The companion volume to Ken Burns's PBS documentary film; with more than 150 illustrations; most in full color.In the spring of 1804; at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson; a party of explorers called the Corps of Discovery crossed the Mississippi River and started up the Missouri; heading west into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory.The expedition; led by two remarkable and utterly different commanders -- the brilliant but troubled Meriwether Lewis and his trustworthy; gregarious friend William Clark -- was to be the United States' first exploration into unknown spaces. The unlikely crew came from every corner of the young nation: soldiers from New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and Kentucky; French Canadian boatmen; several sons of white fathers and Indian mothers; a slave named York; and eventually a Shoshone Indian woman; Sacagawea; who brought along her infant son.Together they would cross the continent; searching for the fabled Northwest Passage that had been the great dream of explorers since the time of Columbus. Along the way they would face incredible hardship; disappointment; and danger; record in their journals hundreds of animals and plants previously unknown to science; encounter a dizzying diversity of Indian cultures; and; most of all; share in one of America's most enduring adventures. Their story may have passed into national mythology; but never before has their experience been rendered as vividly; in words and pictures; as in this marvelous homage by Dayton Duncan. Plentiful excerpts from the journals kept by the two captains and four enlisted men convey the raw emotions; turbulent spirits; and constant surprises of the explorers; who each day confronted the unknown with fresh eyes. An elegant preface by Ken Burns; as well as contributions from Stephen E. Ambrose; William Least Heat-Moon; and Erica Funkhouser; enlarge upon important threads in Duncan's narrative; demonstrating the continued potency of events that took place almost two centuries ago. And a wealth of paintings; photographs; journal sketches; maps; and film images from the PBS documentary lends this historic; nation-redefining milestone a vibrancy and immediacy to which no American will be immune.
#41693 in Books Ingramcontent 2016-08-23 2016-08-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.53 x 1.53 x 6.34l; 1.25 #File Name: 0375423222752 pagesBlood in the Water The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Review
67 of 72 people found the following review helpful. Fabulously written; meticulously researched history of one of the most brutal acts ever undertaken by a state governmentBy Alan MillsJust finished Heather Ann Thompson's Blood in the Water. It is absolutely essential to understanding the history of prisons in the US; and mass incarceration more generally. Professor Thompson spent a decade fighting for access to the long hidden records; and painstakingly reviewing the evidence to find out what really happened. Her investment in time; blood; sweat and tears has paid off for the reader!45 years ago; prisoners took over an exercise yard at Attica prison; after months of having their complaints about insufficient food; lack of medical care; guard brutality ignored. As negotiations with the prisoners were beginning to bear fruit (the state agreed that virtually all;of their complaints were legitimate); Rockefeller decided to slaughter the prisoners; to ensure he was viewed as "tough on crime" and to further his national political ambitions. The casual racism behind this decision was explicitly approved by Nixon sitting in the Oval Office (as we know because of his now famous taping system).Over the following decades; New York State did whatever it could to obscure what happened and shift blame from itself to the prisoners. Before a single body was examined; the state announced that prisoners had eviscerated guards; and castrated at least one of them; cutting off his genitiles and stuffing them in his mouth. Nothing of the sort occurred. All of the guards killed in the end were slaughtered by law enforcement; none by prisoners.After reviewing all of the events of the days during the uprising and the slaughter in the days after; Thompson turns to the cover up...which reached all the way to Governor (and then Vice President) Rockefeller. She then turns to the tireless efforts of the men at Attica to gain legal redress for the harm done to them; and then to the surviving guards' battle for an apology and compensation.At the end is a wonderful Epilogue; discussing the impact not so much of the uprising itself on the course of history; but the even bigger impact of the false narrative and cover up which followed the mass slaughter by the state in the aftermath.The book was so fascinating; that I kept going all the way through the acknowledgments. A pretty comprehensive list; including illustrious scholars like Michele Alexander and Toussaint Losier; and my great friend; Shaena Fazal. Buried in the middle; was mention of Alan Mills. If this is me; I do not belong in this esteemed crowd; and had nothing to do with the book..but am so honored to be included. Wow.Anyway; read the book! Attica; Fight Back.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Long and thorough.By BigDaddy PDXThis is a comprehensive overview of corruption and neglect on our prison system. Almost fifty years later; it's only worse.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Sad tale of a dark event in historyBy wjbThis book was hard to read at times and the stress of waiting as the officials decided what to do was gut wrenching. Such inhumanity and violence.
