The Missouri: A Journey with Stephen Ambrose

The story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 remains one of the greatest chapters in United States history, and Stephen Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, is the definitive work on the subject. Today, Ambrose is involved with saving one of the most important influences on the expedition, the Missouri River. This once wild and raging river is now little more than an overgrown plumbing project of the Corps of Engineers, even though the great flood of 1993 clearly showed that man's efforts to tame the 'Mighty Mo' are often expensively ineffective. This video describes the efforts of Ambrose and others to conserve what is left of the Missouri and is an excellent example of the conflicts that arise between modern economic needs and efforts to preserve a disappearing natural treasure. Aud: P. (J. Carlson)