The National Dream; The Great Railway 1871-1881

Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1970. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. xiii, [1], 439, [1] pages. Illustrated endpapers. Maps. Cast of Characters, Chronology. Notes. Bibliography. Index. DJ has some wear, tears, chips and soiling. Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, (July 12, 1920 - November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a television personality and journalist. He won many honors and awards for his many books, An accomplished storyteller, Berton was one of Canada's most prolific and popular authors. He wrote on popular culture, Canadian history, critiques of mainstream religion, anthologies, children's books and historical works for youth. He was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community. Historian C.P. Stacey in 1980, said Berton demonstrated his skill as an anecdotalist, or storyteller, who emphasized the human dimension. The National Dream is a 1970 Canadian non-fiction book by Pierre Berton describing the planning and commencement of the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1871 and 1881. Following the book's success, a 1971 sequel (The Last Spike) described the construction phase between 1881 and 1885. Both books formed the basis for the TV miniseries The National Dream. 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 Using primary sources - diaries, letters, unpublished manuscripts, public documents and newspapers - Pierre Berton has reconstructed the incredible decade of the 1870s, when Canadians of every stripe -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 Sandford 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.