What do you think?
Rate this book
Measuring Mother Earth: How Joe the Kid became Tyrrell of the North
A vivid, entertaining portrait of the great Canadian explorer Joseph Burr Tyrrell, the man who single-handedly invented the notion of the “Romance of the North”.
In the nineteenth century, exploring the Earth was as exciting and awe-inspiring an activity as space exploration was in the twentieth century. And even as late as the 1880s, vast expanses of Canada remained largely untrodden by Europeans. So joining the Geological Survey in 1882 was the realization of a dream for the short-sighted, profoundly deaf, and egotistical young Joseph Burr Tyrrell.
A romantic, inspired as much by Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novels and by Wild Bill Hickock’s exploits as by the spirited debates about evolution that informed his work, Tyrrell chafed under the strictures of the survey. By the time of the Klondike gold rush in 1898, he was a bitter man, resentful that the survey under George Dawson had repeatedly refused to promote him or give him any plum jobs. He quit and took up prospecting instead, which brought him nothing but misery in the Yukon but handed him a fortune when gold was discovered in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
His own best fan, Tyrrell did finally achieve the celebrity he ached for. Decked out in a sealskin parka and moccasins, while he burnished stories of his achievements, Tyrrell became the prototype of the romantic hero-explorer later personified by Robert Scott (of the Antarctic). He retired a multi-millionaire and died at the age of ninety-eight, just six weeks before the 1957 space launch of Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth.
In the nineteenth century, exploring the Earth was as exciting and awe-inspiring an activity as space exploration was in the twentieth century. And even as late as the 1880s, vast expanses of Canada remained largely untrodden by Europeans. So joining the Geological Survey in 1882 was the realization of a dream for the short-sighted, profoundly deaf, and egotistical young Joseph Burr Tyrrell.
A romantic, inspired as much by Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novels and by Wild Bill Hickock’s exploits as by the spirited debates about evolution that informed his work, Tyrrell chafed under the strictures of the survey. By the time of the Klondike gold rush in 1898, he was a bitter man, resentful that the survey under George Dawson had repeatedly refused to promote him or give him any plum jobs. He quit and took up prospecting instead, which brought him nothing but misery in the Yukon but handed him a fortune when gold was discovered in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
His own best fan, Tyrrell did finally achieve the celebrity he ached for. Decked out in a sealskin parka and moccasins, while he burnished stories of his achievements, Tyrrell became the prototype of the romantic hero-explorer later personified by Robert Scott (of the Antarctic). He retired a multi-millionaire and died at the age of ninety-eight, just six weeks before the 1957 space launch of Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2007
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 20, 2023
A grudging three stars. Three stars is too high, but two stars is unfair. Narrative non-fiction can be a good entry into biography and history. A writer with good research and writing skills for a popular, non-academic audience can reach a wider audience. It hat is what this book is aiming for. It is an interesting read, even if it makes Joseph Tyrrell out to be a bit of an obnoxious jerk. Perhaps he was. I’m from Alberta, and Tyrrell is held in pretty high regard here, even if truthfully, nobody really knows anything about him. Regarded, we named out best known museum, The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology for him, even though he wasn’t a palaeontologist and botched the excavation of his major find, nearly destroying it in the process and neglecting to record the location. Sigh. Anyways, the book is decent. The author uses language that seems overly familiar, calling Joseph Tyrrell “Joe”, George Mercer Dawson “Little Doc”, and Senator Sir James Lougheed “Jimmy”, and that bothered me. I’m also not sure if the author really gets George Dawson’s adherence to the anti-evolution beliefs of his father correct. The book portrays Dawson as being opposed to Darwin’s theories, but in reality, Dawson studied under Darwin’s protégés and was, to my understanding, an earlier advocate of evolutionary theory in Canada, to the point where it caused friction with his father. The book seems fairly well researched, but I wonder if the author is too reliant on Tyrrell’s primary documents, to the point that she is unquestionably adopting Tyrrell’s views on his colleagues. The author notes that Joseph Tyrrell is an enigma and it is difficult to separate his real life from the legend. Unfortunately, entertains though it is, I don’t think this book makes any inroads towards unraveling that enigma.
December 29, 2025
what a jerk he was to everyone
July 25, 2011
Rating: 5.5/10 Joseph Tyrrell was a late 19th-early 20th century explorer, surveyor, and geologist who covered thousands of hectares in the Canadian north-west. His accomplishments were real and impressive. Because of his longevity (98 yrs old) he had achieved cult status by his death. Robertson, however depicts a man who is self-serving, fame-seeking, and ready to cash in on the efforts of others. The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller is one of Canad's best but his conncection to it is limited to a chance discovery of an Albertosaurus specimen which he almost destroyed during excavation. Robertson's research is detailed and extensive. Yet her book is not so much history as 'narrative non-fiction'. She has tried to make her book more interesting by interpreting Tyrrell's thoughts and actions through scenes and scenarios which might have happened, or could have occured, or would have been possible. I'm on record in previous reviews of decrying this approach to history and I still have issues with it. In my opinion, whatever Robertson is writing loses some of its credibility and validity. Narrative non-fiction? I guess it increases sales but, personally, I don't like this approach to historical writing.
Read
February 14, 2008"HOW JOE THE KID BECAME TYRRELL OF THE NORTH"
One of the first Canadian scientific explorers.
Tyrrell discovered Canada's first dinosaurus, ALBERTOSAURUS
One of the first Canadian scientific explorers.
Tyrrell discovered Canada's first dinosaurus, ALBERTOSAURUS
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews