This book, though not a biography, is biographical. It considers William Clark\u27s attempts to describe the American West within the context of other descriptions during his lifetime (1770-1838). Peter J. Kastor explores the conscious agendas of writers and mapmakers that supported their particular political and cultural goals. He addresses problems that grew from describing the unknown and the ambivalence that inspired many of the attempts. He aims for a subtle and less valedictory analysis than is traditional, while avoiding a flip of that view into a simple indictment of empire-building and ethnic cleansing on the American frontier

Slaughter, Thomas P.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - LincolnDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - LincolnGreat Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center forWinter 2012Review of William Clark's World: Describing Americain an Age of Unknowns by Peter J. KastorThomas P. SlaughterUniversity of RochesterFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterlyPart of the American Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, and the United StatesHistory CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Ithas been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.Slaughter, Thomas P., "Review of William Clark's World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns by Peter J. Kastor" (2012). GreatPlains Quarterly. 2739.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/273972 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, WINTER 2012                William Clark's World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns. By Peter J. Kastor. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2011. ix + 344 pp. Maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $45.00. This book, though not a biography, is bio-graphical. It considers William Clark's attempts to describe the American West within the con-text of other descriptions during his lifetime (1770-1838). Peter J. Kastor explores the con-scious agendas of writers and mapmakers that supported their particular political and cultural goals. He addresses problems that grew from describing the unknown and the ambivalence that inspired many of the attempts. He aims for a subtle and less valedictory analysis than is traditional, while avoiding a flip of that view into a simple indictment of empire-building and ethnic cleansing on the American frontier. According to the author, Clark's perspective was that of a surveyor, not a poet, which no one who has ever read Clark would dispute. The implication is that Clark "banished" his personality to the periphery of his descrip-tions. That implication is open to debate, and the argument would be about how successful anyone ever is in such an endeavor. Clark's journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition would be "technical" and dispassionate, and not about his "feelings," Kastor tells us. The expedition's political agenda dictated land-scape description in order to contest boundar-ies with European nations. Knowledge of the various Indian tribes would help the govern-ment's diplomatic and military preparations. The author is less interested in the two explor-ers' "differences of expression" than in their shared efforts to provide "accurate representa-tion of the landscape" without ever engaging the "metaphysical implications" of unique per-spective and idiosyncratic analysis. Their goal was objectivity, and Kastor engages them on their own terms. As always, Clark's goals were "practical." The author will get no argument there, except about the meanings and implica-tions of such an observation. The book does not provide a close reading or deep probing of texts. What Kastor seeks is closer to the surface. Similarly, although the book is all about context, it is not always clear how the specific contexts explored are relevant to the subject (e.g., Clark's marriage). There is less about the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition than I expected, little about Clark's editorial eye, and the author's approach con-tributes to the traditional blending of Lewis and Clark into one voice and the journals into a seamless narrative. Kastor presumes an obvi-ous common sense reading of texts, both those written by Clark and the one provided by this book. If we have learned anything over the centuries of writing history, I think it should have been that history is all about perspec-tive and that no one-the subject, the author, the reviewer, or the reader-shares the same common sense. As the title of a recent book suggests, everything is obvious, but only after you know the answers. THOMAS P. SLAUGHTER Department of History University of Rochester © 2012 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 

Review of \u3ci\u3eWilliam Clark\u27s World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns\u3c/i\u3e by Peter J. Kastor

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for
Winter 2012
Review of William Clark's World: Describing America
in an Age of Unknowns by Peter J. Kastor
Thomas P. Slaughter
University of Rochester
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly
Part of the American Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, and the United States
History Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It
has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Slaughter, Thomas P., "Review of William Clark's World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns by Peter J. Kastor" (2012). Great
Plains Quarterly. 2739.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/2739
72 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, WINTER 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William Clark's World: Describing America in 
an Age of Unknowns. By Peter J. Kastor. New 
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2011. ix + 
344 pp. Maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, 
index. $45.00. 
This book, though not a biography, is bio-
graphical. It considers William Clark's attempts 
to describe the American West within the con-
text of other descriptions during his lifetime 
(1770-1838). Peter J. Kastor explores the con-
scious agendas of writers and mapmakers that 
supported their particular political and cultural 
goals. He addresses problems that grew from 
describing the unknown and the ambivalence 
that inspired many of the attempts. He aims 
for a subtle and less valedictory analysis than 
is traditional, while avoiding a flip of that view 
into a simple indictment of empire-building 
and ethnic cleansing on the American frontier. 
According to the author, Clark's perspective 
was that of a surveyor, not a poet, which no 
one who has ever read Clark would dispute. 
The implication is that Clark "banished" his 
personality to the periphery of his descrip-
tions. That implication is open to debate, and 
the argument would be about how successful 
anyone ever is in such an endeavor. Clark's 
journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 
would be "technical" and dispassionate, and 
not about his "feelings," Kastor tells us. The 
expedition's political agenda dictated land-
scape description in order to contest boundar-
ies with European nations. Knowledge of the 
various Indian tribes would help the govern-
ment's diplomatic and military preparations. 
The author is less interested in the two explor-
ers' "differences of expression" than in their 
shared efforts to provide "accurate representa-
tion of the landscape" without ever engaging 
the "metaphysical implications" of unique per-
spective and idiosyncratic analysis. Their goal 
was objectivity, and Kastor engages them on 
their own terms. As always, Clark's goals were 
"practical." The author will get no argument 
there, except about the meanings and implica-
tions of such an observation. 
The book does not provide a close reading 
or deep probing of texts. What Kastor seeks is 
closer to the surface. Similarly, although the 
book is all about context, it is not always clear 
how the specific contexts explored are relevant 
to the subject (e.g., Clark's marriage). There is 
less about the journals of the Lewis and Clark 
Expedition than I expected, little about Clark's 
editorial eye, and the author's approach con-
tributes to the traditional blending of Lewis 
and Clark into one voice and the journals into 
a seamless narrative. Kastor presumes an obvi-
ous common sense reading of texts, both those 
written by Clark and the one provided by this 
book. If we have learned anything over the 
centuries of writing history, I think it should 
have been that history is all about perspec-
tive and that no one-the subject, the author, 
the reviewer, or the reader-shares the same 
common sense. As the title of a recent book 
suggests, everything is obvious, but only after 
you know the answers. 
THOMAS P. SLAUGHTER 
Department of History 
University of Rochester 
© 2012 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 


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Review of \u3ci\u3eWilliam Clark\u27s World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns\u3c/i\u3e by Peter J. Kastor

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