"The Last Spike" by Pierre Berton
I recently saw the Art in the Age of Steam exhibit here in KC. Unfortunately, Canada wasn't touched upon, so I was excited to read Berton's account of the CPR's accomplishment in The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885. The engineering accomplishments were truly amazing. The book has given me a new appreciation of places that I've visited: Kamloops, Banff, Regina, Calgary, and Sudbury to name a few; all were founded or grew because of the CPR.

I was also surprised by the political turmoil that surrounded the CPR's construction. I had no idea of Sir John A. McDonald's tendency to avoid conflict. Berton has a knack of drawing you into his histories, by making historical figures live and breathe.

I had forgotten that this is the sequel to The National Dream, which I have not read. Regardless, the book stands on its own right. And though this is an early work by Berton, I find his later books to be better, it still is excellently written. I highly recommend his books, including this one.