Thomas C. Danisi

A biography about the second half of the famous Lewis and Clark duo who explored the "west" for the Jefferson administration. This was a very detailed and in-depth book which may not be appreciated by some, myself as well, in some instances. Lewis was a complicated person and given his conditions, of which nobody really knew about at that time, he did nothing to help himself. The standard thinking, according to Jefferson and Clark, is Lewis had periods of great depression and then periods of high energy and exuberance. He was probably bi-polar. This disease, mixed with his over drinking (some called him an alcoholic), caused for even more depression. However, this author discounts those theories and documents (this is a book mostly of documents) his malarial infection that he picked up in 1796 as a cause for his demented state. Danisi does not deny Lewis died by his own hand, but gives other conjectures for his death and the erratic behaviors. Good read if you like dense documents and can pick out and pass over the obtuse! 427 pages… (mehr)