Since it was unnecessary to substitute excitement, of which the book has much, for historical accuracy, Ambrose is able to write a book that is entertaining and educational. However it cannot always be said that Ambrose's history is always the standard and correct one. There are a few differences between this book and other standard accounts of this story. In many standard books it is said that Lewis' death was an accident or a murder, while in "Undaunted Courage" his death is ruled a suicide. Other variations occur when trying to explain the enormous gaps in Lewis' diary. Also "Undaunted Courage" is affected by Ambrose's detail to military aspects, which is not surprising due to the fact that he usually writes about World War two.

The stories and personalities in "Undaunted Courage" make the book out-standing. Perhaps the best stories are the hunting trips in which the hunters encounter bears. On page 219 Clark and Drouillard kill a grizzly. The bear takes five shots to the lungs and five to other various parts of the body and still swims for twenty minutes before it dies. Even more interesting is the encounter on page 224 in which the party finds a bear, shoots it several times, chases it, and shoots it several more times. However the situation is soon reversed and the bear starts to hunt the hunters. The bear is only stopped after a shot through the head.

The Lewis and Clark expedition has very interesting characters and a great plot. It is significant to American history because it explored so much of our continent and talks about our first interactions with many Indian nations. It show the perfect heroic Americans and their fearlessness towards the most inclement conditions for the advancement of our nation. In the introduction Ambrose talks about how much he was, and still is obsessed with the Lewis and Clark expedition. For these reasons Ambrose felt it nessescary to write this huge book on such a limited and isolated event such as the expedition.

These hunting stories are very entertaining, but it is the great characters n the expedition who make the book great. Two especially notable personalities are York and Seamen. York, the slave and life-time companion of William Lewis is a very powerfully built man. He is very athletic, muscular, and tall. He is very personable and likable. He shows these colors and his comical side on page 180. The expedition had landed in Mandan territory and were visiting the villages. The Mandans had never seen a black man before and didn't quite know if he were human or not. York became aware of this and played with the children, running around the village, chasing them, yelling that he was a wild beast that had been tamed by Captain Clark. Seaman, Lewis' Newfoundland, just seems like a faithful companion. He is described by Lewis on page 112 as "very active strong and docile". It is funny how Seaman patrols around the camp at night barking at anything that moves, as though he were on night wat

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1501
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)