Feature Book Review

At it's worse - reading a history book can be dry, tedious and a cause of narcolepsy, but at it's best, it can spark a fire in the imagination of young and old to soak up the atmosphere and surroundings of another age and place. It can act as a siren call to a legion of readers who are looking forward to cuddling up in their favourite comfortable chair in front of a fireplace and losing themselves in the words of the narrative for an evening or even a few hours. Champlain's Dream is a masterpiece which puts David Hackett Fisher in the sphere of other great history writers such as Doris Kearns Goodwin and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. He takes us back in time to France and the North American Northeast with

an entertaining, comprehensive taste of the birth of New France. The work is extraordinarily well researched and the research and reference material is largely included in this edition for those who wish to delve further into the story. This is the new standard by which one must consider and study the birth and development of New France, under a man who essentially should be considered an unusual combination of leader, explorer, general, diplomat, sailor, and on and on with an impressive variety of abilities. The amazing feats of Champlain are contrasted with his luck at being in the right place at the right time and having a network of connections which enabled him to doggedly pursue his dream of a new world. This is a book which one should read for its historic value as a landmark in the study of the meeting of two worlds, Europe and aboriginal America, but can be read as a fascinating story of one man's curiosity about the world and what else the world was made up of.  

Winners may choose from one of the books below