In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson assigns his friend fellow Virginian Meriweather Lewis to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. Lewis asks William Clark to co-command the daring expedition. When they complete their mission, a country is dazzled by their accomplishments and worships the courageous duo as heroes. Clark goes on to live a productive life basking in the glory of a living legend. However, Lewis goes into a state of mental decline that culminates in 1809 when he apparently committed suicide speculated by this novelization of their post expedition lives as caused by third-stage syphilis induced dementia.

ECLIPSE is a wonderful biographical fiction that uses Lewis and Clark to narrate alternate chapters as their lives following the expedition is vividly described. The novel is well written and brings a slice of a bygone era to life through an in depth psychological drama. Fans who prefer action-packed non-stop action will find the book a tad slow, but those in the audience who want to hear the rest of the story will appreciate this early nineteenth century Americana novelization.

Harriet Klausner

Eclipse - A Novel of Lewis and Clark, by Richard S. Wheeler, is a book I could not put down until I finished it. Wheeler turns the aftermath of Louis and Clark's historic trek into a gripping novel with vividly portrayed characters and an engaging plot. The title characters are far more than just historically significant. They also have flaws, rivals, financial difficulties, diseases, and other problems resulting in large part from their heroic deeds. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

The historical accuracy of ECLIPSE is a credit to the author's careful research. He ties together the known events in the life of these well-known American heroes, using his extensive knowledge of the nineteenth century. Fiction it is, but it is also very true to the known facts. The book "reads well", never boring, never dull. ECLIPSE is a fine addition to the many books about Lewis and Clark, especially as we celebrate the 200th year of their expedition to the Pacific and back.

I read this book over a decade ago and it stills makes me chuckle. It taught me a lot about Lewis and Clark's Mississippi voyage and kept me laughing along the way. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's craving a relaxed, intelligent, historical read. Enjoy!

This is fascinating reading for all who dream of following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark and "discovering" those parts of the country that we know only in our imaginations. Especially interesting for us "born & bred" Easterners.

Ever since I read a few books about Lewis & Clark, I've been planning (in my head) a journey out west. This story captures the essence of how I envision my trip. Road rules, no highways, mom & pop restaurants, making new friends along the way.

I found this book very well written, fun, and engaging. I was able to feel what I think L&C and Mr. Duncan all felt. The excitement of a new journey, the weariness of such a long trip, and the saddness once the trip ended. I hope I can one-day follow in their footsteps.

The real joy of the Lewis & Clark journals consists in their presentation of early 19th Century American idiom and spelling. This edition modernizes spelling, grammar and sentence structure. Clark , for example, never spelled Sioux the same way twice. Mosquitos often was spelled as mosquitors. I deeply missed the charming character of William Clark's English. Its absence is palpable in the text. Meriwether Lewis, on the other hand, was an elegant stylist whose prose needs no modernization. On balance, a disappointment that robs the true wealth of the Lewis & Clark Journals

It's no secret that the only narrative available from Lewis and Clark themselves was one they wrote in raw form while on their journey. While this offers a certain "real time" value, it is a value best appreciated by researchers and not your average reader. I was intrigued enough by other books in this series to want to hear about Lewis & Clark's adventures in their own words, but not to read details of every single day of their journey which, by its very nature, can't help but be monotonous.
This book, on the other hand, gave me a true sense of what their journey was like, and what they were like without giving me the details of each morning's breakfast menu.
And that sense, by the way, was conveyed without any sense of abruptness or with any apparent gaps in the narrative. This book was a joy insomuch as it delivered the experience smoothly in their own words without the kind of puzzling pauses which accompany writings in broken English.
In much the same way that this exploration opened the west, this book opened my eyes to this exploration. It is absolutely worth the read.

After trying (trying is the operative word here) to slog through the journals in the original spelling and with little or no punctuation, it was a real joy to read this version edited by Anthony Brandt. The stories of their encounters with natives tribes, grizzley bears and of their day-to-day lives make for a compelling adventure story. And unlike the previous editions, Brandt summarizes those sections that are not included in well-crafted prose that keep the story flowing. This reads like the true adventure story it was and is destined to be a classic in the American history literature.

In his final book, David Chandler attempts the impressive feat of rewriting a small part of Revolutionary War history. His style is very popular, and frequently fleshes out details to make them more real for the reader. His thesis -- that Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis & Clark expedition) was murdered in a conspircy that involved several great men, is necessarily stitched together with facts abetted by circumstantial evidence and conjecture.

It's hard not to like the spirit of the book. it's also hard to ignore that much of the author's case is undocumented and only partially substantiated by footnotes and specific historical detail. What he proposes may very well be correct. Certainly there's enough other interesting information here to make the read worthwhile. (His information on the details of period life is fascinating, like the informal early days of the White House.) One only wishes that the author would have had a chance to buttress is arguments.

One wonders why Meriweather Lewis is buried in a forlorn grave, out of public's sight, just off the Natchez Trace Parkway south of Nashville instead of Arlington Cemetary. Lewis was the John Glenn (the astronaut) of his day! Chandler, the author, broke historical ground in pulling together the intrigues of an intriguing era. The author persuasively shows the possible motives several powerful men may have had in quietly disposing of Lewis. It is significant that the only mention of Lewis being prone to melancholy (suicidal) was a statement by Jefferson. Great reading: International intrigue (Spain), a corrupt General of the Army (Wilkinson), frontier murder, and retired President concerned about his public legacy.

This book very well depicts the ways in which Lewis and Clark explored the West. I would reccomend it to anyone who needs straightforward information for a report.

This is a book that will keep you interested in the times of yesteryears. I was intrigued by the decriptions afforded by the expedition members and the visual response that I experienced. The varied data provided the reader was attractive to the mental attention of the individual experiencing the written words of both Lewis and Clark. Clark did stand out as a outstanding hero of the Expedition and in the latter part of the book his real character is accentuated in contrast to the tragedies that fell to Lewis. You felt sorrow for Lewis and a sense of loyalty that Clark felt toward his good friend Lewis. It is a sensitive story and heartwarming with York and Sacagewea playing multiple important cameos in a bombastic adventure.

This is a good book for students learning about Lewis and Clark, it gives information about some of the lesser known members of the expedition. Good factual research and information. There are few books about Lewis and Clark for middle school students and this is a excellent book for that age. The author did a great job. It is far from dull and inspires folks to learn more about Lewis and Clark.

I brought this book home from the library for my son (9). After he read it, I picked it up and started reading a few of the chapters. It is well written, which I can't always say about books for children. It's also a great story about American exploration.

I like that it comes with a set. All of the things that it comes with is fascinating: facts, make-believe things from the journey, and other things.

the book west to the pacific is about the history in the lewis and clark expedition.During thier journey they ran accross many obsticles along the way such as animals, indains , bears , buffalo and rivers to cross. for the idaians the presedent wanted peace so there would be good encounters with them so they gave them peace medals as they came across the tribes to show a sign of frendship so while hey were expoloring they thought they would be safe. the main caritors in the book were lewis and clark and also there dog scannon who saves them many times such as, the buffalo cam into the camp and the dog scared him away. this book is very good for facts if you stick to it you will enjoy it in the end