Famous for his exploits as part of the fabled Lewis and Clark expedition, but long overshadowed by the ill-fated Lewis, William Clark (1770–1838) spent the better part of his life playing a key role in America's expansion into the territory he had eagerly scouted. Using newly available archival materials, Jones (Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom
), former managing editor at People
and vice-president of the Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, provides a riveting portrait of the lawlessness and chaos of postrevolutionary life on the American frontier as well as a fast-paced story of Clark's dramatic life. Born into a planter family, Clark grew up in Kentucky, of necessity becoming an expert marksman. By the age of 24, Clark had served as a lieutenant in various Indian wars throughout Kentucky and the territories that later became Ohio and Illinois. After the expedition with Lewis, Clark resumed his military career, overseeing the expropriation of Indian lands by treaty and war—a task for which, in Jones's searingly honest portrait, Clark showed no compunction. Clark was unafraid to kill Native Americans mercilessly in order to demonstrate his power and the power and determination of his country. As Jones indicates, by the time Clark died he had "supervised the removal of 81,282 Indians from the eastern United States to the western side of the Mississippi." Jones's spirited and balanced biography is likely to tarnish the image of one of America's celebrated heroes. 16 pages of b&w illus., maps, not seen by PW
. (May 24)
