Book Talk: “This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark” by Craig Fehrman

Yale Library Book Talk Series Join Craig Fehrman for a discussion of “This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark.” In his deeply researched and humanizing book, Fehrman shatters long-held myths and considers the perspectives of important and overlooked participants in Lewis and Clark’s expedition. Introducing the author will be Sarah Keyes, Curator of Western Americana and Americana at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Fehrman’s research, conducted across dozens of archives, including those of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, enables him to examine the experiences of Sacajawea; York, the Black man Clark enslaved; John Ordway, a working-class soldier; and Wolf Calf, a Blackfoot teenager who watched his friend die in a battle with Lewis and his men. Fehrman also reveals for the first time Thomas Jefferson's secret political maneuvers to fund the expedition, and he upends our understanding of Lakota-American diplomacy. Craig Fehrman is a journalist and historian. His first book, “Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote,” was described by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as “one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.” Fehrman lives in Indiana with his wife and children. After the presentation, Fehrman will be available to sign books. Books will be sold at the event, but attendees are welcome to bring books purchased in advance of the event. Also on October 2, 2026, Craig Fehrman will co-lead a Collections Session with curator Sarah Keyes at the Beinecke Library at 11:00am. Registration is required to attend the Collections Session; learn more here.