I just finished reading Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival[1]. It's a about a piece of american history that I had no idea had ever happened. The Lewis and Clark expedition is generally well known...at least that it happened...but the Astorian expedition was completely unknown to me and to probably a ton of you as well.

Very interesting.

1 - http://www.amazon.com/Astoria-Jeffersons-Pacific-Ambition-Su...