Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America
by
Eric Jay Dolin (Goodreads Author)
From the best-selling author of Leviathan comes this sweeping narrative of one of America’s most historically rich industries.
Beginning his epic history in the early 1600s, Eric Jay Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur industry, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the rise of the conservation movement in the late nineteenth century....more
Beginning his epic history in the early 1600s, Eric Jay Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur industry, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the rise of the conservation movement in the late nineteenth century....more
Hardcover, 464 pages
Published
July 12th 2010
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published July 1st 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
642)
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 according to A...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 according to A...more
1 like · like · see review
view 2 comments
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 for col...more
May 16, 2013
Anja Manning
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2013,
non-fiction
This was such a fascinating topic! The beginning pulled me in immediately, and offered a view of American (and European) history from a very different angle than one might be used to. The combination of politics, explorers and Pilgrims, as well as animal descriptions left me much the wiser.
I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half - and I am not sure why that is. I had the impression that the story was much more cohesive in the beginn...more
I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half - and I am not sure why that is. I had the impression that the story was much more cohesive in the beginn...more
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...more
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 much g...more
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 have...more
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 has enough kn...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 has enough kn...more
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 traders...more
An excellent book, a bit dry is places but well ordered and researched, probably more about fur trade than I wanted to know. Fur trade was an important of American history and interesting to get a stronger idea of its progress. It was also interesting to see the occasional attempts to think in environmental terms by presidents and companies. It also notes the major cities that were originated by fur traders.
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.
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.
Great big read, especially for someone who wants to learn more about the American fur trade -- quite different from the Canadian indeed! Adventure, danger, and sometimes but not always "a golden round of profits."
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.
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.
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.
WOW!!!! Who'd of believed that fur was such a major force in the settling of this great Country? Sure was new and enlightening to me.
Really interesting history of the US told through the development and history of the fur trade.
Feb 08, 2011
Patricia
marked it as to-read
Hmmm- pre-Beaver Queen Pageant 2011 reading?!?
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.
Enjoy it a lot.
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.
Enjoy it a lot.
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.
Jul 28, 2010
Janice
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
st-louis-post-dispatch
7/18/10
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.
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!
Fur Fortune and Empire is above all else, educational and a fascinating look into history of the fur trade. However, it does not fall short when it comes to entertaining the reader. There were many times where I couldn't put the book down, which can be rare in many history books.
Very good. Interesting to look at the early history of the US from a more economic mercantile standpoint.
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!
Informative and shocking. A true tale of human greed and wanton waste.
Another suprising look about our past.
Surprisingly interesting!
Jun 17, 2013
Kate
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starred Review in Publishers Weekly | 1 | 6 | May 26, 2010 09:53pm | |
| Kirkus Starred Review | 1 | 6 | May 23, 2010 12:19pm |
I love history, nature, and telling dramatic, sometimes wondrous, and often tragic stories of how people treat themselves, each other, and the environment. My goal is to entertain and inform, and leave the reader glad that they took the time to read my books.
My most recent book, When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail (Liveright (a division of...more
More about Eric Jay Dolin...
My most recent book, When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail (Liveright (a division of...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Over time, it is all too common for people to lose touch with their heritage, as the thrill and immediacy of the present crowds out the echoes and lessons of the past. It would be a shame if that were to happen with respect to the fur trade. It is a seminal part of who we are as a nation, and how we came to be.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
