Rating: 5 out of 5
I really enjoyed this overview of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). As a book about the combined effects of the application of power – the office of the Dominion’s Prime Minister – and the industrialisation of the land, this really stands out as a detailed story. In places, truthfully the detail is too much or at least, not being familiar with this author’s style, I did not know to expect that the author is a great fan of tangents: with a few exceptions, the reader gets the biography of every character that we meet in the book.
As its focus is mainly on the connection of BC with Montreal, the start of the book also focusses on the early history and settlement of BC. This brings up many Wild West moments, but also the differences between British territory and the relatively new United States of America become very apparent. Mr Bown however manages to highlight these differences very well, and it helps to put into context other 19th century native conflict stories, such as the ones written by Stephen Ambrose. In this way, I found ‘Dominion’ to be very educational.
When we come into the actual building of the railway, Mr Bown brings the reader closer to the workers of the day than, for example, Christian Wolmar does. Yet, the main light is undoubtedly on the surveyors of the route and the manager of the constructions. For the railway enthusiast, I found it very interesting how difficult the route between across the Canadian Shield was compared to the other sections — perhaps even more difficult to build than the section across the Rockies. These two great challenges were brought out beautifully!
Overall, this is much more than just a railway book, as the author illustrates the characters of the period as well as the political questions that troubled the newly-founded Dominion of Canada. This is going to be a definite recommendation from me for anyone interested in this period!
