The National Dream by Pierre Berton

The National Dream by Pierre Berton

In 1871, a tiny nation, just four years old--it's population well below the 4 million mark--determined that it would build the world's longest railroad across empty country, much of it unexplored. This decision--bold to the point of recklessness--was to change the lives of every man, woman and child in Canada and alter the shape of the nation.

Using primary sources--diaries, letters, unpublished manuscripts, public documents and newspapers--Pierre Berton has reconstructed the incredible decade of the 1870s, when Canadians of every stripe--contractors, politicians, financiers, surveyors, workingmen, journalists and entrepreneurs--fought for the railway, or against it.

The National Dream is above all else the story of people. It is the story of George McMullen, the brash young promoter who tried to blackmail the Prime Minister; of Marcus Smith, the crusty surveyor, so suspicious of authority he thought the Governor General was speculating in railway lands; of Sanford Fleming, the great engineer who invented Standard Time but who couldn't make up his mind about the best route for the railway. All these figures, and dozens more, including the political leaders of the era, come to life with all their human ambitions and failings.

Pierre Berton, a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and Canada's most popular historian, was born in the Yukon and educated at UBC. Three Governor General's Awards, two Nellies, two National Newspaper Awards, the Stephen Leacock Prize for Humour, and a National History Society honor have all been bestowed upon him. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada and holds twelve honorary degrees.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780385658409
ISBN 10	0385658400
Title	The National Dream
Author	Pierre Berton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2001-08-14
Number of pages	464
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.