Reviews

"At a time when too many writers and readers are turning away from historical non-fiction, Dominion reminds us that Canadian history is nothing to be afraid of. Bown gives us a clear picture of the winners and losers in one particularly consequential episode."

Literary Review of Canada, Charlotte Gray

"This model popular history offers Canadians a coherent but unillusioned narrative about how their state came to be, which emphasises the ruthlessness as well as the ambition of its architects."

History Today, Best Books of 2023

"The development of the railway has been celebrated for decades, but it's essential to note that while many people gained because of it, many others lost. This reckoning is overdue. Bown's work will ensure that the birth of the CPR will be seen in a new light."

Victoria Times Colonist

"Bown has in his latest book tackled a much more complicated period in Canadian history . . . succeeds in giving readers an expanded social context for the period as well as other new revelations.
While there were gains which must be acknowledged, the losses fell on those least able to bear them."

Winnipeg Free Press

"Delightfully full of unexpected insights."

Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy

"With impeccable detail and captivating narrative, Bown tells of the technological advances and the dark deals that were instrumental in the CPR's construction, as well as the famine and disease that traveled across the country as the rails were laid."

Tony Chapman, Chatter that Matters podcast