Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 The Astoria expedition was the first major American exploration of the Pacific Northwest, and it was led by William McNeill Duncan, a Scottish fur trader. In 1836, Washington Irving wrote an account of the expedition, which became a bestseller.#2 John Jacob Astor’s settlement, Astoria, was the first American colony on the West Coast of North America. It was Astor’s vision to capture its wealth, and it was Jefferson’s vision to make it a democracy.#3 If Captain Northrup had chosen to dismast the ship, the crew would have been rendered helpless. The ship would have been doomed, and the rescue mission would have been unsuccessful.#4 John Jacob Astor, who was the first American millionaire, was born in Germany. He was five years old when his mother died giving birth to a daughter. His father was a Huguenot, descended from the French Protestants who had fled to other countries such as Germany in the 1600s.