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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881
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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881 Paperback - 2001

by Pierre Berton


From the publisher

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 Using primary sources--diaries, letters, unpublished manuscripts, public documents and newspapers--Pierre Berton has reconstructed the incredible decade of the 1870s, when Canadians of every stripe--contractors,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.

First line

Its political opponents pretended to believe that the Macdonald government had gone mad.

From the jacket flap

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Using primary sources -- diaries, letters, unpublished manuscripts, public documents and newspapers -- Pierre Berton has reconstructed the incredible decade of the 1870s, when Canadians of every stripe --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.

Details

  • Title The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881
  • Author Pierre Berton
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Second
  • Pages 464
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Anchor Canada, 2001
  • Date August 14, 2001
  • ISBN 9780385658409 / 0385658400
  • Weight 1.09 lbs (0.49 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.04 x 6.12 x 1.33 in (22.96 x 15.54 x 3.38 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Canadian
  • Dewey Decimal Code 385.097

Media reviews

"Pierre Berton is a chronicler of the first order who has brought photographic clarity to the great and the corrupt, to the zealots and the dreamers associated with Canada's first great vision of linking steel threads to the nation's fabric."
Montreal Star

About the author

PIERRE BERTON was one of Canada's most popular and prolific authors.From narrative histories and popular culture, to picture and coffee table books to anthologies, to stories for children to readable, historical works for youth, many of his fifty books are Canadian classics. Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star and was a writer and host of a series of CBC programs. Pierre Berton received over 30 literary awards including the Governor General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, and the Gabrielle Lger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he was awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, was a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame, and was a Companion of the Order of Canada. Pierre Berton passed away in Toronto on November 30, 2004.
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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881
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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881

by Berton, Pierre

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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881
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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881

by Pierre Berton

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The National Dream : The Great Railway, 1871-1881
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The National Dream : The Great Railway, 1871-1881

by Berton, Pierre

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by Berton, Pierre

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by Berton, Pierre

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The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881

by Pierre Berton

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