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Empire of the Bay: An Illustrated History of the Hudson's Bay Company
Peter C. Newman
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
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Binding: Hardcover
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Caesars of the Wilderness
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Empire of the Bay: The Company of Adventurers that Seized a Continent
ASIN: 0670829692 |
Book Description
When it completed Canadas first cross-country rail link in 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway united a vast young nation and opened its remote areas to settlers and commerce. CPRs story unfolds in all its spectacular sweep and gritty detail in this latest addition to MBIs Railroad Color History series.Following the line from its incorporation in 1881 to its multinational presence today, this richly illustrated volume depicts locomotives, rolling stock, employees, the diverse terrain CPR traversed, as well as the operations that made it The Worlds Greatest Travel System.
Customer Reviews:
An incredible story.......2005-08-29
This is a tremendous history. Its scope isn't limited to Canada, but spans 400 years of North American history and touches nearly every corner of the world. No other corporation — and certainly none of the great military conquerors — ever controlled more of the earth's land area than the Hudson Bay Company.
Anyone half-awake these days must be aware of the rise of incredibly powerful, international corporations operating seemingly beyond law, yet for greed, ruthlessness, and singular pursuit of profit it's hard to imagine many businesses will ever out do this grand-daddy of them all, the HBC.
The HBC story is really appalling and enthralling, and Newman is an excellent writer in the style of Barbara Tuchmanm and Alan Moorehead. It's all an incredible adventure story, probably not much known outside of Canada, yet full of unbelievable characters and events. (Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" is based on the journey of an HBC executive, and other company men were the first to cross North America to reach the Pacific and Arctic oceans, beating Lewis and Clark by decades — and doing it pretty much alone since the HBC was more interested in pinching pennies than exploring new worlds.)
A really great book. I'd give it six stars if I could.
Incredible!.......2005-01-31
Hudson's Bay Company is quite simply the most successful commercial enterprise ever known to capitalism. Imagine a company that controlled one twelfth of the earth's surface, whose domain was 10 times larger than the Holy Roman Empire, a company whose beginnings date from 1682, that developed its own Army, its own Navy and whose stock is still reputed to be owned by Britain's Royal Family.
In the forward, the author claims this book is about the impact of Hudson's Bay Company on the development Canada over the past three centuries. But it is really not. The author is being too modest. It is really about the impact of Hudson's Bay Company on the development of North America and how HBC actually was responsible for the formation of Canada and the United States as we know them today.
Everything you read in this book is the result of the primary economic force of its time, fur. The fur business was the primary employer for the inhabitants of eighteenth century North America. As such, it was the primary driver for the continuing exploration of the North American continent.
This then is not just a book about corporate wealth accumulation but of territorial exploration and definition, of competing, overlapping claims at a time in which their simply was no law. HBC was the fur business in Canada and in a very real sense it was HBC that defined the northern territorial limits of the United States.
Read and enjoy this excellently written and well documented book. It is really a treasure. You will learn the amazing history of Canada and an incredible amount about the United States as well.
Prince Rupert's Men.......2004-06-05
This is a splendid account of the three hundred and fifty year institution that is Hudson's Bay Company, and even incorporates a number of chapters that chronicle its great rival, the North West Company. Newman traces the origins of the Hudson's Bay Company back to those great explorers Raddison and Groseilliers, Frenchmen sponsored by the English, and then traces it through the many eras of economic and geographic expansion. This was a company that dealt primarily in furs, and as such, Newman begins by paying homage to the Canadian beaver. (If you want to learn a lot of fascinating things about beavers, this is the book for you). The great explorers of Canada's arctic and Western frontiers, Kelsey, Hearne and Fraser, are suitably honored, and the company's great arch-enemy, John Jacob Astor, is suitably reviled. Newman doesn't shy away from pointing out that the HBC was a rather cheap enterprise that kept its best people chronicly underpaid, and occasionally lapses into fond remembrance of the comparatively hedonistic - but less successful - Northwest Company. Ultimately, however, he pays tribute to the long-term impact of the HBC on Canadian culture and values; thrift, modesty, a preference for the collective over the needs of the individual. A masterpiece of narrative history.
A lifeless read..........2003-06-30
Trudging through this book was a task, and not something I rather enjoyed. I believe if you are going to read something, you should enjoy it. And this... did nothing for me. If you want to know about Canada, or better yet, the Hudson Bay Company; the Canadian Government offers great links and information that was far more enticing then this novel.
Phenomenal.......2002-01-24
Should be mandatory reading for all highschool and undergraduate history courses. There is absolutely no better account of the founding of North America by Europeans than this. I can't believe that I was unable to find availability of this book in Canada.
Customer Reviews:
Strangers in Blood.......2006-06-11
This book has a high "fog factor" and is difficult to read. It uses academic jargon and long sentences. The structure is complex and confusing. That is not to say that the book is inconsequential; indeed, the subject matter is quite important. It is simply difficult to access it through this book.
The back cover accurately describes the book as looking systematically at the families and offspring of the upper echelon of the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company. Unfortunately, this was a male-dominated business and a male-dominated period in history. Men kept the written records. The author of "Strangers in Blood" relies heavily on anecdotal accounts of individuals, complete with many direct quotes. Thus, this is a book that follows the men of the fur trade. Their wives and offspring become adjuncts. The book partially compensates for this by providing information on societal pressures within the fur trade, as well as in Canada and England at the time. It also addresses the policies of the fur companies relative to dependents.
The book characterizes and contrasts family connections in the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company. The presentation is roughly chronological from the late 1700 to the mid 1800s. The 1821 merger of the two companies is a focal point. Chapters and subchapters move back and forth between the two companies; as well as between various topics of gender and types of family relationships. The focus is on individuals, with every page containing a confusing array of proper names. The names of key individuals (men) reappear constantly until the reader longs for a wall chart to keep them straight. The author has even provided a few small pieces of such a chart and they are helpful.
One comes away with the feeling that the men of the fur trade took more responsibility for their families than one might expect. They usually tried to place their offspring, both male and female, in a position to start a life of their own. That included at least some education; an apprenticeship for men, and marriage for women. Fewer men stayed committed to the mothers of their children but some of the relationships were life-long.
From the early 1820s on, one man, George Simpson, had great influence over the fur trade and the people involved with it. He directed the Hudson Bay Company through the merger with the Northwest Company and for forty years afterward. He influenced the tenor of the fur trade and everything connected with it. Ms Brown shows his impact to be more negative than positive. Simpson, the clergy, and English women all arrived on the scene at about the same time. The result was increased racism, emphasis on class, and moral disapproval of "country marriages." These semi-formal unions with Indians and mixed-bloods were prevalent in the fur trade up until that time. The problems of integrating the descendents of the fur traders into society continue in Canada today.
Finally, I even want to complain about the title. "Strangers in Blood" is an English legal term for relationships that exist "in blood" but the law refuses to admit as legitimate. This book is about a much broader range of relationships. The author recognizes the problem in the final chapter. Someone in the publishing process should have insisted on a better title.
Book Description
In 1999, Jeremy Mercer fled Canada for Paris with gangsters on his trail and nothing but his meagre savings. Nearly homeless after a few weeks, he met George Whitman, owner of Shakespeare and Co. In exchange for work in the legendary bookstore, Whitman allows struggling writers to live in and around the shelves. He offers Jeremy a cot and thereby begins a charming Parisian story filled with unforgettable characters like the eccentric British poet, Simon, and the beautiful blonde Pia. Time Was Soft There winds in and around the City of Lights as the staff fall in love, drink in the lowliest watering holes, manage to sell a few books, and help Whitman find a way to keep the endangered bookstore open. QUOTES An evocative, funny and romantic account of his time among the artists, eccentrics and sundry down-and-outers who congregate in and around George Whitman's famous Left Bank bookshopLike so many before him, he discovered there's no better place to be young than the City of Light. Ottawa Citizen
Customer Reviews:
Welcome to Bohemia.......2007-07-17
I happened on this book in an English-language bookstore in Paris during a recent trip (not Shakespeare & Co., if they had it, I didn't see it), and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect read for my journey. I've been to S & Co many times, but had no idea there was a whole down-the-rabbit-hole bohemian lifestyle associated with the place (complete with mad tea parties). Mercer's book brings that little world to life and leaves you thinking that bohemia sounds magical--but you just don't know if you could do without a daily shower. A must-read for lovers of Paris and books.
Just okay.......2007-07-03
I was excited to get my teeth into this memoir but found it ultimately a little disappointing. There are some nice passages describing Whitman and his crazy personality, but I finished 'Time Was Soft There' with the feeling that Mercer had filled it out in order to have enough material for a book. Considering the literary culture of the shop, and the legacy of the authors that passed through it, there is something off-putting about this.
Great character study of both Store and Store Proprietor.......2007-05-07
I've had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare & Co. on my many visits to Paris in the last decade. George was always in place at the front desk, waiting (if you can call it that) on the store's patrons. He was delightful, if you were respectful of the books and the other people in the store.
But he could also exhibit a certain crankiness and excentricity. I once saw a young customer ask how much a particular book was, and George opened the book, saw no price tag anywhere, and answered, "oh, about 35 francs." The young man then looked aghast at that price (which was about 7 bucks at the time), and replied, "What?! That much?" To which George snatched the book out of this guy's hand and tossed it over his shoulder. He spat at the would-be customer, "Forget it. You can't have it. You don't deserve to read it." The guy was then unceremoniously shown the door.
This personal antedote pretty much sums up George and the bookstore planted on the lovely Left Bank of the Seine.
Jeremy Mercer captures much of the feeling and tone of Shakespere & Co. during that time, while also writing a lovely - yet unvarished - portrait of owner, George Whitman.
A good read, whether you've visited the Paris location or not.
A Novel Novel.......2007-02-07
Escaping circumstances stemming from position life as an Ottawa crime reporter which have endangered his life, 28 year old Mercer runs to Paris. Broke, he is invited to tea at Shakespeare and Co., the small Left Bank bookstore which "is a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore". In exchange for unpaid labor, Whitman, the owner, allows struggling writers to live in the bookstore. Mercer takes up residence in the upstairs library, and experiences modern-day Bohemian Paris, "drunk on alcohol, drunk on Paris, drunk on our sudden new lives, we felt for all the world like the best of friends" (p. 161).
This book is a must for anyone who loves books, writing, independent bookstores, and Paris after the liberation-the Paris of romance, intrigue, freedom and creativity.
The one major flaw with the book is that it is hard to like Mercer, the narrator. Mercer begins his story by describing how he betrayed one of his friends, spent all his money on alcohol, drugs, and a BMW. And Mercer isn't in Paris to redeem himself. Mercer has a convenient way of painting his story around his personal acts of heroism instead of the heroics of the store. Mercer paints George Whitman as an eccentric who needs to be saved-by Mercer of course. The poet living in the antiquarian room is saved by Mercer. Fires are put out by Mercer. Passports are found by Mercer. Daughters are found by Mercer. Drunken brawls are broken up by Mercer. Mercer takes a punch in the face. The store is going to be saved by Mercer via Oprah. In this story, everyone is a big mess and Mercer is mana from heaven. Accordingly, some of the writing feels a bit affected. Mercer is trying way too hard to find the story here. Just having lived through something doesn't make a writer. It's similar to the people who think they've got a story to tell because they ran with the bulls in Spain like Hemingway.
Mercer's writing and psychology are heavily influenced by his crime reporting days. The first line of the book is "It was a grey winter's Sunday when I came into the bookstore." That kind of line seems extremely passe to me-the beginning of airport crime fiction, not a story about one of the greatest bookstores in the world. You get the feeling Mercer became a crime reporter to be a savior-it's the same mentality that his brought him to Shakespeare and Company and it dictates this story. Nurses tend to develop a sort of munchausen syndrome. After reading this book I tend to think that crime reporters have a similar sort of affliction. They place themselves in situations and places where they can play hero. I think the story of Shakespeare and Company is amazing, but I am not sure Mercer delivers it well.
Still, the story is a unique and quick read.
Stepping Back in Time...........2007-01-14
Reading Mercer's memoir was like stepping back in time for me. I've been to George's book store many times, but it's been a few years. So reading his accurate account was a wonderful return back to a special place.
I came across George and his book store in the early 90's and when I questioned if he had a book about Kiki and her memoirs, the answer I got from George was, "Come to the tea party Sunday afternoon." It was an experience I'll never forget and Mercer described that tea party perfectly....sitting there wide-eyed, trying to figure out what it was all about.
I enjoyed his book tremendously and my only regret was that it had to end. I also wanted to give Mercer credit for "tying up loose ends" in regard to George, the book store and George's daughter, Sylvia. It was a great ending with good information. I'll be back in Paris in 9 weeks and very much look forward to a return visit to the book shop with Sylvia now in charge.
If you love Paris or are planning a trip there....you won't be disappointed in this piece of history. It's the first book I've come across with so much detail and info on George Whitman.....who just happened to be raised in my hometown, Salem, Mass.
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Hudson's Bay Company Adventures: The Rollicking Saga of Canada's Fur Traders (Amazing Stories)
Elle Andra-Warner
Manufacturer: Altitude Publishing (Canada)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Empire of the Bay: The Company of Adventurers that Seized a Continent
ASIN: 1551539586 |
Book Description
This sizzling, action-packed account of Canada's riotous early days recounts the schemes and schemers that launched a famous trading empire. From its earliest days, the Hudson's Bay Company battled everyone and everything just to survive.
Customer Reviews:
Exciting Canadian fur-trading history.......2004-07-14
The early fur-trading history of Canada was not about exploring as much as it was about making money...and the author has brought to the book some of the most exciting stories and adventurers of that era. I liked how the author included stories about Native peoples and their importance to the fur-trade in early Canada.
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The Nor'Westers: The Fight for the Fur Trade
Marjorie Wilkins Campbell
Manufacturer: Fifth House Books
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John Jacob Astor: And the Fur Trade (Parker, Lewis K. American Tycoons.)
ASIN: 1894004973
Release Date: 2002-08-28 |
Book Description
For forty-two years, one group of brave men dominated the fur trade in Canada under the North West Company name. This is story of the company from its creation in 1779 to its union with the Hudson_s Bay Company in 1821. During this period, traders and explorers such as Alexander Henry, David Thompson, Simon McTavish, and Peter Pond explored territories previously unknown to those of European descent, made first contact with countless Native tribes, and risked their lives daily to meet the enormous European demand for beaver pelts. In this award-winning book, author Marjorie Wilkins Campbell captures the drama of the fur trade, following the lives of the Nor_Westers and the explorers and traders who braved the wilderness from the St. Lawrence river to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the Mississippi. Filled with adventure, intrigue, and excitement, The Nor_Westers brings the amazing story of the fur trade to life in vivid detail, awakening an interest in history in readers aged 12 to 16. The fur trade was a risky business. With few provisions, traders travelled by canoe and foot through the dangers of Canada_s northwest to find furs for a European market. As the demand for furs increased, the traders had to move farther and farther into the wilderness to find furs; they became explorers, heroes. But it was a hard life. Some years would be profitable, others would bring men and their families to the brink of starvation. In the face of such hardship, one group of traders joined forces in 1779. It was the beginning of an empire. For forty-two years they dominated the fur trade from the St. Lawrence to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the Mississippi. They called themselves the North West Company, and soon became known as the Nor_Westers.
Book Description
David Thompson (1770-1857) is considered by many to have been the most important surveyor of North America. His achievements - mapping the Saskatchewan River, the great bend of the Missouri River, the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi as well as the Columbia watershed - are the stuff of legend. Late in life Thompson wrote a retrospective memoir of his explorations, but the best way to understand his years in the fur trade is by reading his journals.
In her new Preface to the Bicentennial Edition of Columbia Journals, Barbara Belyea considers the fur-trade context of journals, reports, and memoirs that shaped both Thompson's perception of contemporary people, places, and events and our own perception of Thompson's historical importance.
In Columbia Journals, the fur trader, explorer, and cartographer records his exploration of the Columbia River basin and his efforts on behalf of the North West Company to establish good trade routes across the Rocky Mountains. The journals provide a detailed picture of the fur business during its period of greatest expansion, offer a glimpse of Native culture at the moment of contact with Europeans, and describe landscapes that have since been transformed by settlement and industry. Thompson's hand-drawn maps preserve a contemporary image of the country he explored.
Customer Reviews:
Explorer extraordinaire.......2003-01-15
David Thompson was an explorer and cartographer of great magnitude. These personal journals document his explorations in the Canadian Rockies and northwestern U.S. from 1800-1811. His responsibilities were to discover and map new trade routes for the North West Company across the mountains and eventually to the Columbia River Basin. The journals depict the many hardships he and his men endured while on several exploratory trips: the impenetrable mountain snows; surviving severe winters of -30 F; the trials and tribulations of building trading posts, canoes, sleds; the demeanor of local Indian tribes; lack of food; etc. As Dr. Belyea says in her introduction, "David Thompson's Columbia journals require of the reader a perseverence that is well rewarded..the journals are dry and difficult..and the reader must work hard to create his or her own pattern of understanding". It is a worthy book from an exceptional man. The seven reproductions of maps by Arrowsmith, Thompson, etc. are quite poor in quality and I would therefore suggest an atlas for those unfamiliar with the geography of the area so as to follow his whereabouts.
Book Description
Three hundred vintage advertising and promotional posters.
During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPR) was widely hailed as "The World's Greatest Travel System." The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railroad spanned North America from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans. The company also operated luxury hotels and resorts, passenger ocean liners, cargo ships, and an airline.
To promote the company and Canada to the world, Canadian Pacific produced more than 2,500 stunning lithographic and silkscreen posters -- 1,000 of which were created in its own graphic studio.
Posters of the Canadian Pacific is a treasury of three hundred of the finest posters published by the company. They were displayed in Canadian Pacific offices and independent travel agencies worldwide from the 1880s until the 1970s. These posters enticed millions to visit and even settle in Canada.
The posters span the years 1883-1973 with special focus on the Art Deco style posters of the 1920s and '30s. They focus on travel and leisure -- activities on ski slopes, golf courses, beaches, and luxury resorts. Other posters feature Canadian Pacific ocean liners in exotic locations around the globe such as the West Indies, Rio, Hawaii and the Orient.
Posters of the Canadian Pacific will appeal to a wide audience including art lovers, history buffs and railroad enthusiasts.
Customer Reviews:
Days of Glamour and Style.......2007-01-15
Superbly crafted book showing the elegance and beauty of a bygone era. Makes 21st century travel (via planes) feel like a very poor substitute despite the saving in time. Just does not compare.
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