Shining Mountains, Western Sea

Margaret Wyman

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

Finally, we see how the crewmen of the Corps of Discovery lived, loved, and fought their way across the Shining Mountains to the shores of the Western Sea. Histories of the expedition almost exclusively focus on the thoughts and aspirations of the captains. This novel brings life to the crewmen themselves.

The year is 1803. Captain Meriwether Lewis orders experienced trapper and woodsman John Colter to mentor George Shannon, the youngest, least-seasoned member of his newly formed Corps of Discovery. It is an act that sets in motion one of the most colorful, rollicking partnerships in the history of our nation. As members of the crew of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Colter and Shannon endure raging rivers, hostile sergeants, unpredictable natives, starvation, thirst, extremes of weather . . . and each other to find a new country, new loves and themselves.

Eventually enmity turns to friendship as they discover a new country, new loves and themselves. Go with the Corps of Discovery on this audacious adventure, a feat more dramatic than landing a man on the moon.

Review by Denise M. Clark (220103) Rating (8/10)

Review by Denise M. Clark
Rating 8/10
At a whopping 671 pages, this book is not a fast read. Indeed, it is an epic of the type penned in the 1970’s, and so very well done it would hold its own against a John Jakes or a James Michener any day.

Shining Mountains, Western Sea is an adventure that follows the Lewis & Clark Expeditions that set out at the beginning to the 19th Century. It’s a story told through the eyes of the crewmen that made up the exploration party, mainly through the perspective of young George Shannon, the youngest and greenest member of the expedition.

Riddled with historically accurate characters and incidents, this ambitious tale runs the gamut of emotion and plot as the reader follows George from civilization to the rugged wilds of the Western Territory of the first decade of the 1800’s. The book takes the reader from Kentucky to the Mandan villages of the eastern Plains to the forks of the great Missouri before heading out into the open Plains – meeting hostile tribes and dangerous situations nearly every step of the way.

Ms. Wyman’s extremely thorough research shines through in this awesome retelling of one of the most daring explorations ever attempted in the Americas. The reader will revel in the majesty of the plains and the Tetons, shiver during dangerous river crossings, and bask in the sunshine of their meadows. Rich in sensory input and description, one can literally smell the campfires and feel the cold wind creep into the bones… and the hairs on the back of the neck to rise at the sight of the Nez Pierce, Mandan, Crow and Sioux the party meets along the way.

As a lover of history, this reader happily buried herself within the pages of this ambitious though richly rewarding work by Ms. Wyman. There are not enough adjectives to properly praise this work, so suffice it to say it is a creation borne of love, determination and a love of history that is rarely seen in today’s authors.

An extremely satisfying read that will not be soon forgotten.
Denise M. Clark (22nd January 2003)