Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Eric Jay Dolin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2010

A Seattle Times selection for one of Best Non-Fiction Books of 2010

“A compelling and well-annotated tale of greed, slaughter and geopolitics.”—Los Angeles Times

From the best-selling author of Leviathan comes this sweeping narrative of one of America’s most historically rich industries.

As Henry Hudson sailed up the broad river that would one day bear his name, he grew concerned that his Dutch patrons would be disappointed in his failure to find the fabled route to the Orient. What became immediately apparent, however, from the Indians clad in deer skins and “good furs” was that Hudson had discovered something just as tantalizing.

The news of Hudson’s 1609 voyage to America ignited a fierce competition to lay claim to this uncharted continent, teeming with untapped natural resources.  The result was the creation of an American fur trade, which fostered economic rivalries and fueled wars among the European powers, and later between the United States and Great Britain, as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations.

In Fur, Fortune, and Empire, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin chronicles the rise and fall of the fur trade of old, when the rallying cry was “get the furs while they last.” Beavers, sea otters, and buffalos were slaughtered, used for their precious pelts that were tailored into extravagant hats, coats, and sleigh blankets. To read Fur, Fortune, and Empire then is to understand how North America was explored, exploited, and settled, while its native Indians were alternately enriched and exploited by the trade.  As Dolin demonstrates, fur, both an economic elixir and an agent of destruction, became inextricably linked to many key events in American history, including the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812, as well as to the relentless pull of Manifest Destiny and the opening of the West.

This work provides an international cast beyond the scope of any Hollywood epic, including Thomas Morton, the rabble-rouser who infuriated the Pilgrims by trading guns with the Indians; British explorer Captain James Cook, whose discovery in the Pacific Northwest helped launch America’s China trade; Thomas Jefferson who dreamed of expanding the fur trade beyond the Mississippi; America’s first multimillionaire John Jacob Astor, who built a fortune on a foundation of fur; and intrepid mountain men such as Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith, who sliced their way through an awe inspiring and unforgiving landscape, leaving behind a mythic legacy still resonates today.

Concluding with the virtual extinction of the buffalo in the late 1800s, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is an epic history that brings to vivid life three hundred years of the American experience, conclusively demonstrating that the fur trade played a seminal role in creating the nation we are today. 16 pages of color and 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Who'd think you could write a history of the U.S. centered on three centuries of the trade in furs? Dolin has done so in this spirited tale, although you won't find presidents, treaties, and wars. Instead, the main characters are the Indians, Dutch, French, British, Russians, and Americans who sought wealth and a living in the pelts of fur-bearing animals--beavers especially, but also sea otters, fur seals, and buffalo. Beneath this absorbing story lies the relentless drive (a "lethal wave" in Dolin's words) across the continent. In Dolin's telling, westward expansion wasn't fueled by "manifest destiny" or the thirst for empire but by the chase after animals. People as varied as Peter Stuyvesant, John Jacob Astor, Kit Carson, and the roughhewn "mountain men" play their parts over lands as dispersed as New England and Oregon. By the time animals are driven to near-extinction in the late 19th century, the U.S. is filled in. Neither would have happened without the other. Dolin, author of the acclaimed Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, offers another good history well told. 16 pages of color and 16 pages of b&w illus.; map.
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From Booklist

A hirsute history of American westward expansion, Dolin’s capacious narrative of hunting and marketing furs partakes of the subject’s vivid adventure and tragedy. Replete with mountain men, middlemen, and Indian tribes, the author’s chronology extends from the Pilgrims’ economic salvation on the back of the beaver to the near extermination of the bison in the late 1800s. As Dolin’s introduction suggests, movielike characters populate frontier history and make its fur-hunting aspect a popular dramatic subject. But strictly dealing with the historical, Dolin synthesizes its abounding bibliography into an engaging and perceptive survey that accents men who plunged into the woods with rifle, trap, and wampum. Their relations with Indian tribes are central here, as exchanges of pelts for guns, alcohol, and more became the cultural interface between the indigenous peoples and the Dutch, English, French, and Americans. Including many incidents of amicable and hostile encounters, Dolin underlines the economic drivers that propelled the trade from the Atlantic to the Pacific. A hearty style of history, Dolin’s work is a great gateway into American history. --Gilbert Taylor

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 442 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (July 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393067106
• ISBN-13: 978-0393067101
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up near the coasts of New York and Connecticut, and since an early age I was fascinated by the natural world, especially the ocean. I spent many days wandering the beaches on the edge of Long Island Sound and the Atlantic, collecting seashells and exploring tidepools. Throughout my career, which included jobs as an environmental consultant and an environmental policy analyst, one thing remained constant--I enjoyed writing and telling stories, many of which have a connection to the natural world. And that's why I started writing books--to share the stories that I find most intriguing. My most recent book, Fur, Fortune, and Empire: the Epic History of the Fur Trade in America (W. W. Norton, 2010), a national bestseller, was chosen by New West, The Seattle Times, and The Rocky Mountain Land Library as one of the top non-fiction books of 2010. It also won the 2011 James P. Hanlan Book Award, given by the New England Historical Association, and was awarded first place in the Outdoor Writers Association of America, Excellence in Craft Contest. My last book book, Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America (W. W. Norton, 2007), was selected as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The Providence Journal. Leviathan was also chosen by Amazon.com's editors as one of the 10 best history books of 2007. Leviathan garnered the the 23rd annual (2007) L. Byrne Waterman Award, given by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, for outstanding contributions to whaling research and history. Leviathan also received the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History, given by the North American Society for Oceanic History, was named an Honors Book in nonfiction for the 8th annual Massachusetts Book Awards (2008-2009), and was awarded a silver medal for history in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (2008).

My next book is When America First Met China: An Exotic Tale of Tea, Drugs, and Money During the Age of Sail, which will be published by Liveright, and imprint of W. W. Norton, in September 2012. Everyone focuses on our current relationship with China, but this book takes you back to when it all began.

If you want to learn more about me and my books, please visit my website, at www.ericjaydolin.com. Thanks for reading.