This volume, part of the Time-Life "The Old West" series takes a look at Western Canada. The book begins with the intrepid fur traders who went west. Some were French; some were Scots. This process began even before the liked of Daniel Boone struck out toward the West in the United States. The effort to exploit the western part of Canada was a part of the desire to find a "Northwest Passage." Key players such as Henry Hudson, Samuel de Champlain, and Jacques Cartier were among the first. The map on pages 26-27 lays out the trails used to begin the exploration/exploitation of the West. The first chapter, too, discusses the exploits of Alexander MacKenzie. An interesting twist here is the competition between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. . . .

Chapter 2 focuses on the efforts to find a trail to the Pacific. Here, MacKenzie was a key figure. Chapter 3 begins to examine the development of western provinces, such as British Columbia. Chapter 5 notes the importance of the development of the Northwest Mounted Police in imposing some order on the West. The final chapter looks at the importance of the transcontinental railroad in Canada.

As with other books in this series, the sidebars providing additional information on actors/technology/etc. are helpful. Useful maps are provided. To me, even more, is the array of photographs and artistic renderings of the development of the Canadian West. These provide an immediacy that contributes considerably to this volume.