The Truth about Sacajawea

Jackson, WY: Grandview Publishing Co, 2003. Reprint. Sixth paperback printing, 2005. Trade paperback. Good. Signed by author.. Talbot, Agnes Vincen. 96 p. Map. Illustrations. Quick Reference Guide. Amazon Review: As Lewis and Clark began their journey to the Pacific Ocean, the two captains found it necessary to find a guide in order to pass over the mountains and to communicate with the Natives. As Thomasma says, "The hiring of Charbonneau and his young Shoshoni wife would prove to be a stroke of good fortune and good judgement." (p.15) As the reader progresses through the book, he or she may discover that the good luck wasn't referring to Charbonneau. In fact, the journal entries prove just the opposite. Throughout the book, it is very interesting to find the irony of hiring Charbonneau. As it turned out, this French-Canadian Trapper was nothing but a nuisance to the party. The irony shows when Sacajawea essentially becomes the guide, when she wasn't even hired, but brought on for sympathy reasons. In this view of the Charbonneau family, Charbonneau and his wife (although they are considered one with the other) are foils of one another. This biography well describes the voyage with the young mother and her husband, and their trials and helpful guidance given along the full voyage. Those who are into history should read this book without any hesitation. This book falls into different categories of history, including American History, Native American Heritage, etc. This very informative narrative would easily be liked by history fans, as well as other ordinary people. Personally, I have never been a fan of history, but this book was very fascinating to me. The structure of this account "allows readers to experience what the explorers wrote about Sacajawea." (P. 11) Thomasma presents summaries of journal entries, along with a description of the points made out by that entry. In between each entry is a summary of the other events between the respecting passages. This structure gives a very effective way of helping the reader understand Sacajawea's importance and value along the Lewis and Clark Expedition.