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The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885
In the four years between 1881 and 1885, Canada was forged into one nation by the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Last Spike reconstructs the incredible story of how some 2,000 miles of steel crossed the continent in just five years — exactly half the time stipulated in the contract. Pierre Berton recreates the adventures that were part of this vast undertaking: the railway on the brink of bankruptcy, with one hour between it and ruin; the extraordinary land boom of Winnipeg in 1881–1882; and the epic tale of how William Van Horne rushed 3,000 soldiers over a half-finished railway to quell the Riel Rebellion.
Dominating the whole saga are the men who made it all possible — a host of astonishing characters: Van Horne, the powerhouse behind the vision of a transcontinental railroad; Rogers, the eccentric surveyor; Onderdonk, the cool New Yorker; Stephen, the most emotional of businessmen; Father Lacombe, the black-robed voyageur; Sam Steele, of the North West Mounted Police; Gabriel Dumont, the Prince of the Prairies; more than 7,000 Chinese workers, toiling and dying in the canyons of the Fraser Valley; and many more — land sharks, construction geniuses, politicians, and entrepreneurs — all of whom played a role in the founding of the new Canada west of Ontario.
Dominating the whole saga are the men who made it all possible — a host of astonishing characters: Van Horne, the powerhouse behind the vision of a transcontinental railroad; Rogers, the eccentric surveyor; Onderdonk, the cool New Yorker; Stephen, the most emotional of businessmen; Father Lacombe, the black-robed voyageur; Sam Steele, of the North West Mounted Police; Gabriel Dumont, the Prince of the Prairies; more than 7,000 Chinese workers, toiling and dying in the canyons of the Fraser Valley; and many more — land sharks, construction geniuses, politicians, and entrepreneurs — all of whom played a role in the founding of the new Canada west of Ontario.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
53 people are currently reading
1013 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Berton
177 books203 followersFrom narrative histories and popular culture, to picture and coffee table books to anthologies, to stories for children to readable, historical works for youth, many of his books are now Canadian classics.
Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star, and a writer and host of a series of CBC programs.
Pierre Berton has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star, and a writer and host of a series of CBC programs.
Pierre Berton has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 20, 2019
Pierre Berton has made Canadian history resonate. This is an exhilarating read of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway across the entire country. It made Canada the way it is today.
Page 328 (my book)
Eighteen eighty-five was perhaps the most significant year of the first Canadian century. After that year nothing would be the same again, because for the first time Canadians would be able to travel the length of their nation without setting foot in a foreign land [United States]…Names like Lake Louise, Banff, and Yoho would stand for the ultimate in scenery; Kenora and North Bay would symbolize hunting and fishing paradises; Sudbury would be emblematic of mineral wealth; Regina and Moose Jaw would conjure up visions of golden wheat; Calgary would automatically mean cowboys and rodeos. Three years before, most of those names had not existed on the map.
Without the building of the railway the United States would have expanded into what was then the Northwest (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) and British Columbia (which became a province in 1871). The railway united Eastern Canada with Western Canada.
Before the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed above Lake Superior Western Canada was only accessible by railroads from the United States. When constructing the railroad eastward from Vancouver towards the Rockies and Calgary, eastern Canadians had to go to San Francisco by U.S. rail, take a boat to Victoria, and then Vancouver.
Interestingly many of the executives, contractors, and construction engineers were from the United States, like William Cornelius Van Horne who was general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The U.S. had the expertise, but many new challenges were encountered in the vastness of Canada like the Precambrian shield above Lake Superior and mountain passes through the rugged Rockies.
The following gives an idea of the scope of the work:
Page 270
The price of building the line north of Lake Superior was appalling. One ninety-mile section ate up ten million dollars, and one single, memorable mile of track was laid through solid rock at the cost of seven hundred thousand. By the summer of 1884, … close to fifteen thousand men and four thousand horses [were] working between Lake Nipissing and Thunder Bay… The awesome quantities of food consumed by the workmen flabbergasted old-time traders… At that point [north of Superior] was so primitive that [the residents] had never seen a horse or cow or even heard of a telegraph line… The amount of explosives required to blast through the Precambrian shield was staggering… Van Horne had three dynamite factories built… each turning out a ton a day. The bill for dynamite, nitro-glycerine and black powder came to seven and a half million dollars.
In British Columbia there was a lack of manpower, so Chinese coolies were brought in as a source of cheap labour. The work across the country was done under extreme circumstances – thirty below zero with huge snowstorms, in the summer swarms of black flies and mosquitoes – and in the rain forest portions of the Rockies unrelenting rainfall. It was dangerous and often deadly with explosions to clear the track bed and tunnels. Hundreds of bridges were built of wood (today these are all steel).
The railway brought in many new settlers who had little inkling of what they were up against.
Page 224
May Clark, who at the age of nine arrived in Regina from England at the age on nine with her family on a soaking wet day in May 1883. The Clarks had expected to find a “town” in the country sense; they discovered, instead, a ragged cluster of tents rising from the muddy prairie, and when they were sent to a hotel they found it was a tent too… The family – there were six of them… set off across the hummocky plain behind two oxen, with a milk cow bringing up the rear… The family, used to the gentle beauty of the English midlands, was appalled by the sweeping loneliness of the prairie. The far horizons enveloped them and in all that immense circle there was no sign of human life… Yet [over the years] the family survived and thrived.
Page 264
It was the first time, really, that Canadians had become aware of the new kind of nation they were tying together through the construction of the railway – an unwieldy pastiche of disparate communities, authored under varying circumstance… MacDonald [the prime minister] had been used to governing a tight, familiar community from the federal capital [Ottawa]. Until the coming of the railway he had known most of it intimately… Suddenly he was faced with an entirely different political situation. Far out along the half-completed line, new political leaders whom he had never heard of in communities he had never visited, were demanding a say in matters that he only partially understood.
Pierre Berton gives us the scope of this vast enterprise – the political and never-ending financial problems. There was a huge army of workers (called navvies) scattered through thousands of miles who had to be kept supplied with food, rails, ties, spikes, gravel… The logistics were immense. Winnipeg became an arsenal supplying and shipping all the equipment and manpower required. We get a view of the boom and bust towns that sprung up across the railroad. Winnipeg, for a short time, had one the highest real estate prices in North America! There was prohibition along the railroad tracks – but you can imagine how effective this was!
This book gives a solid view of how Canada became a nation.
Page 328 (my book)
Eighteen eighty-five was perhaps the most significant year of the first Canadian century. After that year nothing would be the same again, because for the first time Canadians would be able to travel the length of their nation without setting foot in a foreign land [United States]…Names like Lake Louise, Banff, and Yoho would stand for the ultimate in scenery; Kenora and North Bay would symbolize hunting and fishing paradises; Sudbury would be emblematic of mineral wealth; Regina and Moose Jaw would conjure up visions of golden wheat; Calgary would automatically mean cowboys and rodeos. Three years before, most of those names had not existed on the map.
Without the building of the railway the United States would have expanded into what was then the Northwest (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) and British Columbia (which became a province in 1871). The railway united Eastern Canada with Western Canada.
Before the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed above Lake Superior Western Canada was only accessible by railroads from the United States. When constructing the railroad eastward from Vancouver towards the Rockies and Calgary, eastern Canadians had to go to San Francisco by U.S. rail, take a boat to Victoria, and then Vancouver.
Interestingly many of the executives, contractors, and construction engineers were from the United States, like William Cornelius Van Horne who was general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The U.S. had the expertise, but many new challenges were encountered in the vastness of Canada like the Precambrian shield above Lake Superior and mountain passes through the rugged Rockies.
The following gives an idea of the scope of the work:
Page 270
The price of building the line north of Lake Superior was appalling. One ninety-mile section ate up ten million dollars, and one single, memorable mile of track was laid through solid rock at the cost of seven hundred thousand. By the summer of 1884, … close to fifteen thousand men and four thousand horses [were] working between Lake Nipissing and Thunder Bay… The awesome quantities of food consumed by the workmen flabbergasted old-time traders… At that point [north of Superior] was so primitive that [the residents] had never seen a horse or cow or even heard of a telegraph line… The amount of explosives required to blast through the Precambrian shield was staggering… Van Horne had three dynamite factories built… each turning out a ton a day. The bill for dynamite, nitro-glycerine and black powder came to seven and a half million dollars.
In British Columbia there was a lack of manpower, so Chinese coolies were brought in as a source of cheap labour. The work across the country was done under extreme circumstances – thirty below zero with huge snowstorms, in the summer swarms of black flies and mosquitoes – and in the rain forest portions of the Rockies unrelenting rainfall. It was dangerous and often deadly with explosions to clear the track bed and tunnels. Hundreds of bridges were built of wood (today these are all steel).
The railway brought in many new settlers who had little inkling of what they were up against.
Page 224
May Clark, who at the age of nine arrived in Regina from England at the age on nine with her family on a soaking wet day in May 1883. The Clarks had expected to find a “town” in the country sense; they discovered, instead, a ragged cluster of tents rising from the muddy prairie, and when they were sent to a hotel they found it was a tent too… The family – there were six of them… set off across the hummocky plain behind two oxen, with a milk cow bringing up the rear… The family, used to the gentle beauty of the English midlands, was appalled by the sweeping loneliness of the prairie. The far horizons enveloped them and in all that immense circle there was no sign of human life… Yet [over the years] the family survived and thrived.
Page 264
It was the first time, really, that Canadians had become aware of the new kind of nation they were tying together through the construction of the railway – an unwieldy pastiche of disparate communities, authored under varying circumstance… MacDonald [the prime minister] had been used to governing a tight, familiar community from the federal capital [Ottawa]. Until the coming of the railway he had known most of it intimately… Suddenly he was faced with an entirely different political situation. Far out along the half-completed line, new political leaders whom he had never heard of in communities he had never visited, were demanding a say in matters that he only partially understood.
Pierre Berton gives us the scope of this vast enterprise – the political and never-ending financial problems. There was a huge army of workers (called navvies) scattered through thousands of miles who had to be kept supplied with food, rails, ties, spikes, gravel… The logistics were immense. Winnipeg became an arsenal supplying and shipping all the equipment and manpower required. We get a view of the boom and bust towns that sprung up across the railroad. Winnipeg, for a short time, had one the highest real estate prices in North America! There was prohibition along the railroad tracks – but you can imagine how effective this was!
This book gives a solid view of how Canada became a nation.
October 31, 2021
As with "National Dream", I skimmed through pages of this as I found it a bit repetitive in parts, slow and dull. It was interesting to see that the railway was finally being built, having all the immigrants coming from many European cities to help build the railway, establish communities/cities along the lines and then reading about some of their disappointments upon arriving in Canada.
The most interesting passage for me was the listing of the cities of Banff, Lake Louise & Yoho having "ultimate scenery", Kenora & North Bay "symbolizing hunting & fishing", Sudbury "emblematic of mineral wealth", Regina & Moose Jaw "visions of golden wheat" and Calgary (my home) "means cowboys & rodeos", but that was back in the late 1880's and am sure some of that has stayed the same and other industries have come in to play.
I liked the aftermath section where we find out what happened to the main players. And what ever happened to the young boy in the photo?
The most interesting passage for me was the listing of the cities of Banff, Lake Louise & Yoho having "ultimate scenery", Kenora & North Bay "symbolizing hunting & fishing", Sudbury "emblematic of mineral wealth", Regina & Moose Jaw "visions of golden wheat" and Calgary (my home) "means cowboys & rodeos", but that was back in the late 1880's and am sure some of that has stayed the same and other industries have come in to play.
I liked the aftermath section where we find out what happened to the main players. And what ever happened to the young boy in the photo?
March 8, 2025
As a child growing up in the 1970s, I still remember Canadian author, Pierre Berton, especially as he was a regular on Front Page Challenge, an intelligent gameshow in which the panel of celebrities would guess a news story by posing questions.
A common front page news story in 1880s Canada was the political, pioneering, and engineering drama around the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was literally the road to nationhood that connected the early provinces and territories together via a ribbon of steel.
The Last Spike, the second book in a two volume series about the CPR, focuses on the later construction period from 1880-1885. As Berton weaves the tale of how this railroad was built, we learn about the tough granite of the Canadian Shield. We learn about the disappearing buffalo on the northern prairie and how it triggered an indigenous revolt. We learn about real-estate speculation as new towns sprung up out of nowhere. We learn of the surveying and engineering challenges of building the railroad through the three Rocky Mountain passes between Calgary and the British Columbian interior.
There were many challenges along the way, and not all were technical. The financing of this massive construction venture was extremely difficult, and the creditors were almost ready to pull the plug mere weeks before the last spike was driven by Donald Smith (a former fur-trader turned railway financier) in Craigellaichie, BC, in November of 1885. Luckily for us, enough funding was found in the nick of time.
Oh Canada! Where would we be without the CPR...
A common front page news story in 1880s Canada was the political, pioneering, and engineering drama around the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was literally the road to nationhood that connected the early provinces and territories together via a ribbon of steel.
The Last Spike, the second book in a two volume series about the CPR, focuses on the later construction period from 1880-1885. As Berton weaves the tale of how this railroad was built, we learn about the tough granite of the Canadian Shield. We learn about the disappearing buffalo on the northern prairie and how it triggered an indigenous revolt. We learn about real-estate speculation as new towns sprung up out of nowhere. We learn of the surveying and engineering challenges of building the railroad through the three Rocky Mountain passes between Calgary and the British Columbian interior.
There were many challenges along the way, and not all were technical. The financing of this massive construction venture was extremely difficult, and the creditors were almost ready to pull the plug mere weeks before the last spike was driven by Donald Smith (a former fur-trader turned railway financier) in Craigellaichie, BC, in November of 1885. Luckily for us, enough funding was found in the nick of time.
Oh Canada! Where would we be without the CPR...
April 24, 2012
Pierre Berton was one of Canada's most popular historians, from the Donald Creighton school which opted for abandoning footnotes and references and dry overviews in favor of relating history like a good story—full of anecdote and big personalities—written more to appeal to fiction lovers than scholars. People have nitpicked about inaccuracies and liberties that Berton has taken with his subject matter over the years, but that overlooks his towering strength: the ability to make potentially dull episodes in our country's life seem alive and important and immensely readable.
The story of the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, linking the core populations of eastern Canada with the scattered colonies in British Columbia (principally along the Pacific Coast) is one of a virtually impossible, herculean, nigh-ruinously expensive task accomplished through sheer willpower: political, financial, physical and organizational. Without the railway Canada could not have come into existence as a country; as Berton points out, all the natural travel routes, via land and water, run north-south in North America. East-west the way is limited by towering, massive mountain ranges and impenetrable forest. By all rights, British Columbia should have joined with Alaska and Washington State to form the Pacific territories of the United States. That this wasn't the historical result is almost entirely due to the construction of the CP Railway.
Berton paints wonderfully vivid portraits of the principal players in the conception and execution of the Great Task (the Dominion politicians, the executives and managers of Canadian Pacific, as well as construction engineers, surveyors and indomitable explorers—with my favorite being Sir Sandford Fleming, one of the bevy of slightly-mad Scots who hauled themselves and their Indian guides through the most appalling of obstacles in order to find the best routes for the railway to run along—and even priests who solaced the laborer's souls amongst the itinerant work-camps while endeavoring to save them from demon drink and unstable nitroglycerin) and makes clear the daunting obstacles overcome: endless swamps and forests; the hostile and torturous rock fortress of the Canadian Shield; the ocean of mountains—most over 7,000 feet—separating the Pacific from the central prairies. The vast quantities of capital required was more than a newborn country could hope to raise by itself, so financing had to be pried from dubious banker's fingers in the United States and far distant Europe. Land speculation made and broke fortunes with impunity and turned stranded municipalities into ghost towns; political scandals threatened to bring the whole undertaking to a crashing halt several times; yet, due to the tenacity of the amazing personalities involved, work was never stopped and, against all odds, the three thousand miles of track was completed without tearing the country apart.
Berton's tale is told in two books: The National Dream followed by The Last Spike. The dual tomes tell of heroism of a far different sort from that of conquest, of empire, of great foreign policy—but one no less compelling in the hands of Berton, who relishes this national epic and its actors, and conveys his enthusiasm in spades. An insane, impossible scheme to build a country that, by all rights, should never have existed: from this madcap dream, from the visionary sleep of great men, the nation of Canada was fully formed.
The story of the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, linking the core populations of eastern Canada with the scattered colonies in British Columbia (principally along the Pacific Coast) is one of a virtually impossible, herculean, nigh-ruinously expensive task accomplished through sheer willpower: political, financial, physical and organizational. Without the railway Canada could not have come into existence as a country; as Berton points out, all the natural travel routes, via land and water, run north-south in North America. East-west the way is limited by towering, massive mountain ranges and impenetrable forest. By all rights, British Columbia should have joined with Alaska and Washington State to form the Pacific territories of the United States. That this wasn't the historical result is almost entirely due to the construction of the CP Railway.
Berton paints wonderfully vivid portraits of the principal players in the conception and execution of the Great Task (the Dominion politicians, the executives and managers of Canadian Pacific, as well as construction engineers, surveyors and indomitable explorers—with my favorite being Sir Sandford Fleming, one of the bevy of slightly-mad Scots who hauled themselves and their Indian guides through the most appalling of obstacles in order to find the best routes for the railway to run along—and even priests who solaced the laborer's souls amongst the itinerant work-camps while endeavoring to save them from demon drink and unstable nitroglycerin) and makes clear the daunting obstacles overcome: endless swamps and forests; the hostile and torturous rock fortress of the Canadian Shield; the ocean of mountains—most over 7,000 feet—separating the Pacific from the central prairies. The vast quantities of capital required was more than a newborn country could hope to raise by itself, so financing had to be pried from dubious banker's fingers in the United States and far distant Europe. Land speculation made and broke fortunes with impunity and turned stranded municipalities into ghost towns; political scandals threatened to bring the whole undertaking to a crashing halt several times; yet, due to the tenacity of the amazing personalities involved, work was never stopped and, against all odds, the three thousand miles of track was completed without tearing the country apart.
Berton's tale is told in two books: The National Dream followed by The Last Spike. The dual tomes tell of heroism of a far different sort from that of conquest, of empire, of great foreign policy—but one no less compelling in the hands of Berton, who relishes this national epic and its actors, and conveys his enthusiasm in spades. An insane, impossible scheme to build a country that, by all rights, should never have existed: from this madcap dream, from the visionary sleep of great men, the nation of Canada was fully formed.
July 17, 2025
In my opinion, the building of the railroad in Canada is arguably the most important event in Canadian history, or at the very least, the second most important. The completion of the Canadian railroad cemented Canada's own version of Manifest Destiny and united the country literally from sea to sea, just like our national motto says. Just like the United States, the building of the railroad was a key event in the history of our respective countries. Lots of literal blood, sweat and tears went into the building of it and while many sacrificed their lives building it, we have them to thank for having our country united by rail. We take for granted the sites of trains running through our towns daily. We should stop and think that the sight of our trains are the Canadian economy at work in front of our very eyes. Pierre Burton's account of the Last Spike is a very detailed and intriguing account of just how challenging this task was for our country and man has it paid off for Canada big time as we are now a country with one of the biggest economies in the world.
July 30, 2019
As a child, my family visited the historic site at Craigellachie, B.C., where the last spike in the Canadian Pacific Railway was pounded in 1885. At the time, I wondered what it was all about. I think my dad had just finished this book and wanted to visit the site he had read about. I now understand the significance, and wish I could travel back in time to that day with my dad. I remember as we drove through the mountains, he told us stories about Major Rogers looking for the pass, and about how the railway was built. I think I must have inherited some of my fascination with history from him. Now, over 40 years later, I found myself prompted to pick up this old book and learn about history from one of Canada's best story tellers.
Pierre Berton had a way of making history accessible. There is a lot of information in this book, presented in an easy to read and understand manor. He is short on footnotes, and long on anecdotes, but that is what makes his books readable. There is a lot of finance and politics, which can be very dry, but there are also very human stories, such as that of the woman who got around the liquor laws by selling cigars and throwing in a free drink with each one. This book is almost fifty years old, and views on historical events, particularly with regard to aboriginal people, have changed. Berton's views might be regarded today as old fashioned and possibly offensive, but I think he actually wrote with a great deal of sensitivity, if not political correctness, considering the time in which he wrote. I love the maps and the timeline he included, but wish there were more pictures. Next time I want an in depth crash course on Canadian history, I will probably turn to Pierre Berton.
Pierre Berton had a way of making history accessible. There is a lot of information in this book, presented in an easy to read and understand manor. He is short on footnotes, and long on anecdotes, but that is what makes his books readable. There is a lot of finance and politics, which can be very dry, but there are also very human stories, such as that of the woman who got around the liquor laws by selling cigars and throwing in a free drink with each one. This book is almost fifty years old, and views on historical events, particularly with regard to aboriginal people, have changed. Berton's views might be regarded today as old fashioned and possibly offensive, but I think he actually wrote with a great deal of sensitivity, if not political correctness, considering the time in which he wrote. I love the maps and the timeline he included, but wish there were more pictures. Next time I want an in depth crash course on Canadian history, I will probably turn to Pierre Berton.
November 8, 2013
If any country in the world had leaders like this, they would have a truly great country!
William Cornelius Van Horne, George Stephen, and Sir John A MacDonald strive to create a National Dream. Linking the Canadian landscape from coast to coast, by steel rails.
Huge problems existed as with any monumental project,such as the nearly impregnable pass through the Rockies, and the Lake Superior route. With debt problems mounting, and many creditors knocking at their door, it appeared the railway could be doomed.
Page 352 of the book tells about the strength of will of the railway barons. How many businessmen would risk that much, even in these times, to make sure their project and company succeeds and avoids catastrophic failure?
The book tells of fortunes made, and fortunes lost, the painstaking man hours, and the grueling conditions that some went through to see the CPR a success. The steel rails opened up the west to a tremendous development, and unified this country in a very special way.
William Cornelius Van Horne, George Stephen, and Sir John A MacDonald strive to create a National Dream. Linking the Canadian landscape from coast to coast, by steel rails.
Huge problems existed as with any monumental project,such as the nearly impregnable pass through the Rockies, and the Lake Superior route. With debt problems mounting, and many creditors knocking at their door, it appeared the railway could be doomed.
Page 352 of the book tells about the strength of will of the railway barons. How many businessmen would risk that much, even in these times, to make sure their project and company succeeds and avoids catastrophic failure?
The book tells of fortunes made, and fortunes lost, the painstaking man hours, and the grueling conditions that some went through to see the CPR a success. The steel rails opened up the west to a tremendous development, and unified this country in a very special way.
September 13, 2014
Pierre Burton is simply the best Canadian historical writer. Reads like a fiction, extremely well researched.
July 26, 2017
Wow,
This book (and The National Dream) were ones that I have been kicking myself to read for a long time. I credit the the TV series I saw when I was a kid, and my dad having read this also when I was young made me want to read them.
Overall its a very good set of books, plenty of tidbits of information to be found in here. Details such as how surveys were done, political intrigue, construction challenges, all of it is in here. I ended up recognizing plenty of historical figures due to street and building names. I felt I had a front row seat into the birth of Canada and how much work the PM had to put in to make it whole.
My only critic sometimes he gets long winded in the human interest stories which are not really my thing. But I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who wishes to learn about that time period.
This book (and The National Dream) were ones that I have been kicking myself to read for a long time. I credit the the TV series I saw when I was a kid, and my dad having read this also when I was young made me want to read them.
Overall its a very good set of books, plenty of tidbits of information to be found in here. Details such as how surveys were done, political intrigue, construction challenges, all of it is in here. I ended up recognizing plenty of historical figures due to street and building names. I felt I had a front row seat into the birth of Canada and how much work the PM had to put in to make it whole.
My only critic sometimes he gets long winded in the human interest stories which are not really my thing. But I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who wishes to learn about that time period.
November 23, 2017
This is "it's not you it's me" situation. The book was written to Berton's normal standards, however I was expecting more of the nuts and bolts of physically building the road - more construction talk, more engineering talk, more talk about the men who lived and died building it. There was a little more politics and a LOT more finance than I was expecting.
Spoiler alert: the last spike is hammered in years before the spiral tunnels of Yoho are drilled - and that was one of the things I was really excited in reading about.
Spoiler alert: the last spike is hammered in years before the spiral tunnels of Yoho are drilled - and that was one of the things I was really excited in reading about.
June 26, 2023
Discovered serendipitously at a thrift store for $2.35 shortly after finishing The National Dream!
This direct sequel was full of more adventure and fact. I enjoyed this more than The National Dream due to more of a focus on the frontier, the day-to-day battles of labourers, managers, and land speculators - rather than the beat-by-beat political discourse unfolding in Ottawa. Berton (as always) still manages to spin it into something exciting but the politicking is still dry in comparison. And MacDonald comes out more tarnished here which was interesting.
I'm left with a great deal of admirations for all the men described throughout the story - most prominent like Rogers and Van Horne, and the largely nameless soldiers who were forced to cross the incomplete sections of rail on mission to curb Riel's rebellion.
The only criticisms I'd offer is that the story seems to end rather abruptly. Berton firmly establishes how the CPR is on the precipice of financial disaster - and then suddenly all is well and onto the next. I had to backup and reread. Also, he gives us some great accounts of the rebellion unfolding in March of 1885 but I was unsatisfied with the minor references to it's resolution.
Overall an excellent page-turner and I've already got my next Berton queued up!
This direct sequel was full of more adventure and fact. I enjoyed this more than The National Dream due to more of a focus on the frontier, the day-to-day battles of labourers, managers, and land speculators - rather than the beat-by-beat political discourse unfolding in Ottawa. Berton (as always) still manages to spin it into something exciting but the politicking is still dry in comparison. And MacDonald comes out more tarnished here which was interesting.
I'm left with a great deal of admirations for all the men described throughout the story - most prominent like Rogers and Van Horne, and the largely nameless soldiers who were forced to cross the incomplete sections of rail on mission to curb Riel's rebellion.
The only criticisms I'd offer is that the story seems to end rather abruptly. Berton firmly establishes how the CPR is on the precipice of financial disaster - and then suddenly all is well and onto the next. I had to backup and reread. Also, he gives us some great accounts of the rebellion unfolding in March of 1885 but I was unsatisfied with the minor references to it's resolution.
Overall an excellent page-turner and I've already got my next Berton queued up!
October 15, 2021
I remember once looking at the famous picture of the last spike being driven at Craigellachie with my mother, and the two of us wondered who the boy in the picture was. Now, thanks to Pierre Berton, I know a little bit about him and how he came to be in the photo. This is a a very fascinating account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Some of the most interesting parts for me described areas that I could connect with, as they are places that I’ve been. (ie: The harrowing journey to discover the Rogers Pass and the dangerous work over the treacherous Hells Gate, to name a few.) This book is a great reminder that it is because of the railway that many cities we know today came into existence. (ie: Regina, Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Calgary, Revelstoke) The only negative thing I can say is that since this book was published in 1971, Berton has used a few terms to describe indigenous people that I hope he wouldn’t use if he were writing it today.
August 25, 2025
Pierre Berton's "The Last Spike" is a powerful epic detailing the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Berton's ability to craft a clear narrative that comprises of several historical figures such as Sir John A. McDonald, Louis Riel, Charles Tupper, Sam Steele and William Cornelius Van Horne.
The nature of the building of the CPR, being that it had multiple sections being built, political turmoil, land speculations/booms, and the onset of the North-West Rebellion has the potential to overwhelm a reader, however as stated with the historical figures, Berton is able to construct and illustrate this clearly.
Another aspect that must be stated in Berton shedding light on the treatment of Chinese and Indigenous peoples.
A perfect read for anyone interested in Canadian History and Political science.
The nature of the building of the CPR, being that it had multiple sections being built, political turmoil, land speculations/booms, and the onset of the North-West Rebellion has the potential to overwhelm a reader, however as stated with the historical figures, Berton is able to construct and illustrate this clearly.
Another aspect that must be stated in Berton shedding light on the treatment of Chinese and Indigenous peoples.
A perfect read for anyone interested in Canadian History and Political science.
July 27, 2022
Great story, terrible writing.
I love the story of the building of the trans-Canada railway - it was such an enormous undertaking in any age but to complete it in a time when it could only be done by shovel, pick-axe and horse is incredible.
Unfortunately this telling of it is poor. Berton writes like a senile grandfather telling tall tales from his youth. The same anecdotes are repeated in various contexts and it's impossible to separate the facts from the hyperbole - not a great feature in a historical non-fiction book.
I've just started Railway Nation by David Laurence Jones but so far it's a much better take on the story. More information in half the pages.
I love the story of the building of the trans-Canada railway - it was such an enormous undertaking in any age but to complete it in a time when it could only be done by shovel, pick-axe and horse is incredible.
Unfortunately this telling of it is poor. Berton writes like a senile grandfather telling tall tales from his youth. The same anecdotes are repeated in various contexts and it's impossible to separate the facts from the hyperbole - not a great feature in a historical non-fiction book.
I've just started Railway Nation by David Laurence Jones but so far it's a much better take on the story. More information in half the pages.
June 29, 2017
I didn't like The Last Spike as much as The National Dream but it's still a captivating and interesting book. As a Canadian it further drives home just how significant the Canadian Pacific Railway was in cementing us a unified and geographically diverse young nation. The stories about how cities like Winnipeg, Regina and (one of my hometowns), Revelstoke were settled were fascinating. Learning about the lives of all the men who visioned and financed the undertaking are equally engaging. Seriously, what a great legacy Pierre Berton has left behind for all generations. Viva Canada!
July 20, 2024
What an excellent work! Pierre Berton writes with flair, but continually impresses with his deeply-researched story-telling. This is the second volume of his history of the Canadian Pacific Railway, whose completion still marks the origin of modern Canada.
I knew Berton as an early television personality when I was growing up in Hamilton. Later I discovered that he was a prolific and prodigious writer. He is someone I've admired all my life.
I knew Berton as an early television personality when I was growing up in Hamilton. Later I discovered that he was a prolific and prodigious writer. He is someone I've admired all my life.
October 28, 2025
Pierre Berton is a wonderful storyteller who brings history to life with his anecdotes about the people who built the railway and the places that sprouted up where it went (and withered where it didn't). His story of the construction of the CPR as part of a national vision for a country that was struggling to realize prosperity in the face of the threat of American annexationists is an inspirational reminder of the prerequisites for national survival.
April 30, 2023
Although the building of the CPR was a great achievement in itself, it is also a look at the darker side of our Canadian history. Reading Berton's books is giving me a whole new perspective on my great country. We as a nation were and are not as good as we think. Still we did achieve many fantastic hurdles in our history like the passing of the railroad through the Rockies.
October 20, 2023
This is a very good telling of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but suffers slightly from occasional diversions from the main story, periodic prolixity in describing the landscape, and perhaps too much of an emphasis on the more colorful characters. Still, it is well worth the read.
January 31, 2024
Unexpectedly, what I would say is likely one of the most important historical texts connected to the formation of Canada as a country. The book closely links the tenuous success of the railroad with the precarious young democracy, then led by Sir John A. Excellent at demonstrating how Canada west of London was built around the railroad. A great book.
October 17, 2025
Written a few decades ago, this book has a sensibility quite different from what today's readers of history would expect. However, I found it to be an interesting, well-researched book on the Canadian Pacific Railway construction. It made me curious to delve deeper into the stories that were only lightly touched on in this book.
February 28, 2020
This is fantastic telling of how the railway was built and formed Canada.
Towns and cities exits today based on decisions and greed of many. This book reads more like a novel than a historical book. This really should be a must read for any Canadian.
I need to re-read The National Dream
Towns and cities exits today based on decisions and greed of many. This book reads more like a novel than a historical book. This really should be a must read for any Canadian.
I need to re-read The National Dream
April 19, 2020
A very good read. I enjoyed this book much more than the first part “the national dream”. The CPR was a massive undertaking and it is amazing what they accomplished in so short a time. A must read for anyone interested in the history of Canada.
July 12, 2021
What an amazing storyteller! I learned so much about world politics and the resolve, bravery and commitment of the people involved in forming Canada, from European and Indigenous leaders to navvies and whiskey runners. All while being entertained by the exploits of individual people.
September 11, 2017
I wish every high school in Canada could get this into the History curriculum.
February 5, 2020
GREAT BOOK.
October 7, 2020
This should be mandatory reading and open for discussion in secondary schools.
March 29, 2021
Berton makes Canadian history interesting. The one part that I found a touch long was the that about real estate sharks, but I guess that part in parcel of building a railway.
March 16, 2022
My knowledge of history and politics was not strong enough to fully understand the books but it inspired me to learn more. I thoroughly enjoy the parts about the actual railway building and
August 26, 2022
It took me over 10 years from start to finish but this is one of the best history books you will ever read.
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