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Vision of an ordered land: The story of the Dominion land survey
202 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 8, 2026
Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 (and why round down when you can round up)
It starts strong: the pivotal, mainstream 1870s and 1880s narrative is blended with the touchy political implications of surveying, as well as its day-to-day realities and technical wizardry--the latter given a good treatment by MacGregor's engineering bona fides.
After 1885, however, things start to get more scattershot, and my enjoyment started to creak under the weight of a ton of micro-biographies and the trumpeting of the surveyor horn. At times there seemed to be a labored effort to exonerate the surveyors, especially in 1885. This position is well-substantiated and cogent, but was a little spicy.
Ultimately, "Visions of an Ordered Land" made the technical stuff palatable--if not interesting--and wove it into the Canadian story adeptly, at least for the first 60%
It starts strong: the pivotal, mainstream 1870s and 1880s narrative is blended with the touchy political implications of surveying, as well as its day-to-day realities and technical wizardry--the latter given a good treatment by MacGregor's engineering bona fides.
After 1885, however, things start to get more scattershot, and my enjoyment started to creak under the weight of a ton of micro-biographies and the trumpeting of the surveyor horn. At times there seemed to be a labored effort to exonerate the surveyors, especially in 1885. This position is well-substantiated and cogent, but was a little spicy.
Ultimately, "Visions of an Ordered Land" made the technical stuff palatable--if not interesting--and wove it into the Canadian story adeptly, at least for the first 60%
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review