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In the four years between 1881 and 1885, Canada was forged into one nation by the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Last Spike reconstructs the incredible story of how some 2,000 miles of steel crossed the continent in just five years -- exactly half the time stipulated in the contract. Pierre Berton recreates the adventures that were part of this vast undertaking: the railway on the brink of bankruptcy, with one hour between it and ruin; the extraordinary land boom of Winnipeg show more in 1881-1882; and the epic tale of how William Van Horne rushed 3,000 soldiers over a half-finished railway to quell the Riel Rebellion. Dominating the whole saga are the men who made it all possible -- a host of astonishing characters: Van Horne, the powerhouse behind the vision of a transcontinental railroad; Rogers, the eccentric surveyor; Onderdonk, the cool New Yorker; Stephen, the most emotional of businessmen; Father Lacombe, the black-robed voyageur; Sam Steele, of the North West Mounted Police; Gabriel Dumont, the Prince of the Prairies; more than 7,000 Chinese workers, toiling and dying in the canyons of the Fraser Valley; and many more -- land sharks, construction geniuses, politicians, and entrepreneurs -- all of whom played a role in the founding of the new Canada west of Ontario. show lessTags
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The meat of the story where Canada's first national railway is concerned, detailing its construction following all the politics of "The National Dream". This volume is much more engaging: seeking paths through mountain ranges, traversing the muskeg of northern Ontario, and the incredible pace at which tracks were laid across the prairies. Politics remain an important factor however, as the project, its budget and public opinion are all closely monitored. This book landed several Alberta and British Columbia locations on my map of "places to visit someday".
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Author Information
102+ Works 7,385 Members
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 his career at a newspaper. At 21, he was the show more 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
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Last Spike
- Original publication date
- 1971
- People/Characters
- John A. Macdonald; William Cornelius Van Horne
- Important places
- Canada
- Important events
- Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
- Epigraph
- "Late events have shown us that we are made one people by that road, that that iron link has bound us together in such a way that we stand superior to most of the shafts of ill-fortune." - Sir John A. McDonald, June, 1885
"All I can say is that the work has been done very well in every way." - W. C. Van Horne, at Craigellachie - First words
- The men in the picture are like old friends, even though their names may not be familiar.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The official party obediently boarded the cars and a few moments later the little train was in motion again, clattering over the newly laid rail and over the last spike and down the long incline of the mountains, off towards the dark canyon of the Fraser, off to the broad meadows beyond, off to the blue Pacific and into history.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 385.0971 — Society, Government, and Culture Commerce, communications & transportation regulations Railroad transportation Subdivisions History, geographic treatment, biography North America Canada
- LCC
- TF27 .C3 .B47 — Technology Railroad engineering and operation Railroad engineering and operation
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 348
- Popularity
- 90,371
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.85)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 7
