In 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark completed a two-year expedition covering 8,000 miles through rapids, mountains, forests, and ravines. Their journey began and ended in St. Louis, Missouri, as they traveled the land acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.

Lewis and Clark, along with members of their company, the Corps of Discovery, are often remembered as brave explorers, talented scientists, and peaceful ambassadors. But what if there’s more to the story?

Journalist and historian Craig Fehrman spent five years searching through more than 30 archives, interviewing more than 100 sources, and gathering oral histories for his latest work, This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. Using lost documents and analysis, Fehrman shifts the focus away from the familiar pairing of Lewis and Clark and offers a fresh, more inclusive account.

Fehrman discusses reframing the expedition through the points of view of other figures who contributed to its success. He shares the perspectives of familiar characters, like Shoshone interpreter Sacajawea, as well as untold stories, such as that of John Ordway, a working-class soldier who fought grizzlies and towed the group’s barge.

Fehrman’s first book, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote, explored how presidential books revealed ambitions, influenced elections, and shaped public perceptions. The Wall Street Journal described it as “one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.”