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ForeWord Magazine's 2005 Book of the Year Award—Silver Medalist for Biography
—James P. Ronda"No one is better able to treat in a comprehensive way William Clark's public life than William Foley. Foley knows, and has skillfully used, the massive store of archival materials. He has written a balanced, solidly researched biography of a major American figure. The great strength of this biography is Foley's unparalleled command of the sources and his broad understanding of the West in the early Republic. William Clark shaped the early West and was shaped by it."
"Bill Foley has written a compelling biography of William Clark. It is significant because it provides a fresh look at the life of an important public servant who is primarily known as the partner of Meriwether Lewis and co-leader of the Corps of Discovery. Foley expertly traces Clark's early life, and he separates his leadership and achievements from Lewis's with clarity and insight, thereby enabling the reader to better understand his role in the expedition across the continent. Foley's study of William Clark should serve as the standard biography of the man for at least a generation."—R. Douglas Hurt
"Bill Foley's book on William Clark deserves a place alongside
Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage on every scholar's bookshelf. It
comprises a thorough and lively tour through the life of one of the most complex
and vivid personalities ever produced in the United States."—Bob Moore
“Meticulous and encyclopedic, Foley’s biography will be a must purchase for
Lewis and Clark collections.”
—Booklist
“[Foley] did an outstanding job of wading through the available primary and
secondary sources to pen one of the best works ever written about William Clark,
the voyage that made him famous, and the sixty-four or so other years of Clark’s
life previously overlooked by most historians.”—South Dakota History
“Foley should be commended for this major contribution to the early history of the American West and specifically, to a better understanding of Captain William Clark’s role in what I believe is the greatest American epic ever told.”—Nebraska History
Strange as it may seem today, William Clark—most known as the American explorer who joined Meriwether Lewis in leading an overland expedition to the Pacific—mattered for far more than his famed Voyage of Discovery, dramatic and daring though that venture may have been. Although studies have been published on virtually every aspect of the Lewis and Clark journey, Wilderness Journey is the first comprehensive account of Clark's lengthy and multifaceted life.
Following Lewis and Clark's great odyssey, Clark's service as a soldier, Indian diplomat, and government official placed him at center stage in the national quest to possess and occupy North America's vast western hinterland and prefigured U.S. policies in the region. In his personal life, Clark had to overcome challenges no less daunting than those he faced in the public arena. Foley pays careful attention to the family and business dimensions of Clark's private world, adding richness to this well-rounded and revealing portrait of the man and his courageous life.
Coinciding with the bicentennial in 2004 of the departure of Lewis and Clark's famed Corps of Discovery, Wilderness Journey fills a major gap in scholarship. Intended for the general reader, as well as for specialists in the field, this fascinating book provides a well-balanced and thorough account of one of America's most significant frontiersmen.
About the Author
William E. Foley is Professor Emeritus of History at Central Missouri State University. He is the General Editor of the Missouri Biography Series and author or editor of numerous books, including Genesis of Missouri: From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood, Dictionary of Missouri Biography, and A History of Missouri, Volume I: 1673-1820, all available from the University of Missouri Press.