Pierre Berton (1920–2004)
Author of Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896-1899
About the Author
Pierre Berton was born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon. He worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years, spending four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. After the military, Berton went to Vancouver where he began show more his career at a newspaper. At 21, he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He moved to Toronto in 1947, and at the age of 31 was named managing editor of Maclean's. In 1957 he became a key member of the CBC's public affairs flagship program, Close-Up, and a permanent panelist on Front Page Challenge. He joined The Toronto Star as an associate editor and columnist in 1958, leaving 4 years later in '62 to commence The Pierre Berton Show, which ran until 1973. Since then he has appeared as host and writer on My Country, The Great Debate, Heritage Theatre, and The Secret of My Success. He has received numerous honourary degrees and served as the Chancellor of Yukon College. Berton is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, and has received a Stephen Leacock Medal for Humor in 1959, a Govenor's General Award for The Mysterious North in 1956, Klondike in 1958 and The Last Spike in 1972. Berton has also won a Nellie Award for best public broadcaster in radio in 1978, the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for non fiction in, 1981 and the Canadian Booksellers Award in 1982. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Wrote a single novel as Lisa Kroniuk.
Series
Works by Pierre Berton
The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909 (1988) 515 copies, 13 reviews
The New City: A Prejudiced View of Toronto — Author — 8 copies
My war with the 20th century 4 copies
The National Dream: The Great Railway. 1871-1881 & The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885 (2 Volumes) (1973) 4 copies
THE KLONDYKE RIVER` 1 copy
Klondike Stampede (Book 6) 1 copy
Aranyláz Alaszkában 1 copy
Steel and steam 1 copy
The Beaver (Vol. 64, No. 2 Summer 1984) — Contributor — 1 copy
Associated Works
For the Love of History : Winners of the Pierre Berton Award Bring to Life Canada's Past (2005) — Foreword — 4 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Berton, Pierre
- Legal name
- Berton, Pierre Francis de Marigny CC, O.Ont
- Other names
- Kroniuk, Lisa
- Birthdate
- 1920-07-12
- Date of death
- 2004-11-30
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of British Columbia (BA | History)
Victoria College - Occupations
- historian
Captain (Canadian Army)
instructor (Royal Military College of Canada)
writer
journalist - Organizations
- The Ubyssey
Canadian Army
Royal Military College of Canada
CBC
Yukon College
Writers' Trust of Canada - Awards and honors
- Order of Canada (Officer ∙ 1974 | Companion ∙ 1986)
Governor General's Literary Award (creative non-fiction ∙ 1956 ∙ 1958 ∙ 1972)
Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour (1960)
CBA Libris Award (Lifetime Achievement Award ∙ 2004)
Gabrielle Léger National Heritage Award (1989)
National History Society (first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history" ∙ 1994) (show all 15)
Canadian Authors' Association Award, Canada's Man of the Century (1967)
The Alumni Award of Distinction, University of British Columbia (1981)
Canadian News Hall of Fame (member ∙ 1983)
Canadian Railway Hall of Fame Award of Recognition (2002)
Graeme Gibson Award (1992)
Order of Mariposa (1990)
Order of Ontario (1992)
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) - Relationships
- Berton, Janet (wife)
Berton, Laura Beatrice (mother) - Short biography
- Pierre Berton was a well-known Canadian historian and TV personality. Berton grew up in the Yukon and worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He began his newspaper career in Vancouver, becoming the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily at age 21. Berton moved to Toronto in 1947, and in 1951 he became managing editor of Maclean's magazine.
Berton first appeared on TV in 1952, as a panellist on Court of Opinion. In 1957, he became the host of the CBC's public affairs flagship program Close-Up, and became a panelist on Front Page Challenge. He joined The Toronto Star as associate editor and columnist in 1958, leaving in 1962 to commence The Pierre Berton Show, which ran until 1973. In 1963 he premiered the Pierre Berton Show (also known as the Pierre Berton Hour) on the CTV network. - Cause of death
- heart failure
- Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Places of residence
- Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Place of death
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Burial location
- Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada (ashes scattered)
- Map Location
- Canada
- Disambiguation notice
- Wrote a single novel as Lisa Kroniuk.
Members
Reviews
The Secret World of Og was one of my favourite childhood books. Unlike most of my other favourite books, I never owned a copy, but repeatedly borrowed it from the school library. (In fact, along with Alice in Wonderland and an entire shelf of books by Enid Blyton, it is one of the few books that I do remember from my elementary school library.) I've often thought of this book over the years, so I was delighted to come across a copy lately at a local thrift store.
Not all childhood books make show more for good re-reading, but this one does. It tells the story of how five siblings - Penny, Pam, Patsy, Peter, and their baby brother Paul (nicknamed "The Pollywog") - find a secret tunnel below their playhouse floor that leads to the world of Og. Og is a mushroom-filled land populated with small green people who seem to know only one word - "Og". The Pollywog (an adept escape artist) has gone missing and the four older siblings have to venture into the world of Og to find him.
It's a simple and thoroughly charming story that nevertheless avoids being too sweet. The children are occasionally disobedient, and all have very different personalities. There is at least one moment of real danger, and a good dose - but not too much - of humour. Some parts of this book even made me laugh out loud, something that I can say about very few books. I'm particularly fond of The Pollywog's escape abilities (which he was to forget later in life when "his mind was too crowded with other things, such as how to work out the square root of 925 and whether or not an agate was a good trade for three smokies"), and the family's cat and dog ("perhaps the smallest dog ever born"), who are both convinced that they are heroic sled dogs. That power of the imagination (and how it can change our lives) is perhaps the central theme of the book, from Penny imagining that she is the heroine Lucy Lawless to Peter feeling like an adult after being painted green and of course to the green people themselves.
While The Secret World of Og was first published in 1961, it does not feel dated. It was over 30 years old when I first read it and that never bothered me at all. I think it would still make good reading for a child today. I'm happy I was able to re-visit it and I look forward to re-reading it again in the future. show less
Not all childhood books make show more for good re-reading, but this one does. It tells the story of how five siblings - Penny, Pam, Patsy, Peter, and their baby brother Paul (nicknamed "The Pollywog") - find a secret tunnel below their playhouse floor that leads to the world of Og. Og is a mushroom-filled land populated with small green people who seem to know only one word - "Og". The Pollywog (an adept escape artist) has gone missing and the four older siblings have to venture into the world of Og to find him.
It's a simple and thoroughly charming story that nevertheless avoids being too sweet. The children are occasionally disobedient, and all have very different personalities. There is at least one moment of real danger, and a good dose - but not too much - of humour. Some parts of this book even made me laugh out loud, something that I can say about very few books. I'm particularly fond of The Pollywog's escape abilities (which he was to forget later in life when "his mind was too crowded with other things, such as how to work out the square root of 925 and whether or not an agate was a good trade for three smokies"), and the family's cat and dog ("perhaps the smallest dog ever born"), who are both convinced that they are heroic sled dogs. That power of the imagination (and how it can change our lives) is perhaps the central theme of the book, from Penny imagining that she is the heroine Lucy Lawless to Peter feeling like an adult after being painted green and of course to the green people themselves.
While The Secret World of Og was first published in 1961, it does not feel dated. It was over 30 years old when I first read it and that never bothered me at all. I think it would still make good reading for a child today. I'm happy I was able to re-visit it and I look forward to re-reading it again in the future. show less
The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909 by Pierre Berton
I have always been fascinated by polar exploration. Fortunately, there has been no dearth of excellent books on the subject, not to mention film documentaries. Dr. Mosher was kind enough to loan me a tape of the British series The Last Place on Earth, which dramatizes Roland Huntford's book about the Scott and Amundsen race to the South Pole. (If you get a chance, this is a must film -- especially during July.)
Pierre Berton has written an absorbing chronicle of the obsession the 19th show more century civilized (?) world had with the North Pole and the Northwest Passage. By 1817, some 90% of British naval officers were unemployed, and the government needed projects to keep them busy. The Northwest Passage and the vast uncharted territory north of Canada presented an unknown begging to be conquered. Unfortunately, stupidity and negligence caused needless deaths over the next century.
The Eskimos had the knowledge and skills to survive in this hostile environment. The British viewed them as inferior beings but the Eskimos knew otherwise. The term "Kabloona" was an expression of disgust; it was also a synonym for white man. British officers insisted on regulation woolen uniforms and cloth sleeping bags. Because they were tight-fitting, the wool would absorb sweat and then freeze. The same happened to sleeping bags. One party reported it took over one-half hour to thaw out their sleeping bags with body heat.
Eskimos didn't use sleeping bags. They wore loose fitting garments made of deer skin. They didn't sleep in tents but snow houses which had the advantage of not needing to be dismantled. They could also be used on the return trip. They slept together as a group to share body heat, rather than in separate bags.
The English diet consisted of hard tack and salted meat, so naturally they suffered from scurvy. Even after Rae discovered that adopting the fresh meat diet of the natives would prevent scurvy (fresh meat is antiscorbutic) the British insisted on traditional remedies which did not work in the Arctic environment.They refused to use dogs. Scott was forced to pull enormously heavy sledges over terrible terrain by hand after his pathetic disaster with ponies; and his team was still using the ridiculously heavy tents which continuously froze and added weight to the sledges. The Norwegians and some Americans learned the value of dogs from the natives.
One cannot help but see a strong current of racism in all this. It was important for the explorers to maintain a sense of superiority. There was a fear of "going native." Of course, the British celebrate their failures. Franklin's tragic expeditions were symbolic of all that was wrong with traditional polar exploration. His first lost 11 men, the second, all 129. He could not understand the reluctance of the natives to join his adventure. "...their caution forms a singular contrast with the ready and thoughtless [my emphasis:] manner in which an English seaman enters upon any enterprise, however hazardous, without inquiring or desiring to know where he is going, or what he is about." Franklin is still eulogized.
Contrast Franklin's remark with this characterization of the Norwegian Nansen: "daring but never rash; bold but never impulsive; fatalistic but never foolhardy; poetic but never naive." It remained for Peary and the Norwegians (among others) to adopt native skills and successfully adapt to the harsh environment. That is not to say that all became easy. They still suffered (Peary lost most of his toes on one trip), but they survived and returned.
Berton believes that neither Cook nor Peary reached the North Pole. Next to read is Herbert's biography of Peary and the controversy which still rages. (Of course, Herbert may be slightly biased, for if Peary did not reach the Pole, then Herbert was the first to do so in 1983 by dog-sled. show less
Pierre Berton has written an absorbing chronicle of the obsession the 19th show more century civilized (?) world had with the North Pole and the Northwest Passage. By 1817, some 90% of British naval officers were unemployed, and the government needed projects to keep them busy. The Northwest Passage and the vast uncharted territory north of Canada presented an unknown begging to be conquered. Unfortunately, stupidity and negligence caused needless deaths over the next century.
The Eskimos had the knowledge and skills to survive in this hostile environment. The British viewed them as inferior beings but the Eskimos knew otherwise. The term "Kabloona" was an expression of disgust; it was also a synonym for white man. British officers insisted on regulation woolen uniforms and cloth sleeping bags. Because they were tight-fitting, the wool would absorb sweat and then freeze. The same happened to sleeping bags. One party reported it took over one-half hour to thaw out their sleeping bags with body heat.
Eskimos didn't use sleeping bags. They wore loose fitting garments made of deer skin. They didn't sleep in tents but snow houses which had the advantage of not needing to be dismantled. They could also be used on the return trip. They slept together as a group to share body heat, rather than in separate bags.
The English diet consisted of hard tack and salted meat, so naturally they suffered from scurvy. Even after Rae discovered that adopting the fresh meat diet of the natives would prevent scurvy (fresh meat is antiscorbutic) the British insisted on traditional remedies which did not work in the Arctic environment.They refused to use dogs. Scott was forced to pull enormously heavy sledges over terrible terrain by hand after his pathetic disaster with ponies; and his team was still using the ridiculously heavy tents which continuously froze and added weight to the sledges. The Norwegians and some Americans learned the value of dogs from the natives.
One cannot help but see a strong current of racism in all this. It was important for the explorers to maintain a sense of superiority. There was a fear of "going native." Of course, the British celebrate their failures. Franklin's tragic expeditions were symbolic of all that was wrong with traditional polar exploration. His first lost 11 men, the second, all 129. He could not understand the reluctance of the natives to join his adventure. "...their caution forms a singular contrast with the ready and thoughtless [my emphasis:] manner in which an English seaman enters upon any enterprise, however hazardous, without inquiring or desiring to know where he is going, or what he is about." Franklin is still eulogized.
Contrast Franklin's remark with this characterization of the Norwegian Nansen: "daring but never rash; bold but never impulsive; fatalistic but never foolhardy; poetic but never naive." It remained for Peary and the Norwegians (among others) to adopt native skills and successfully adapt to the harsh environment. That is not to say that all became easy. They still suffered (Peary lost most of his toes on one trip), but they survived and returned.
Berton believes that neither Cook nor Peary reached the North Pole. Next to read is Herbert's biography of Peary and the controversy which still rages. (Of course, Herbert may be slightly biased, for if Peary did not reach the Pole, then Herbert was the first to do so in 1983 by dog-sled. show less
I've seen increasingly less mention of Pierre Berton since his death in 2004, but the quality of his work will always speak for itself. He was a bestselling non-fiction author of popular Canadian history throughout his lifetime, and a proper ordering of his work tells a largely complete story of our country's first hundred years. This one is a collection of Canadian biographies, spotlights on individuals representing various pieces of history related to Canadian frontiers. In his show more introduction he contrasts these stories with those of the American frontiers littered with violence. The Canadian story is one of struggle against forbidding physical obstacles, backed by a respect for orderliness. But those who braved it were not any more tame. The seven lives Berton covers here, like a modern Plutarch, explore the frontiers which each of them faced as they plunged into the wilderness: both the Canadian lands which challenged them, and those more personal frontiers within themselves.
John Jewitt - while it's meant to be the story of John, it is as much or more the story of Maquinna, a chief of the Nootka. Berton points out that unfortunately few Native American figures were recorded as their own personalities in the European-written history of this period, but Maquinna is an exception.
Wilfred Grenfell- St. Anthony in Newfoundland has a tourist centre in honour of this man, who selflessly fundraised for and helped develop the East Coast area to which which his heart was clearly devoted, from the 1880s into the 1900s. He was a larger-than-life personae, difficult for his handlers but hero-worshiped by many.
Sam Steele - easily the best-known name among the vignettes in this collection, the quintessential RCMP officer still embodies the symbol of all the force stands for. Unfortunately he could not play the political game that never recognized him with the promotion his talents and dedication deserved.
Isaac Jogues - one of several Jesuit martyrs who proselytized among the aboriginal peoples of Canada. I find him impossible to relate to, as Berton admits is difficult, but there's no questioning his bravery.
Cariboo Cameron - I can far better relate to these lugubrious types, men like Cameron who would have preferred to stay low profile. He was destined to attract attention due to striking it rich in BC gold, and couldn't always deal with it gracefully.
Mina Hubbard - Labrador explorer, following in the footsteps of her husband. A rare case of an explorer who was hardly motivated by new discoveries.
Almighty Voice - the most challenging tale for Berton to maintain a fair perspective on. A young brave who murdered three RCMP officers, stories have been told for and against his side of the story. Berton aims for dry facts and judges accordingly. "They were attempting to become farmers and herdsmen with the help of the Indian department" is an outdated sentence: the 'Indians' were forced to resort to farming and herding, rather, and 'help' is being generous. show less
John Jewitt - while it's meant to be the story of John, it is as much or more the story of Maquinna, a chief of the Nootka. Berton points out that unfortunately few Native American figures were recorded as their own personalities in the European-written history of this period, but Maquinna is an exception.
Wilfred Grenfell- St. Anthony in Newfoundland has a tourist centre in honour of this man, who selflessly fundraised for and helped develop the East Coast area to which which his heart was clearly devoted, from the 1880s into the 1900s. He was a larger-than-life personae, difficult for his handlers but hero-worshiped by many.
Sam Steele - easily the best-known name among the vignettes in this collection, the quintessential RCMP officer still embodies the symbol of all the force stands for. Unfortunately he could not play the political game that never recognized him with the promotion his talents and dedication deserved.
Isaac Jogues - one of several Jesuit martyrs who proselytized among the aboriginal peoples of Canada. I find him impossible to relate to, as Berton admits is difficult, but there's no questioning his bravery.
Cariboo Cameron - I can far better relate to these lugubrious types, men like Cameron who would have preferred to stay low profile. He was destined to attract attention due to striking it rich in BC gold, and couldn't always deal with it gracefully.
Mina Hubbard - Labrador explorer, following in the footsteps of her husband. A rare case of an explorer who was hardly motivated by new discoveries.
Almighty Voice - the most challenging tale for Berton to maintain a fair perspective on. A young brave who murdered three RCMP officers, stories have been told for and against his side of the story. Berton aims for dry facts and judges accordingly. "They were attempting to become farmers and herdsmen with the help of the Indian department" is an outdated sentence: the 'Indians' were forced to resort to farming and herding, rather, and 'help' is being generous. show less
Berton published this volume in 1984, after his books about the forging of the national railroad and the Klondike gold rush. This volume was necessary to complete the picture of that period in Canada prior to the outbreak of World War One (which is best covered by Berton in "Vimy"). The settling of the Canadian prairies is not as compelling a subject on the surface as locomotives and gold, but Berton once again constructs a cohesive narrative forged from mining the recorded experiences of show more settlers, newspaper archives and political documentation. Its introduction misleadingly suggests this book has not aged well. While Berton's work does not always choose the same places for emphasis and prominence of key elements that a similar book would today, it (eventually) makes up for it to a degree.
Berton's theme is the forging of Canadian identity in the West: who's immigrant heritage was sidelined, and who's became fused into the new. Not surprisingly numbers told, but it was surprising to me that half the number of new arrivals were American migrants. They sold heavily taxed farm land for a premium in the south, in order to obtain free or very cheap land in the north where there were easy fortunes to be made. The remainder of immigrants more closely matched with images I initially had - Ukrainians and Poles producing sod huts on the prairie, with a smattering of Russians but more British than I'd imagined. Others from Germany, Scandinavia, etc. are acknowledged but barely mentioned. Berton moves on to look at the developing west more broadly as a whole, and offers a small bit of history for the Canadian National railroad.
Berton does not shy away from the story's darker notes. There are full descriptions of the misleading promotions by the Government of Canada, their prejudice against some sources of immigrants in favour of others, the swindling of immigrants by those employed to deliver them to Canadian shores, and extensive coverage of the scandals tied to Clifford Sifton for which justice was never served. What's notably absent in the introduction and through the first six chapters is any analysis of the original occupants of this "empty", "untrammeled" country these immigrants were coming to occupy. When Berton does address them at last, he correctly describes the many injustices of their treatment in principle, including the residential schools but none of their horrors. This may indicate how little of that had been shared and known in the 1970s. Or listened to, when it was. Any book published today on this subject would have that topic front and centre.
An excellent but short chapter similarly describes the unjust experience of American black immigrants, including the hassles stemming from unstated racism (in policy, anyway) that was no less prevalent north of the border. Whereas vast numbers might have come and wished to, they were restricted to barely more than a thousand. There is also content about Nellie McClung, a key figure in the Women's Suffrage movement.
This is maybe not a good Berton volume to start with, better reserved for later when you've read and appreciated some of his other work, unless you've a particular interest in the locale and in a broad overview that addresses this part of our first one hundred years. show less
Berton's theme is the forging of Canadian identity in the West: who's immigrant heritage was sidelined, and who's became fused into the new. Not surprisingly numbers told, but it was surprising to me that half the number of new arrivals were American migrants. They sold heavily taxed farm land for a premium in the south, in order to obtain free or very cheap land in the north where there were easy fortunes to be made. The remainder of immigrants more closely matched with images I initially had - Ukrainians and Poles producing sod huts on the prairie, with a smattering of Russians but more British than I'd imagined. Others from Germany, Scandinavia, etc. are acknowledged but barely mentioned. Berton moves on to look at the developing west more broadly as a whole, and offers a small bit of history for the Canadian National railroad.
Berton does not shy away from the story's darker notes. There are full descriptions of the misleading promotions by the Government of Canada, their prejudice against some sources of immigrants in favour of others, the swindling of immigrants by those employed to deliver them to Canadian shores, and extensive coverage of the scandals tied to Clifford Sifton for which justice was never served. What's notably absent in the introduction and through the first six chapters is any analysis of the original occupants of this "empty", "untrammeled" country these immigrants were coming to occupy. When Berton does address them at last, he correctly describes the many injustices of their treatment in principle, including the residential schools but none of their horrors. This may indicate how little of that had been shared and known in the 1970s. Or listened to, when it was. Any book published today on this subject would have that topic front and centre.
An excellent but short chapter similarly describes the unjust experience of American black immigrants, including the hassles stemming from unstated racism (in policy, anyway) that was no less prevalent north of the border. Whereas vast numbers might have come and wished to, they were restricted to barely more than a thousand. There is also content about Nellie McClung, a key figure in the Women's Suffrage movement.
This is maybe not a good Berton volume to start with, better reserved for later when you've read and appreciated some of his other work, unless you've a particular interest in the locale and in a broad overview that addresses this part of our first one hundred years. show less
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