Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and the Scientist in the Winning of the American West

Summary

Goetzmann tells the sweeping story of the explorers, surveyors, and scientists who mapped and interpreted the American West across the nineteenth century. He argues that exploration was never just discovery but an instrument of national ambition, commerce, and imperial reach. By linking field science to political power, the book reshaped how readers understand the conquest and settlement of the western frontier.