Dominion

The Railway and the Rise of Canada, October 2023

Globe and Mail Top 100 Books of 2023 — History Today Best Books of 2023 — The Hill Times 100 Best Books of 2023

Book Reviews

  • Island of the Blue Foxes

    "'A rip-roaring tale of adventures, hardship, sacrifice, human hubris and - dare I say – madness –... set in inhospitable landscapes and told with breezy energy. Wonderful."
    – ANDREA WULF author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander Humboldt's New World
  • The Last Viking

    "Mr. Bown has produced a solid, entertaining account of Amundsen's adventures, through which he scrolls with pleasing attention to detail. This is a real 'Boy's Own' narrative, one that conjures the rasp of hickory ski on thin ice, the patter of a hundred dogs, and the whiff of tobacco after a long day on the trail. Mr. Bown is especially good on historical context."
    – Wall Street Journal (Sara Wheeler)
  • White Eskimo

    A thorough, insightful biography ... Bown emphasizes the sheer vitality and charisma of Rasmussen, who shared his celebrity spotlight with the Inuit hunters, dog-sled drivers, and others who were key to the success of the expeditions. A vivacious study that will surely revive interest in the writings of this towering explorer and ethnographer.
    – Kirkus Reviews
  • 1494

    "An entertaining and elegantly written voyage into the treacherous seas of religious fanatics, greedy slavers, depraved autocrats, doomed indigenous peoples and desperately brave adventurers in search of fortune."
    – The Globe & Mail
  • Merchant Kings

    After picking up a copy of Stephen Bown's new book Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, 1600–1900, Former Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin couldn't put it down. He called Stephen to tell him so, and then officially endorsed the book saying:
    "Stephen Bown tells a fascinating story, one that provides a very different perspective on the colonial period than that which is to be gleaned from the usual grocery list of significant events. I started Merchant Kings on the plane one evening and didn't put it down until the Sun rose the next morning. I lost a night's sleep – but it was worth it."
    – The Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada