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REVIEWS 461 TheCPR West: TheIronRoadandtheMakingofa Nation.Editedby I-IVt;H A. D•.MPS•.Y. Vancouver: Douglas & Mcintyre•984. Pp.333.$24.95 The GlenbowMuseumchoseto celebrate the hundredthanniversary of the arrivalof theCanadianPacific Railway atFortCalgaryin •883bypresenting 'The Great c•'a Exposition.'It includeda four-dayconferencein which participants examinedvariousaspects of the company's development and impact onthenation.Oneresultisthiscollection of fifteenessays. Likethec•,a itself, it will receive a mixed reaction. The railwaymustserveasa thematic lineonwhichtohangthesedisparate contributions. The selection seems tohavebeendetermined bylittlemorethan availability. Despite thelackofanyapparent organizational paradigm, some of theessays areverygoodindeed;otherssuffersomewhat bycomparison and only a few offer much hard analysis. A reviewer'sresponse, therefore,is inevitably idiosyncratic. Perhaps because ofitsuniqueness, anarticlebyJohnMarshon'The Spiral and ConnaughtTunnels'is fascinating. It considers the engineeringand construction problems ofhorrendous gradechanges. The technical complexitiesare clearlyand dramaticallyexplainedand a setof excellentmapsis a valuable supplement. Max Foranoffersa competent surveyof therailway's impactonurbandevelopment onthePrairies. Siteselection anddevelopment strategy, not surprisingly, weredirectedclearlywithan eyeto medium-term profits. DavidJones,in anessay entitled,'It'sAll LiesThey Tell You,'contributes a splendidly writtenaccount of thereactions of ½•,a-sponsored immigrants tothe grossly exaggerated propaganda of thecompany's colonization department.It includes a brief but excellent analysis of the Britishfamilies'scheme and the hardrealities of theirearlyyearsonthePrairies. A goodarticlebyE.J.Hart on tourism emphasizes themagnetic centrality of themountains andthemanner inwhichit wascapitalized uponbyc•'adrumbeaters. Curiously, by1891,only 15 per centof touristscamefrom Britain, 25 per centfrom other partsof Canada, and56 per centfrom theUnitedStates. In anessay onShaughnessy andprairiedevelopment, JohnEagleprovides us with a detailedrecitationof track extensions but little on Shaughnessy himselfandalmostnothingonthecompany's profit pictureor operatingcosts. Other useful articles include A. A. den Otter's examination of the mutual rapaciousness of the c•,• and the miners in the coal fields; a somewhat defensive piecebyPatriciaRoyonChinese labour,whichattimesconfuses law and justice; andacolourful account of Indianperceptions ofthe'ironroad'by HughDempsey, editorof thevolume. Giventhe rangeof the other essays, I suspect the conference wasmore successful than the book. Yet there are some valuable articles and the rest are anenjoyable read. j.•.. a•.AUniversity ofManitoba ...

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