The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Washington's Crossing offers a sweeping, enthralling biography as dramatic and exciting as the life it portrays.
Soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father of New France, the remarkable Samuel de Champlain comes to life in acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream. Born on France's Atlantic coast, Champlain fought in France's religious wars for the great Henri IV, with whom he shared religious tolerance in an age of murderous sectarianism. He was also a brilliant navigator, never losing a ship in 27 Atlantic crossings.
But we remember Champlain mainly as a great explorer. On foot and by ship and canoe he traveled through what are now six Canadian provinces and five American states, where he founded, colonized, and administered French settlements in North America. Despite much resistance and many defeats, Champlain's astonishing dedication and stamina finally established France's New World colony. He tried constantly to maintain peace among Indian nations, but when he had to take up arms he forcefully imposed a new balance of power, proving himself a formidable strategist and warrior.
Throughout his three decades in North America, Champlain remained committed to a remarkable Grand Design for France's colony. A leader who dreamed of humanity and peace in a world of cruelty and violence, he was a true visionary, especially when compared to his English and Spanish contemporaries.
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"This is history writing at its best! The creation of this book is almost incomprehensible to me but the appendices are key to understanding the level of research, and reading, that David Hackett Fischer undertook to retell this story. Champlain was a unique visionary, not driven to profit from exploration and exploitation, as was typical with so many of the European merchants involved with New World trade. His descriptions of, and interactions with, the Native populations brings their unique culture to life. His approach was steeped in tolerance and respect which allowed him to be an effective influence on their sometimes barbarous practices such as torture of enemy captives. The skill of his mapmaking, given the primitive technologies of the time, is also almost incomprehensible. I learned so much about the geography of both New France and the region of Old France that he came from, I now can't wait to plan a trip of exploration of my own!"
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Joseph (5 out of 5 stars)