Lewis and Clark Trail, The: Then and Now - Hardcover

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, winner of the Golden Kite Award and the Eva L. Gordon Award, lives in Missoula, Montana.

Grade 4-6-This book adds little to the body of work already available. The title promises comparisons between the trail's past and present but for the most part this is another recounting of the journey. The stress is so much on the "then" that when mention of "now" comes, it seems to interrupt the flow, intruding on readers' growing interest in the progress of the expedition. For example, just as the explorers have crossed the Bitterroot Valley and prepare to turn west into the mountains, Patent discusses the Bitterroot Valley today and how modern techniques have helped pinpoint the site of the camp. The two-page chapters are each introduced with a quotation-usually from an expedition journal-and illustrated with full-color photographs and historical paintings. This does not allow for much depth in or development of the topics. The journey and the participants make for fascinating reading and Patent does a good job of conveying the hardships involved. There are, however, some problems with the text. Told in the first chapter that the goal is to reach the Pacific Ocean, readers will be surprised to find no mention of the explorers reaching the coast. Only the inset map shows that the second winter camp, Fort Clatsop, is located by the Pacific. Patent extols the talents and backgrounds of the men chosen for the Corps of Discovery but then readers come to "Clark also brought along his black slave, York," verbally relegating the man to subhuman status. Rhoda Blumberg's The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark (Morrow, 1995) is a much better choice.
Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
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