American Traveler: The Life and Adventures of John Ledyard, the Man Who Dreamed of Walking the World

When you think of the great American explorers, you pretty much start with Lews & Clark, throw in your Daniel Boone types and assorted mountain men, and then maybe close out with assorted ill-fated Arctic explorers. Few today know of one of the earliest and most widely traveled of this breed, John Ledyard, the American traveler of this book's title. In his brief life, he dropped out of one of the first classes of the then-new Dartmouth College, sailed around the Caribbean and Atlantic, deserted merchant ships, joined the British army and then the navy, was a member of Cook's fatal third Pacific voyage, became the first American to see Hawaii, Alaska, and the West Coast, traveled across the bulk of Siberia in a quixotic attempt to walk around the world, and met and corresponded with such notables as Thomas Jefferson, James Cook, the Marquis de Lafayette, Joseph Banks the scientist, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris the financier, and many more. He was an educated man who served as a marine corporal, a collector of vocabularies and handicrafts and tattoos, an amateur ethnologist with a tremendously sympathetic view of indigenous peoples, a theorizer who correctly deduced the connection between the Siberian peoples and the Native Americans, a sponger off wealthy acquaintances and a fancier of fine clothing, and a would-be fur mogul. Besides his overwhelming wanderlust that drove him relentlessly forward, so that in the last seven years of his life, the longest he stayed in one place was six months, he was possessed of an erratic temper that could flare forth with regrettable consequences. Despite his scholarly gifts, he was not averse to bouts of pugilism or worse: "He got into fistfights in London, started a shoving match in Tonga and challenged a Siberian provincial governor to a duel." Today he would be (probably correctly) diagnosed as a manic-depressive, but he channeled his energies well. He may also have had a touch of a death wish, as his last journey was singularly ill-advised under the conditions and he seemed to have a premonition of his own doom. Zug tells Ledyard's story in a mostly unadorned fashion suitable for the layperson, not too heavily weighted down with jargon or digressions. He draws heavily upon primary sources, mostly letters to and from Ledyard, keeping their original idiosyncratic grammar, rhetorical flourishes, and spelling intact. His prose is sometimes a bit clumsy, but he also is capable of an amusing turn of phrase, as when he notes that "Thrashing and punching were not his only reactions to Londoners". The book includes a couple of maps at the front, a selection of illustrations in the middle, and a section of notes at the end to which the reader should refer periodically. Ledyard's is an interesting tale told competently, although I feel Zug slightly overstates his significance. But this is a good account nevertheless and certainly a valuable addition to the field of exploration literature.

American Traveler: The Life and Adventures of John Ledyard, the Man Who Dreamed of Walking the World is a great find. John Ledyard lived in interesting times: second half of the 18th century. His 37 years of life was capped by a manic two decade long roller coaster ride across the world. He came of age in pre-Revolutionary War America, then under sketchy circumstances began service in the British military. He served on Cook's third around the World voyage as part of a Marine Guard - their job to prevent mutinies - a unique position to observe the historic exploration, particularly the first contact in the Hawaiian Islands. After the experience of the third Cook voyage Ledyard seemed to develop a vision of the world. His vision: the world is a benign place for the lone traveler. He believed that he could cross the North American continent so long as he went alone and carried nothing of value other than letters attesting to his good character. Was that possible? It would almost have to be easier then most of what he ended up doing by heading east, from France. I'm left thinking what if? What if John Ledyard had listened to Jefferson and started in Kentucky. Could he have crossed to the Pacific on foot in the late 1780s? What if? There are many `what ifs' suggested by John Ledyard's story. What ifs about the man and what ifs about the times he lived.

I'd never heard of John Ledyard before ordering this book; I greatly enjoy travel and this story is incredible. Every once in awhile, I had to stop turning the pages to reflect upon what I'd just read. The adventure and tales were awesome. More than once, I had to remind myself that this is non-fiction. Ledyard really believed he could walk around the world? I'm not one to lightly label a books as must read, but this one should be on such a list. Here's to you, John Ledyard.

John Ledyard has been mostly forgotten today, but this late eighteenth century New England Yankee dreamed of exporing an as-yet largely unknown world and, before his death while still in his thirties, he had accomplished part of that dream. Ledyard, a correspondent of Thomas Jefferson, was very much cast in the mold of an explorer and natural philosopher at the end of the Age of Reason. Russian bureaucracy and xenophobia cut short Ledyard's planned journey around the globe on foot (with water transportation when necessary) and he died on the eve of setting out on an expedition to explore central Africa, so his largest ambitions remained unfulfilled, but nonetheless he had been a companion and chronicler of Captain on his last, fatal voyage to the Pacific.

I've been fascinated by Ledyard since I first encountered him, in 1989, at a University of Washington history lecture. At the time I was struck by the fact that I'd never heard of him before. How could this guy have been forgotten? Poking around the stacks in the library led me to Sparks' and Watrous' work, but I couldn't believe that somebody wasn't out there researching and writing about Ledyard. I've been poking around ever since. At last, Zug has delivered the biography I've been waiting for. American Traveler serves as an outstanding introduction to one of the most fascinating figures in American history. Zug does a wonderful job describing Ledyard's relationships with movers and shakers of the late 18th century (particularly Jefferson), as well as his role as a catalyst behind the eventual expansion of American power. However, the real strength of the book is Zug's portrait of Ledyard the world traveler--a guy on the road who, though frustrated by the restrictions of time and petty bureaucracy, takes a genuine interest in the people he encounters. Yes--Ledyard was a spectacular failure as a businessman, but he understood something that many (apparently including P.J. O'Rourke) do not: traveling isn't about arriving at your destination--it's all about the road trip and the people you meet along the way. In this sense, there has never been a more spectacular success than John Ledyard.