If you're interested in finding out about the Ozarks for the first time or if (like me) you've been to the Ozarks many times this is an excellent book. It starts with a thumbnail history and description of the Ozarks but the bulk of this book is devoted to supplying information on the entire region. This information includes geographic features - rivers and streams, caves, lakes, and topographic properties. Also included are descriptions ranging from a paragraph to several pages on just about every stream, lake, town, and park in the Ozarks. I learned new and interesting facts about areas I've visited many times before. If you love the Ozarks this is a great find!

While not as famous as Lewis and Clark, Henry Schoolcraft conducted the first of his many expenditions with similar care and attention to detail. One needs to excuse some of the poetic descriptions. The book gives an excellent insight into the very early development of the region shortly after the Voyage of Discovery.

The author has considerable personal research with Schoolcraft's travels as a college professor leading field trips on portions of the expedition. The most helpful is the author's appendix which keys the days of travel to current day locations.

For anyone studying the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks, this is a must-have. It provides the only contemporary vision of this part of the United States prior to the rapid development in the years prior to the Civil War.