The Mackenzie

Another highly readable and definitive volume in the Rivers of America series, this is the saga of the river that runs through the western part of the District of Mackenzie, in Canada, from great Slave Lake, flowing north into the Arctic. Here is the story of Alexander Mackenzie's trip of exploration and discovery in 1789, other explorers before and after Mackenzie, the Indians along the rivers; the fur barons and their organizational wars and final consolidation; mining and discovery of uranium; airmen who were new empire builders; and finally, the significance of the area during World War II, today and tomorrow. Here are the men of vision, courage and stamina, willing to undergo great hardships; here are men of narrow vision, cowardice, pettiness. To some extent this book follows the regional pattern of others in the series, but the focus is on the human rather than the geographic factors primarily. (Kirkus Reviews)