The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire Paperback – October 26, 2021

I feared that this book would be a tedious read with too much detail to sustain my interest. However, as soon as I started to read it I realized that my misgivings were entirely misplaced. Stephen Brown has written a delightful narrative that perfectly blends geographical, political and historical facts with compelling biographical stories detailing the adventures of the many colorful characters who forged the history of the Company. I particularly appreciated his perspectives on the roles, treatment and fates of the indigenous peoples on whose lands the story is built. I learned so much from reading this book, and thoroughly enjoyed every page.

A massive and well-researched tome. I really enjoyed the discussion and insights into the barter economy - what relative values the Natives placed on different Company wares (e.g., small metal pots were preferred over large ones because they valued portability) and the fact that the Natives spent about 1/3 of their "money" on luxuries and 2/3 on necessities. This ratio is not much different in most modern household budgets.There is also a lot of rich history on the early settlements in the Pacific Northwest, and interesting details on how travelers actually survived on 1000-mile treks as well as how Natives managed to survive, if precariously, while camping out year-round in the subarctic.Overall, an enjoyable and informative book.

This is one of the most thorough and impressive books covering the exploration and settlement of the North American continent that I have ever read. Most of the names are probably better known to Canadian's but Americans and others would do well to acquaint themselves with the larger-than-life men and women that explored and worked the massive land that would be Canada - Mattonabbee, Samuel Hearne, Anthony Henday, David Thompson, Alexander MacKenzie, and many others. Fans of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the American Mountain Men (Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, etc) will especially gain a much deeper understanding of that period after reading this wonderful book.

This is well researched attempt to document the effort to settle northern Canada, from the St. Lawrence to the Pacific Northwest, but I have to admit, sometimes it just became a long slog to press on to the end.It did cover a lot of Canadian history that I did not know about. I found the vast distances, over space and time, and the multiple unfamiliar characters added up to a story I had trouble following.I would only recommend it for people who are already pretty knowledgeable on Canadian history.I picked up the book because I am interested in the combination of private enterprise and state action here that seems to have given birth to the modern corporation. I just feel there should be a really good historical volume on the Hudson Bay Company, or the East India Company and its implications for our current situation, and I can not seem to find one

Reads like an adventure novel with heroes and villains and fortunes be made. The reality of it in no way spoils the epic and heroic scale of the events.

Interesting and informative overview of the history of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Bown covers a lot of ground in not a lot of depth and occasionally drifts into platitudes and sermonizing. He’ll tell you who the Good Guys and Bad Guys are, and then tell you a couple times again. Good encapsulation but it sometimes feels like you’re being spoon-fed conclusions that are rather pat and gratuitous. By no means a bad book, just not a very deep one.

What a story. Couldn’t put the book down.

I knew something of the company before reading this book, but I sure know a lot more now. I read this over about a year, as it can be a bit much. Indigenous peoples are at least appropriately central to the story,although I’d bet they would see it quite differently. Also sad, is the fate of the beaver populations of the US and Canada, subject to man’s “dominion “. May they not meet the fate so many others now face.