 1996)

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Gordon S. Wood (review date 4 April 1996)

SOURCE: “The Writingest Explorers,” in New York Review of Books, April 4, 1996, pp. 18-21.

[In the following review, Wood offers favorable evaluation of Undaunted Courage.]

The Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804–1806 is the greatest adventure of exploration in American history. The astronauts of the 1960s knew more about the surface of the moon they were to land on than Lewis and Clark knew about the northwest part of the Louisiana territory they were sent to explore by President Thomas Jefferson. And Lewis and Clark and their party were out of touch with their fellow Americans back home for long periods of time—weeks, months, years—longer certainly than the minutes when the astronauts were unable to communicate with Earth. Besides, the Lewis and Clark expedition had little of the technology that makes even space travel today seem routine. The members of the expedition had only boats,...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. John Keegan (review date 22 October 1984)
   2. Herbert S. Parmet (review date 29 October 1984)
   3. Spencer Warren (review date April 1985)
   4. Richard Harwood (review date 3 May 1987)
   5. Herbert Parmet (review date 4-18 May 1987)
   6. Joan Hoff-Wilson (review date 21 June 1987)
   7. John Charmley (review date 4 July 1987)
   8. Sidney Blumenthal (review date 6 July 1987)
   9. Alan Brinkley (review date 16 July 1987)
   10. Richard John Neuhaus (review date August 1987)
   11. Robert A. Strong (review date Summer 1988)
   12. Robert Dallek (review date 15 October 1989)
   13. John Edward Wilz (review date Summer 1990)
   14. Kevin P. Phillips (review date 24 November 1991)
   15. William L. O'Neill (review date 30 December 1991)
   16. Anthony Howard (review date 1 February 1992)
   17. Esmond Wright (review date July 1992)
   18. James N. Giglio (review date Winter 1993)
   19. John Kentleton (review date February 1994)
   20. Earl F. Ziemke (review date March 1994)
   21. Scott Jaschik (essay date 18 May 1994)
   22. William L. O'Neill (review date 6-20 June 1994)
   23. Carlo d'Este (review date 30 December 1994)
   24. Alan F. Wilt (review date June 1995)
   25. Blaine Harden (review date 11 February 1996)
   26. Alexander Theroux (review date 3 March 1996)
   27. Gordon S. Wood (review date 4 April 1996)
   28. Patricia Nelson Limerick (review date 7 April 1996)
   29. Peter G. Boyle (review date June 1996)
   30. Albert Furtwangler (review date December 1996)
   31. Lisa E. Emmerich (review date Fall 1997)
   32. Howard Lamar (review date October 1997)
   33. Josiah Bunting III (review date 21 December 1998)
   34. Eric T. Dean Jr. (review date June 1999)
   35. Steve Weinberg (review date 3 September 2000)
   36. Patricia Nelson Limerick (review date 18 September 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright