This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark

About this event

In 1806, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return from their journey—having led the Corps of Discovery across eight thousand miles of rapids, mountains, forests, and ravines—they bring an incredible tale starring themselves as courageous explorers, skilled survivalists, underrated scientists, and peaceful ambassadors. While there is truth in those descriptions, there is also distortion. Craig Fehrman spent five years visiting more than thirty archives, interviewing more than a hundred sources, and collecting oral history passed down over centuries. He came to see that the success of Lewis and Clark depended on much more than just Lewis and Clark. Each chapter of his book moves to a different person’s point of view, describing their desires and contradictions. In the end, Lewis and Clark are men who needed help—from Sacajawea, from the Corps, and from each other. Mile after mile, the expedition pushes on through hailstorms and flash floods, frostbite and infections, rattlesnakes and rabid wolves, with the Spanish cavalry in fierce pursuit. Fehrman balances the story’s adventure with the humanity of its protagonists. The result is a thrilling reminder that even the most familiar moments in history can still surprise us.

Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent five years writing and researching This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. His first book, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote, was described by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as “one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.”

A book signing will follow the program.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

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