Ledyard

by: Bill Gifford

Published by: Harcourt

Reviewed by Sharron Stockhausen, MMA

Subtitled: In Search of the First American Explorer

Hardly anyone's ever heard of John Ledyard. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book about an obscure American explorer. Only a few pages into the book I realized I not only liked the book, but I wish I could have known Ledyard.

A dichotomy of differences--restless, yet lazy; chivalrous, yet not interested in celibacy; idealistic, yet clearly motivated by money--Ledyard's life was predictably unpredictable. His keen intellect and adventurous spirit won the admiration of notables, including Thomas Jefferson.

He frustrated his family. He irritated the head of his college. He broke hearts along the way. And he was always in need of funds. But he never lost his spirit.

Unable to pay for his schooling at Dartmouth, Ledyard carved a canoe out of a fallen tree, packed a lunch, pushed off from shore, and reclined in his new vessel as he let the water's current take him where it may. That it took him to the waterfalls and he barely escaped with his life didn't detour him from other adventures.

Ledyard sailed with Captain Cook on Cook's last journey, tried to reach the west coast of America (from Europe) by heading east through Siberia, and got arrested by Catherine the Great's men who tossed him out of Russia.

Using Ledyard's few remaining letters and journal notes, Gifford adds his own experience in following Ledyard's path. Gifford took a voyage on a replica of the ship Resolution that Ledyard sailed on and shared a bit more detail than I needed, but at least I got an idea of the conditions Ledyard endured.

Ledyard died in a filthy convent room at age 37, most likely the victim of his own self-medication. "He was seized with a pain in his stomach occasioned by bile and undertook to cure himself. Excessive vomiting ensued, in consequence of which he broke a blood vessel," wrote Carlo Rosetti, a Cairo merchant.

Armchair Interviews says: Ledyard may have departed this world too soon, but he left a story worth reading. We're fortunate Bill Gifford brought it to us.