A History of Canada in Ten Maps: Epic Stories of Charting a Mysterious Land

The good: the writing is great! Makes me want to run out there and explore and gives me a real respect (maybe more like awe) for the explorers - tough tough people! Gripping! Beautiful! Transporting! Inspiring! Couldn't put it down!The not so good: the actual maps are just a few color plates in the middle of the book, so they're small and pixelated and have the central fold of the book running right through the middle of them. So you'll be looking at those online if you want more detail.

Having been poorly educated in the USA, I am always trying to fill those embarrassing gaps in what should be basic knowledge of geography, history, etc. In that light, I decided that the first topic to study for 2020 would be Canada's geography and some history, and purchased this book along with a map-drawing book that will give me hands-on way of learning, as it was designed for children. This book is a great, great read. Exciting, gripping, historically accurate (I assume, being the half-learned soul that I am) and is exactly the kind of book you'd want in the classroom instead of those dull treatise textbooks that have the thin, shiny paper and razor-thin print, costing hundreds of dollars. I take off one star for the PUBLISHER, for the EDITION, only. There is a good ratio of white space between the lines, and the white space at the margins is not extreme, so as to waste space that could have allowed the font to be larger. Although I would have wanted a larger font, the major complaint is that the plates with the historical maps end up being so tiny that the detail for me is undecipherable. The title of this book, being what it is, demands a larger format to allow for larger, readable maps. The fact that I cannot see the detail on the maps nudges me to give this only one star, but the writing is so enticing I cannot do that in good conscience. Praise to the author, anger to the publisher.EDITED TO ADD: I just purchased the Kindle version in the hope of being able to see the maps clearly. Bingo! The back lighting of the screen on a laptop combined with expandable scans make for perfect ease of viewing.

Great book. Would have given it 5 stars if the print had been a bit larger and the publisher had used better quality paper.

Not only informative but it's written in a way that makes it come to

I grew up in Canada so found this very interesting.

I'm planning a road trip from Minnesota to the Yukon Territory and the Arctic Circle. I wanted to learn about the history of exploration of northern Canada by EuroAmericans. This book was everything I had hoped for. Excellent resource.

Well written and easy to follow.

Thank you

Entertaining book - I’m not sure it stands up to normal standards of history writing but is very entertaining in the certain pockets it chooses to focus onIt should probably be described as c 8 “tales” of parts of Canadian history as the link between a particular chapter and a map is often unclear. Some of the 10 maps in the title are also given minimal treatment.I don’t know enough about the context to comment on whether a historiography that emphasises assimilation with (some) indigeneous populations but still with a heavy steer of “European civilising” is contentiousOne negative - the “maps” the book is based around are at times treated as an afterthought and certainly would have benefited from more detailed photos. A modern map of Canada would also be useful - I regularly had to google to get the Geography to make sense (I’m British so it’s possible if I was Canadian I’d not need this)

This is a wonderful tribute to Canada. Adam Shoalts brings to life Canada's history through maps and the people who made them. Starting off with the Vikings and the early settlements in Newfoundland, to the French explorers, seeking the fabled passage to India, the voyageurs and courriers du bois who through the fur trade opened up new areas of Canada, from the Arctic to BC's west coast. He skillfully brings to life these explorers and mapmakers - driven by a mix of greed, hunger for fame and intellectual curiosity. He also poignantly describes the Aboriginal Indian Tribes who generally welcomed these new comers from Europe and without their help, in many cases would have died. Its a love note to Canada, its history,mapmaking and exploration, and the beauty of a quickly diminishing Canadian wilderness.

His writing is very good, including his two other books. The essays here range over much of the time from Vikings about 1,000 years ago, till about 200 years ago. With copies of old maps, one corresponding to each. Essays include ones on Jacques Cartier, Champlain, Thompson, Mackenzie.Also (but this is very different) on early idiotic Franklin of the Royal Navy, one which reminded me of Roland Huntford's book on Scott to the south pole (beaten by Amundsen, of Canada's northwest passage fame as well), Scott being an equally idiotic Royal Navy captain who also led other men as well himself to their deaths through arrogance and ignorance as an explorer.

Well written story of Canada's early explorers; from the Vikings to John Franklin, detailing their trials and tribulations exploring Canada's wilderness. There is one outstanding part that permeates all of these stories; and that is the incredible assistance and support given by the various Indian and Inuit natives to the explorers; including travelling with them as guides, and saving their lives on many occasions. Without the natives assistance; the early exploring of the Canadian wilderness would not have been possible.

This is an amazing book, Adam Shoalts is an amazing writer and naturalist. This is very interesting reading - not dry or boring in the least - has a touch of humour at times, and tells the story of Northern Canadian exploration at the same time. I rarely read books twice, but this one I will definitely read again! Highly recommend any of this writer's books...especially this one!