Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off and Other Lessons from the Lewis and Clark Trail

by Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs

Overview

More than two hundred years later, the "voyage of discovery"-with its outsized characters, geographic marvels, and wondrous moments of adventure and mystery-continues to draw us along the Lewis and Clark Trail. 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, such as, What really motivated Thomas Jefferson to send out his agents of discovery? What "mutinous expressions" were uttered? What happened to the dog? Why did Meriwether Lewis end his own life? 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.

Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs serves on the board of directors for the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Foundation, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the American Prairie Foundation. She is the coauthor of The Lewis and Clark Companion: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Voyage of Discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803219281
Publisher:	University of Nebraska Press
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	271 KB

About the Author

Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs serves on the board of directors for the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Foundation, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the American Prairie Foundation. She is the coauthor of The Lewis and Clark Companion: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Voyage of Discovery.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Experiences of a Writer on the Lewis and Clark Trail

2. Missouri River

3. Paddling into Bodmer

4. In Search of Perfect Harmony: Keeping an Expedition Happy Now and Then

5. Selected and Implanted by Nature: Leadership and Manly Firmness on the Lewis and Clark Trail

6. Sufficiently Ample: What If?

7. Opening Our Ears: Researching The Lewis and Clark Companion

8. I Grew Heartily Tired of the National Hug: Meriwether Lewis under the Microscope

9. Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off

10. Beyond Measuring Shadows: What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?

11. New Beginnings: Why We Still Need Lewis and Clark

Postscript: Advice to the MSU-Billings Graduating Class of 2006

Notes

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"This book is for everyone who loves Lewis and Clark."—Patricia Ann Owens, South Dakota History

South Dakota History - Patricia Ann Owens

"Her diagnosis of Meriwether Lewis's odd behavior as Asperger's syndrome, her calling for a nationwide de-idolization of Sacagawea, and her bold detailing of the "near pitfalls" and "oversights" along the way from both her family's treks as well as those on the original journey makes a new book in the pantheon of titles about this subject worth reading."—Frank X. Walker, Big Muddy

Big Muddy - Frank X. Walker

“For Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs, the Lewis and Clark expedition is not just a historical story; it’s personal, too, intertwined with her father’s and family’s lives. In this book, she brings her own experiences on the trail—and especially her own passions and insights—to bear on the Corps of Discovery. Reading it is like having a lively conversation across an open campfire.”—Dayton Duncan, author of Out West: A Journey through Lewis and Clark’s America

Dayton Duncan

“Lively, engaging, and well informed, here is the guide through the journals of Lewis and Clark and along the trail with the Corps of Discovery that will keep you laughing, arguing, and pondering. Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs provides delightful insights for her readers on this journey.”—Clyde A. Milner II, editor of A New Significance: Re-envisioning the History of the American West and co-editor of The Oxford History of the American West

Clyde A. Milner II

"A candid and enlightening assessment of the landmark Corps of Discovery."—Deborah Donovan, Booklist

Booklist - Deborah Donovan

"This book is for everyone who loves Lewis and Clark."

—Patricia Ann Owens, South Dakota History

South Dakota History

"Her diagnosis of Meriwether Lewis's odd behavior as Asperger's syndrome, her calling for a nationwide de-idolization of Sacagawea, and her bold detailing of the "near pitfalls" and "oversights" along the way from both her family's treks as well as those on the original journey makes a new book in the pantheon of titles about this subject worth reading."

—Frank X. Walker, Big Muddy

Big Muddy

"A candid and enlightening assessment of the landmark Corps of Discovery."

—Deborah Donovan, Booklist

Booklist