Christian’s 2004 book, "Before Lewis and Clark", tells the story of the American West before the famous expedition that begins many of the region’s histories. She focuses particularly on the Chouteau family—“the dynasty that guarded the gates to the West for three generations.” "Before Lewis and Clark" puts particular emphasis on the people often neglected in such histories: the Chouteau women, and the native people who the family was interacting with on the frontier.