ThoughtGallery.org > Public Lecture Series with Dan Botkin: On the Trail of Lewis and Clark

Public Lecture Series with Dan Botkin: On the Trail of Lewis and Clark

What qualities made Lewis and Clark great leaders? They were able to lead a small group of men from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River and back. They maintained peaceful relationships with many Native American tribes. They navigated their way through country that was little mapped, traded for horses so they could cross the Rocky Mountains, built canoes to float down the Columbia, and sent back animals and plants after their first year. Their story has been told many times, but rarely with an attempt to analyze the qualities that made their expedition safe and successful.

Making use of their careful, detailed journals, Daniel B. Botkin followed the entire Lewis and Clark trail, and wrote his own book about how nature in the American West had changed since. Though the impetus for his journey was comparison, the more he read their journals, the more impressed Botkin became with their combination of remarkable abilities.

Posterity has shown the expedition took one of the more difficult routes west. They survived terrible weather, sub-zero winter temperatures, a mighty hailstorm on the Missouri River, scare game along the Pacific Coast, and some unfriendly local Indian tribes in times of hardship.

The characteristics that led to their success — impressive in their breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding — are apropos for The Explorers Club. Lewis and Clark were great leaders of men, careful diplomats and excellent recorders of what they observed, who all the while maintained a deep affection for the nature they passed through.











When: Mon., Sep. 19, 2016 at 6:00 pm
Where: The Explorers Club
46 E. 70th St.
212-628-8383
Price: $25
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What qualities made Lewis and Clark great leaders? They were able to lead a small group of men from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River and back. They maintained peaceful relationships with many Native American tribes. They navigated their way through country that was little mapped, traded for horses so they could cross the Rocky Mountains, built canoes to float down the Columbia, and sent back animals and plants after their first year. Their story has been told many times, but rarely with an attempt to analyze the qualities that made their expedition safe and successful.

Making use of their careful, detailed journals, Daniel B. Botkin followed the entire Lewis and Clark trail, and wrote his own book about how nature in the American West had changed since. Though the impetus for his journey was comparison, the more he read their journals, the more impressed Botkin became with their combination of remarkable abilities.

Posterity has shown the expedition took one of the more difficult routes west. They survived terrible weather, sub-zero winter temperatures, a mighty hailstorm on the Missouri River, scare game along the Pacific Coast, and some unfriendly local Indian tribes in times of hardship.

The characteristics that led to their success — impressive in their breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding — are apropos for The Explorers Club. Lewis and Clark were great leaders of men, careful diplomats and excellent recorders of what they observed, who all the while maintained a deep affection for the nature they passed through.

Buy tickets/get more info now