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New Trade Paperback. Great Story. Publishers overstock mark on page edge. Guaranteed Quality. Ships in 24 hrs with Delivery confirmation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

An incredible story
This is a tremendous history. Its scope isn't limited to Canada, but spans 400 years of North American history and touches nearly every corner of the world. No other corporation — and certainly none of the great military conquerors — ever controlled more of the earth's land area than the Hudson Bay Company.

Anyone half-awake these days must be aware of the rise of incredibly powerful, international corporations operating seemingly beyond law, yet for greed, ruthlessness, and singular pursuit of profit it's hard to imagine many businesses will ever out do this grand-daddy of them all, the HBC.

The HBC story is really appalling and enthralling, and Newman is an excellent writer in the style of Barbara Tuchmanm and Alan Moorehead. It's all an incredible adventure story, probably not much known outside of Canada, yet full of unbelievable characters and events. (Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" is based on the journey of an HBC executive, and other company men were the first to cross North America to reach the Pacific and Arctic oceans, beating Lewis and Clark by decades — and doing it pretty much alone since the HBC was more interested in pinching pennies than exploring new worlds.)

A really great book. I'd give it six stars if I could.

Incredible!
Hudson's Bay Company is quite simply the most successful commercial enterprise ever known to capitalism. Imagine a company that controlled one twelfth of the earth's surface, whose domain was 10 times larger than the Holy Roman Empire, a company whose beginnings date from 1682, that developed its own Army, its own Navy and whose stock is still reputed to be owned by Britain's Royal Family.

In the forward, the author claims this book is about the impact of Hudson's Bay Company on the development Canada over the past three centuries. But it is really not. The author is being too modest. It is really about the impact of Hudson's Bay Company on the development of North America and how HBC actually was responsible for the formation of Canada and the United States as we know them today.

Everything you read in this book is the result of the primary economic force of its time, fur. The fur business was the primary employer for the inhabitants of eighteenth century North America. As such, it was the primary driver for the continuing exploration of the North American continent.

This then is not just a book about corporate wealth accumulation but of territorial exploration and definition, of competing, overlapping claims at a time in which there simply was no law. HBC was the fur business in Canada and in a very real sense it was HBC that defined the northern territorial limits of the United States.

Read and enjoy this excellently written and well documented book. It is really a treasure. You will learn the amazing history of Canada and an incredible amount about the United States as well.

Prince Rupert's Men
This is a splendid account of the three hundred and fifty year institution that is Hudson's Bay Company, and even incorporates a number of chapters that chronicle its great rival, the North West Company.Newman traces the origins of the Hudson's Bay Company back to those great explorers Raddison and Groseilliers, Frenchmen sponsored by the English, and then traces it through the many eras of economic and geographic expansion.This was a company that dealt primarily in furs, and as such, Newman begins by paying homage to the Canadian beaver.(If you want to learn a lot of fascinating things about beavers, this is the book for you).The great explorers of Canada's arctic and Western frontiers, Kelsey, Hearne and Fraser, are suitably honored, and the company's great arch-enemy, John Jacob Astor, is suitably reviled.Newman doesn't shy away from pointing out that the HBC was a rather cheap enterprise that kept its best people chronicly underpaid, and occasionally lapses into fond remembrance of the comparatively hedonistic - but less successful - Northwest Company. Ultimately, however, he pays tribute to the long-term impact of the HBC on Canadian culture and values; thrift, modesty, a preference for the collective over the needs of the individual.A masterpiece of narrative history.

A lifeless read...
Trudging through this book was a task, and not something I rather enjoyed. I believe if you are going to read something, you should enjoy it. And this... did nothing for me. If you want to know about Canada, or better yet, the Hudson Bay Company; the Canadian Government offers great links and information that was far more enticing then this novel.

Phenomenal
Should be mandatory reading for all highschool and undergraduate history courses.There is absolutely no better account of the founding of North America by Europeans than this.I can't believe that I was unable to find availability of this book in Canada. ... Read more

Product Description
James Hargrave left an economically depressed Scotland in 1819, found work as a North West Company wintering clerk, and went on to survive the company's 1821 merger with the rival Hudson's Bay Company and subsequent downsizing to spend most of his forty years in the fur trade at York Factory on the desolate shores of Hudson Bay in the service of Governor George Simpson. A prodigious letter writer, Hargrave saved drafts of his business and personal correspondence in letter books. He wrote to family and friends settled in Beauharnois County on the south shore of the St Lawrence and in the Tweed valley in Scotland, as well as to his future wife, Letitia Mactavish, and members of her fur-trading family in Argyllshire on Scotland's west coast. His letters document the experiences of a 'lowland' Scottish family in North America, as well as happenings at the administrative centre of the Hudson's Bay Company fur trade. He expresses his views on religion, history, politics, and literature, describes his romantic attachments, and makes clear his attitudes towards the company's Native partners in the fur trade.Rich source material for readers interested in migration literature, social history, religious studies, women's studies, and the history of the fur trade, the letters collected here make a significant addition to two earlier volumes - "The Letters of Letitia Hargrave", and "The Hargrave Correspondence 1821-1843". ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Stranger Than Strangers in Blood
I find it odd that a reviewer of a scholarly book written by a noted academic would take umbrage at the book's use of "long sentences" and "academic jargon." In fact, I don't find STRANGERS IN BLOOD's language and structure "foggy", confusing, jargon-ridden, or complicated. I would caution the reader that the subject itself is fraught with complications and inconsistencies, especially with regard to fur trade companies' changeable policies toward "wives in the country", but the persistence and durability of the families produced thereby gives Brown's book both its thesis and consistent thread.

I teach Cultural History and use the book in my classes. Freshmen students - most of them new to academic literature in general - have read it and gained much from it, and none has found the book impenetrable. I think STRANGERS IN BLOOD is a valuable addition to the literature in the field.

Strangers in Blood
This book has a high "fog factor" and is difficult to read.It uses academic jargon and long sentences.The structure is complex and confusing.That is not to say that the book is inconsequential; indeed, the subject matter is quite important.It is simply difficult to access it through this book.

The back cover accurately describes the book as looking systematically at the families and offspring of the upper echelon of the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company.Unfortunately, this was a male-dominated business and a male-dominated period in history.Men kept the written records.The author of "Strangers in Blood" relies heavily on anecdotal accounts of individuals, complete with many direct quotes.Thus, this is a book that follows the men of the fur trade.Their wives and offspring become adjuncts.The book partially compensates for this by providing information on societal pressures within the fur trade, as well as in Canada and England at the time.It also addresses the policies of the fur companies relative to dependents.

The book characterizes and contrasts family connections in the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company.The presentation is roughly chronological from the late 1700 to the mid 1800s.The 1821 merger of the two companies is a focal point.Chapters and subchapters move back and forth between the two companies; as well as between various topics of gender and types of family relationships.The focus is on individuals, with every page containing a confusing array of proper names.The names of key individuals (men) reappear constantly until the reader longs for a wall chart to keep them straight.The author has even provided a few small pieces of such a chart and they are helpful.

One comes away with the feeling that the men of the fur trade took more responsibility for their families than one might expect.They usually tried to place their offspring, both male and female, in a position to start a life of their own.That included at least some education; an apprenticeship for men, and marriage for women.Fewer men stayed committed to the mothers of their children but some of the relationships were life-long.

From the early 1820s on, one man, George Simpson, had great influence over the fur trade and the people involved with it.He directed the Hudson Bay Company through the merger with the Northwest Company and for forty years afterward.He influenced the tenor of the fur trade and everything connected with it.Ms Brown shows his impact to be more negative than positive.Simpson, the clergy, and English women all arrived on the scene at about the same time.The result was increased racism, emphasis on class, and moral disapproval of "country marriages."These semi-formal unions with Indians and mixed-bloods were prevalent in the fur trade up until that time.The problems of integrating the descendents of the fur traders into society continue in Canada today.

Finally, I even want to complain about the title."Strangers in Blood" is an English legal term for relationships that exist "in blood" but the law refuses to admit as legitimate.This book is about a much broader range of relationships.The author recognizes the problem in the final chapter.Someone in the publishing process should have insisted on a better title.
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Product Description

Throughout much of the nineteenth century the Hudson's Bay Company had a virtual monopoly on the core area of the fur trade in Canada. Its products were the object of intense competition among merchants on two continents - in Leipzig, New York, London, Winnipeg, St Louis, and Montreal. But in 1870 things began to change, and by the end of the Second World War the company's share had dropped to about a quarter of the trade. Arthur Ray explores the decades of transition, the economic and technological changes that shaped them, and their impact on the Canadian north and its people.

Among the developments that affected the fur trade during this period were innovations in transportation and communication; increased government involvement in business, conservation, and native economic welfare; and the effects of two severe depressions (1873-95 and 1929-38) and two world wars.

The Hudson's Bay Company, confronting the first of these changes as early as 1871, embarked on a diversification program that was intended to capitalize on new economic opportunities in land development, retailing, and resource ventures. Meanwhile it continued to participate in its traditional sphere of operations. But the company's directors had difficulty keeping pace with the rapid changes that were taking place in the fur trade, and the company began to lose ground.

Ray's study is the first to make extensive use of the Hudson's Bay Company archives dealing with the period between 1870 and 1945.These and other documents reveal a great deal about the decline of the company, and thus about a key element in the history of the modern Canadian fur trade. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Life on the Canadian Plains in the 1870s
Isaac Cowie sailed to Canada from the Shetland Islands in 1867 with prospects of joining the Hudson's Bay Company. After arriving at York Factory via Hudson Bay, he was assigned to Fort Qu'Appelle, where he remained until 1874, the last two years as manager. Cowie kept a journal (now lost) during these years from which he wrote a series of articles for a Manitoba newspaper that was published in 1912; a year later the series was issued in book form, a reprint of which is presented here.

The first hundred some-odd pages include a brief history of the HBC and Cowie's voyage to Canada. Once at Fort Qu'Appelle in southern Saskatchewan the book's focus on the life of an HBC official and western frontiersman begins in earnest. Cowie relates fur trading activities, frequent trips to outlying posts (one in the middle of a blizzard), and relations with the Indians, especially the Metis - mixed-bloods who began to see themselves as a separate tribe. Chapters are divided into numerous subsections, often each one relating a separate vignette or impression. Cowie is content with describing routine business, occasionally mentioning an interesting character here and there. No one will accuse him of exaggeration or embellishing incidents to make them more dramatic - that's just not in his character. The most valuable information in the book has to do with the Indians and the growing unrest that was occurring across the plains after 1869, especially with some of the tribes (Sioux, Cree) who had ventured across the border from the US hoping for better treatment, which was wishful thinking only. The book ends in 1874 when Cowie was relieved of his duties and, as he says, "the Mounted Police took effective possession of the plains." Not the most exciting first-hand account of one's experiences in the western regions, it's still a valuable account of life on the Canadian plains and in the employ of the HBC.
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Product Description
Ages 8 to 14 years.In the mid 1600s, legendary fur traders Radisson and des Groseilliers were the first Europeans to explore the upper part of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. This exciting book explains how their trade routes helped open up the mid-west of the United States and Canada and how their discoveries led to the creation of the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest corporation in North America. Young readers will also be fascinated to read about Radisson's early kidnapping by the Iroquois. Other topics include: previous expeditions before their partnership; the rugged life of a voyageur; the League of Friendship; what a Royal Charter for fur trading and exploration was; the fur trade in North America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Canadian fur trade history
I recently ordered and received the book "When Fur was King", by Henry Moberly through "Örofinoguys". This topic has a specific audience, namely those interested in history of the fur trade. This book is hard to obtain; it was published in 1929 and only had 1 printing. I would recommend the book because it is not technical and highlights a very interesting period of history, the transition between trading posts to civilization. Moberly had a fascinating life because he witnessed the migrations of the buffalo before they were wiped out and before railroads stretched acoss the prairies. One does not have to be a fur trade scholar to enjoy this book.
I received excellant service from the supplier Orofinoguys. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the second volume in the history of the Hudson Bay Company, whose empire covered most of modern Canada and the Northwest United States. The proprietors were soldiers of fortune, mainly dispossessed Scots and Englishmen in the service of the Company of Adventurers of England, who became owners of one of history's most valuable and longest enduring land monopolies. "Ceasars of the Wilderness" continues the saga historian Peter Newman began in "Company of Adventurers". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A most extraordinary book!
This is, without question, the best historical book that I have read in many years!It is part of a three-book trilogy on how the Hudson's Bay COmpany (HBC) shaped Canada.This second book is the strongest of the three, and focuses on the period from the 1600's to the early 1800's when the HBC was primarily engaged in the fur trade in Canada and essentially providing the civil, social and political structure to Canada west of Ontario.The descriptions of the Northwest Company and the struggles between them and the HBC are fascinating.As an American with French-Canadian and Cree ancestors who paddled for both the Northwest Company and the HBC, it was as if I found where I have come from.I gave this book to my mother's companion of 27 years as a Christmas present.He died in hospice in mid-March, but not before finishing this volume.He was a history buff, with no Canadian or British heritage, yet it fascinated him enough that he looked forward to reading it each day when he had enough strength.In his last days, I read to him out loud some of the passages that he particularly liked, such as the description of the goings-on at the Beaver Club in Montreal.A book that can give you something to look forward each day while you are dying of lung cancer has much to be said for it.Thank you, Peter, for this book!

Great Insights in to Northern Canadian history.
As a Canadian and living in the Arctic I found this book to be very informative and giving more insight to historic events than what are normally taught in our schools.Peter Newman was able to write this without the typical constraints associated with being "politically correct".

If you're interested in true Canadian History, albeit one small part of it, definitely read this book.If you want an exciting and riveting book and don't have much of an interest in northen Canada then don't read it.

Its amazing that the Bay, and to a greater extent the British, were able to be successful.They seem to be more like a bunch of bumbling bafoons.

Not Very Exciting
This book is a review of a very successful real estate company in Canada. My more then exciting introduction is about how I felt about the book.There were facts, lots of them but overall no real excitement or much to get the normal reader interested in the book. I got through about 175 pages before I gave up. The author tried to punch up the book, but the subject matter did not lend its self to it, there is just noting scandalous or exciting about a well-run company. This is more of a 400-page case study best left to a university class on management.Unless you work here or are related to some on that does I doubt you would find much value in this book.

An exciting story of adventure, exploration and human folly.
This is the unvarnished history of the Hudsons Bay Company. Extremely well researched and a pleasure to read this is the story of the founding of the company that opened up Canada and the Artic to trade. Filled with stories of exploration, adventure, hard headed business and hardship on the frontier. This isn't just the story of the founders, but the nuts and bolts of survival at the edge of the known world. If you enjoy history and adventure this will be hard to put down. Vol. 2 is Caesers of the Wildnerness. ... Read more