The bicentenary of Lewis and Clark's great expedition to the Pacific may have passed, but the public's fascination with the adventures of the Corps of Discovery will never dissipate. Tubbs (coauthor of The Lewis and Clark Companion: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Voyage of Discovery
), daughter of the late historian Stephen Ambrose (the bestselling author of the Lewis and Clark biography Undaunted Courage
), collects 11 pithy, amusing essays on a wide variety of topics related to the intrepid explorers. One of the most interesting is the analysis of what ailed Meriwether Lewis, a loner who committed suicide: Tubbs believes that he suffered from Asperger's syndrome, a form of highly functioning autism. But there is little connective tissue between the pieces, creating a disjointed effect. Some essays are historically oriented, others personal (“Paddling into Bodmer” is a narrative of a camping and boat trip, for instance), and one wonders whether a more intense focus on either the historical or the personal would have better served readers. Nevertheless, for Lewis and Clark aficionados this little volume should find a place on their bookshelves. (Oct. 21)
