The Lewis and Clark expedition was a prominent story of my childhood, and I even got to see much of their route during a family trip as a child. I agree with your description of Undaunted Courage, the details can make the book drag, but at times also bring the realities of the times to life.
I also agree with the assessment that we have raised, have become, at least two generations deep now of a risk adverse, permanent managerial class, protected by the state, ... cogs of the machine.
Today there are exceptions certainly, as I'm sure Meriwether and William were outliers in their time, as was Jefferson, but they are shouted to sit down, confirm, "be safe". They succeeded to triumph against the odds of both the elements and human nature.
We certainly need more recognition of those who do take genuine risks, instead of idolizing those with with fabricated fame.
Not trolling -- what's the alternative to Republicans? I despise them too, but who else has a shot at actually winning an election? How do we get critical mass behind someone else?
The alternative is to raise up quality people at the local level and promote them to higher office. Parachuting in the next Right One is a losing proposition. Like all things worth doing, it is a long term investment and we are no longer investors.
We don’t dream as big or take the risks that they did, this is true. Would Lewis or Clark have those dreams or take those risks if they lived on our time? I think that spirit still lives in us as a part of human nature. We must also remember that the tendency for self preservation and risk-aversion was present back then as well in the people who stayed back on the east coast in civilization, no doubt thinking of Lewis and Clark as reckless madmen.
I found this book to be just about as close to a fictional adventure as one can get without being actually fictional. After the preparatory stages, it's full of hunting, arguments among the men, tension with natives, risk of starvation, bears, translation issues... It's wonderful. The part I remember most about this book is just how tragic the ending is (for Lewis, anyway; everyone else comes out okay). It's the same story of success followed by a crash and fall that repeats itself so often in the Great Men of history (Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon).
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing, is another great non-fiction adventure. Shackleton's advertisement for the voyage tells exactly the kind of man he was: "Men Wanted for Dangerous Expedition: Low Wages for Long Hours of Arduous Labour under Brutal Conditions; Months of Continual Darkness and Extreme Cold; Great Risk to Life and Limb from Disease, Accidents and Other Hazards; Small Chance of Fame in Case of Success". If Antarctica ever becomes it's own nation, Shackleton's journey is foundation myth material.
I have this book and I love it so much. I remember reading it and just feeling awestruck. Your review is excellent as are your conclusions. Thanks so much for a great article.
A most excellent book and highly recommended. And a great question: what does courage look like in our society? Standing against the machine? Standing for your marital, and other, commitments? Raising your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Loving your neighbor as yourself? Running for office, and governing, as a Constitutional conservative?
I'm not against regulation it's just that regulation should be there to guarantee risk, and to insure/ensure it.
e.g. re: trannies these people need new, government funded, psycho-active drugs, not "rights" (the right to enjoy being weird and dysfunctional is the right to enjoy being neglected); in the same vein most people would be fine losing a limb in a factory, or on some dangerous excursion, as long as there was some kind of stem-cell tech. that can help them regrow limbs (without murdering kids, we're smart enough to figure out alternatives in everything else), why is the gov. wasting money and time when it could and should be doing and researching stuff like this? Perhaps it's because it's not even "our gov." perhaps the gov. itself, it's operations, etc. is "fake and gay". The gov. is really a simulacrum existing to extract money for people who are above "the people", above the nation.
The Lewis and Clark expedition was a prominent story of my childhood, and I even got to see much of their route during a family trip as a child. I agree with your description of Undaunted Courage, the details can make the book drag, but at times also bring the realities of the times to life.
I also agree with the assessment that we have raised, have become, at least two generations deep now of a risk adverse, permanent managerial class, protected by the state, ... cogs of the machine.
Today there are exceptions certainly, as I'm sure Meriwether and William were outliers in their time, as was Jefferson, but they are shouted to sit down, confirm, "be safe". They succeeded to triumph against the odds of both the elements and human nature.
We certainly need more recognition of those who do take genuine risks, instead of idolizing those with with fabricated fame.
Not trolling -- what's the alternative to Republicans? I despise them too, but who else has a shot at actually winning an election? How do we get critical mass behind someone else?
there's really no alternative, no way out: WE MUST FORM SECRET SOCIETIES -unironically- and do our politics partly in secret.
The alternative is to raise up quality people at the local level and promote them to higher office. Parachuting in the next Right One is a losing proposition. Like all things worth doing, it is a long term investment and we are no longer investors.
We don’t dream as big or take the risks that they did, this is true. Would Lewis or Clark have those dreams or take those risks if they lived on our time? I think that spirit still lives in us as a part of human nature. We must also remember that the tendency for self preservation and risk-aversion was present back then as well in the people who stayed back on the east coast in civilization, no doubt thinking of Lewis and Clark as reckless madmen.
I found this book to be just about as close to a fictional adventure as one can get without being actually fictional. After the preparatory stages, it's full of hunting, arguments among the men, tension with natives, risk of starvation, bears, translation issues... It's wonderful. The part I remember most about this book is just how tragic the ending is (for Lewis, anyway; everyone else comes out okay). It's the same story of success followed by a crash and fall that repeats itself so often in the Great Men of history (Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon).
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing, is another great non-fiction adventure. Shackleton's advertisement for the voyage tells exactly the kind of man he was: "Men Wanted for Dangerous Expedition: Low Wages for Long Hours of Arduous Labour under Brutal Conditions; Months of Continual Darkness and Extreme Cold; Great Risk to Life and Limb from Disease, Accidents and Other Hazards; Small Chance of Fame in Case of Success". If Antarctica ever becomes it's own nation, Shackleton's journey is foundation myth material.
I have this book and I love it so much. I remember reading it and just feeling awestruck. Your review is excellent as are your conclusions. Thanks so much for a great article.
There are a few heroic people today; for better or worse, Elon Musk is doing big things. SpaceX alone is making space travel happen.
A most excellent book and highly recommended. And a great question: what does courage look like in our society? Standing against the machine? Standing for your marital, and other, commitments? Raising your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Loving your neighbor as yourself? Running for office, and governing, as a Constitutional conservative?
I'm not against regulation it's just that regulation should be there to guarantee risk, and to insure/ensure it.
e.g. re: trannies these people need new, government funded, psycho-active drugs, not "rights" (the right to enjoy being weird and dysfunctional is the right to enjoy being neglected); in the same vein most people would be fine losing a limb in a factory, or on some dangerous excursion, as long as there was some kind of stem-cell tech. that can help them regrow limbs (without murdering kids, we're smart enough to figure out alternatives in everything else), why is the gov. wasting money and time when it could and should be doing and researching stuff like this? Perhaps it's because it's not even "our gov." perhaps the gov. itself, it's operations, etc. is "fake and gay". The gov. is really a simulacrum existing to extract money for people who are above "the people", above the nation.