This brief volume introduces one of the greatest adventure stories of U.S. history: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's harrowing westward journey in search of a navigable waterway to the Pacific Ocean.

With more than 150 journal entries and correspondences organized into topics - such as Forging the Corps of Discovery and Encounters with Native Americans - this volume provides a unique framework for assessing the 1803-06 expedition's successes and failures, forming insight into the explorers' personalities, and interpreting their encounters with Native Americans. An introduction provides historical context for the expedition; concise head-notes introduce important themes and link the selections.

Useful editorial aids include a chronology of the journey, maps, questions for consideration, a bibliography, and an index.