History Post-confederation (1867-)
Klondike
The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896-1899
- Publisher
- Doubleday Canada
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2001
- Category
- Post-Confederation (1867-), 19th Century, Social History
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780385658447
- Publish Date
- Oct 2001
- List Price
- $24.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
With the building of the railroad and the settlement of the plains, the North West was opening up. The Klondike stampede was a wild interlude in the epic story of western development, and here are its dramatic tales of hardship, heroism, and villainy. We meet Soapy Smith, dictator of Skagway; Swiftwater Bill Gates, who bathed in champagne; Silent Sam Bonnifield, who lost and won back a hotel in a poker game; and Roddy Connors, who danced away a fortune at a dollar a dance. We meet dance-hall queens, paupers turned millionaires, missionaries and entrepreneurs, and legendary Mounties such as Sam Steele, the Lion of the Yukon.
Pierre Berton's riveting account reveals to us the spectacle of the Chilkoot Pass, and the terrors of lesser-known trails through the swamps of British Columbia, across the glaciers of souther Alaska, and up the icy streams of the Mackenzie Mountains. It contrasts the lawless frontier life on the American side of the border to the relative safety of Dawson City. Winner of the Governor General's award for non-fiction, Klondike is authentic history and grand entertainment, and a must-read for anyone interested in the Canadian frontier.
About the author
Pierre Berton, well-known and well-loved Canadian author, journalist, and media personality, hailed from Whitehorse, Yukon. During his career, he wrote fifty books for adults and twenty-two for children, popularizing Canadian history and culture and reflecting on his life and times. With more than thirty literary awards and a dozen honorary degrees to his credit, Berton was also a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Awards
- Winner, Governor General's Literary Awards - Fiction
Editorial Reviews
"A fascinating book of permanent value." —The Globe and Mail
"A comprehensive and absolutely first-rate history." —The New Yorker
"An epic account … fascinating and exciting." —The Observer, London
"Pierre Berton writes 24-carat gold." —The Edmonton Journal
