The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions

by Amanda Bellows (2024).

If you want to feel good about the diversity of American explorers who have advanced our understanding of the world, Bellows’s set of profiles concisely summarizes the lives of some you know at least a little about (Sacagawea, John Muir, Amelia Earhart, Sally Ride) and will introduce you to others who are worthy but lesser known. Bellows strategically selected ten explorers whose lives span the opening of frontiers in the Lewis and Clark Expedition just after 1800 through recent space explorations. The profiles sometimes lack depth and do tend to glorify the subjects rather than explore the complexity of their characters, but each profile includes useful context for understanding the explorer’s life and how it was shaped by and in turn shaped American culture and history.

I read a hard copy of this book.