From the best-selling author of Leviathan comes this sweeping narrative of one of America’s most historically rich industries.read full description
reviews
Dec 13, 2010
Lauren
rated it: 
Well-researched look at the fur trade from its earliest days. It was painful to read; I almost gave up half way through when he got to the clubbing of Sea Otters. Thankfully, most of the book focuses on the business and politics of the trade. A central, if depressing, part of American history.
One thing I forgot to include was a small critique of the author's overemphasis on the role of the fur trade in the War of 1812. He barely mentions impressment, for instance, which is central More...
One thing I forgot to include was a small critique of the author's overemphasis on the role of the fur trade in the War of 1812. He barely mentions impressment, for instance, which is central More...
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Sep 09, 2010
Pbwritr
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Another fantastic book! What a lot of things I never knew! I wish schools presented history this way. I think this book really gets to the heart of why and how certain events happened in our country. To say that there were French and Indian wars is not enough. To say the British fought the French and Indians is not enough. What were they fighting over? The impression in my mind from eons ago was simply land. But it was what the land signified, and it wasn't land for land's sake or simply
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Aug 22, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it: 
In telling the story of fur, Dolin needed to come to grips not just with the histories of several empires in the Americas but with the fields of biology, technology, economics, and, of course, fashion as well. Reviewers who enjoyed a comprehensive view and who appreciated the need for such a history tended to give Dolin considerable credit for this feat. But other critics wrote that telling so many stories over several centuries sometimes gave Fur, Fortune, and Empire the feel of a textbook--an
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Mar 03, 2011
Anne
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I saw this book at the library and decided to read it because I had been to the Museum of the North American Fur Trade in Chadron, NE and wanted to know more. As a side note, this MNAFT is a fantastic small museum and well worth a detour from a trip to The Badlands and the Black Hills. It started, or perhaps I started, off strong, but it quickly became repetitive. The argument didn't really seem to build through the book and I ended up skimming the last 60 pages or so because I had pretty m
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Nov 29, 2011
Jenn
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An interesting read that at times is very text book like and at other times reads like an adventure novel. I enjoyed it but can't say I loved it. While it was supposed to span the whole fur trade in the US it overly focused on the beaver pelt trade and gave a passing nod to buffalo and seal. I like to say I was inspired by this book in some way but the reality is it just left me feeling flat. It was interesting and informative but didn't spark me to any sort of passion about the subject. I ha
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Jan 09, 2011
Matt
rated it:
In most failed relationships, it’s pretty easy to pinpoint the reasons things went wrong. One party or the other was unfaithful, or dishonest, or hygienically challenged, or possessed of a knife collection that includes more knives than you feel necessary.
Sometimes, though, things just don’t work out, and you can’t explain why. The chemicals aren’t present; there is no spark. Even though your partner showers regularly, never steals from your purse when you aren’t looking, and only h More...
Sometimes, though, things just don’t work out, and you can’t explain why. The chemicals aren’t present; there is no spark. Even though your partner showers regularly, never steals from your purse when you aren’t looking, and only h More...
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May 26, 2011
David R.
rated it:
An excellent, and eye opening treatment of the oft-overlooked mainstay of colonial and early republican America: the fur trade (mostly beaver, but also otter and buffalo). Dolan considers a grand sweep from the 16th through 20th centuries, with especial emphasis on the fur wars of the northeast (1600s through 1780s) and the combat between Astor's American Fur Company and British interests in the early 18th Century. In addition, Dolan sensitively examines the complex relationships between trade
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Jul 26, 2011
Positioning the fur industry as a major mover of American economic and geographic expansion, Dolin examines the beaver, seal, otter and buffalo (deer are leather, I guess, not fur)--with sidelights on the survival of Plymouth, Pontiac's Rebellion, Russians in northern California, the Astor fortune (descendant of ex-Hessians from the Am Rev) and the iconography of the West.
Jun 12, 2011
Linda
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So many amazing facts, persons who showed up unexpectedly, impact of fur trade on Indian land loss and culture. I'm going to have my AP US students do this as a summer reading requirement and compare it with Facing East from Indian Country.
Jun 11, 2011
michaelben
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The book is rich in historical detail, and worth it for that alone. But what should have been fascinating stories about the beaver, otter, and bison -- stories unique in time and place -- were told with very repetitive language.
Aug 16, 2011
Don
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There's a lot to know about fur. Without it, America might have never got off the East Coast. This story goes in a lot of directions and all over the country, but Mr. Dolin does a nice job of making it move along.
Apr 08, 2011
Sydney
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Very interesting, and more than a little sad. Important read for Americans or anyone who is a consumer or has an impact on their environment.
Nov 30, 2010
Buck
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Dolin gives us an extensive and amazingly entertaining look at America's Fur Trade. You know a book is wonderful when even his little digressions are so entertaining and informative that you want him to go on forever.
Dolin has an eye for history and the voice of a great American storyteller. I can't wait to read Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America.
Dolin has an eye for history and the voice of a great American storyteller. I can't wait to read Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America.
Aug 14, 2011
Karla
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Really interesting history of the US told through the development and history of the fur trade.
Nov 17, 2010
Tao
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A fascinating and engaging American history threaded in the fur trade. The stories of the pilgrims, the colonists, the sea captains, tycoons, Lewis and Clarke.
Now I know how the Neighborhood Astoria, Queens get its name, finally. JJ Astor, that is. A engaging account of the fur and real-estate tycoon.
Recently read the Aubrey-Maturin series, 1812, and the story of the USS Constitution and HMS Java. The events intertwined with the fur trade and Astor's westward expedition More...
Now I know how the Neighborhood Astoria, Queens get its name, finally. JJ Astor, that is. A engaging account of the fur and real-estate tycoon.
Recently read the Aubrey-Maturin series, 1812, and the story of the USS Constitution and HMS Java. The events intertwined with the fur trade and Astor's westward expedition More...
Dec 09, 2010
Bill
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Interesting study of the geo-political impact of the fur trade during the 18th and 19th century. I found the first half of the book a bit dry but enjoyed the reading about the western fur trade during the post colonial period.
Oct 14, 2011
Laura
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Ever since I first saw this book at the library, I have wanted to read it and it did not disappoint. Not only is it a history of the fur trade, but it is a history of America's westward expansion. It is written in a way that kept my attention and enthralled me, especially the chapter on mountain men. I can't wait to read his book on the history of whaling!
Sep 19, 2010
Nancy
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Very good. Interesting to look at the early history of the US from a more economic mercantile standpoint.
Sep 24, 2010
Chris
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Very interesting! I really liked it, of course I love history and this is a part of history that has been put under a microscope. Eric Dolan did a fabulous job!
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