The Fur Trade Gamble

North West Company on the Pacific Slope, 1800-1820

By: Lloyd Keith, John C. Jackson

Narrated by: Bill Nevitt

In an era of grand risk, fur moguls vied to command the northwest and China markets, gambling lives and capital on the price of beaver pelts, purchases of ships and trade goods, international commerce laws, and the effects of war.

©2016 Board of Regents of Washington State University (P)2017 Redwood Audiobooks

Bill Nevitt makes it so much better!

adventure, pacific-northwest, explorers, historical-setting, historical-places-events, historical-figures, historical-research, international-commerce

Although my usual turf and time involves the Northwest Territories of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the fur trade is a fascinating segment of history as is the Pacific Rim trade of the early nineteenth century. It is a very long and involved educational tool that I really wouldn't have been drawn to if it was only available in print, but it's in audio and narrated by Bill Nevitt so I had to have it! Some of the book could be boring lecture dull if not for the narrator's skills in maintaining the reader's interest. I don't mean to disparage the writing or material, but it is almost eleven hours!
I requested and received a free audio copy and plan to read it again later now that I know more than I did.

Deep and detailed history

The Fur Trade Gamble: North West Company on the Pacific Slope, 1800-1820..
History in great depth. This book is a superb addition to American/Canadian history, a serious work detailing the opening up of the northwest.
Good clear narration by Bill Nevitt makes this an easy book to listen too.
One suggestion to listeners have a map of the area handy, as sometimes it's difficult to picture different areas and rivers.
It made my listening easier.
I was given a free copy of this audio book at my own request, and voluntarily leave this review.

A great book for history buffs

I really enjoyed this book. I have been on a bit of a history book journey to learn more about our past. Living for almost 25 years in Washington State I knew fur trapping in the PNW and BC was important to the growth of the area but I knew nothing about the period.

This book takes place during the golden age for the fur trade.The Beaver pelt was highly prized in not America, but Europe primarily France. The book centers around the three Ws. Who, What and why and then starts to touch on the political side.

The book starts with the reasons why the fur trade went west. It was not just for the pelts, but also the search for the western passage ; a freshwater water way that transversed North America. They thought they found a river a time or two, and hoped this was it but it was a miss ( Frazier and Columbia ) they go through the trappers and the major business sponsors ,mainly in Quebec Providence ( Montreal ) and the risks they took as it was very easy to lose your investment and the company would lose money

The political side was interesting; the author hits on it regarding deals and treaties touching on the tensions between all the parties and things like favored nation status and its impact

The narrator Bill Nevitt does a nice job with the book. He has a pleasant voice and excellent dictation making it a easy listen

If you like history and how the the USA and Canada grew as nations this is a good listen I learned a lot and have a better understanding and respect for the men and the beavers that they trapped.

I was given this book to review and the opinions are mine and if I like it I will write so if I not I will state that as well

Very Interesting History

What made the experience of listening to The Fur Trade Gamble the most enjoyable?

So much of the history came from the traders logs as well as the documentation of the fur trader companies. It was amazing the companies stayed in business as little money was made.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fur Trade Gamble?

There was a census made of the number of people that lived in the fort I believe it was and there were X number of white men, X number of native and the women who of course belonged to the fort.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I wish the narrator had taken the time to learn to pronounce the names of the States, rivers, Indian tribes, etc of the Pacific North West before he read the book. I did not realize how much mispronouncing Oregon got on my nerves until this book.

Any additional comments?

Although the narrator was not ready to do this book the information is interesting. I love the history of my region and there were things I was not aware of. Although we all learned of Lewis and Clark and we knew fur trading was an important source of income, I did not realize just how many lives were lost in the process nor how much it factored into the settlement of the region. Even though I live in the town of Beaverton, I never think of the fur trade having been here.

Interesting

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by these authors and I would listen to another. There was a lot a interesting information and their research effort showed.

This is the second book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Bill Nevitt ) and I would listen to another. He read this content very well. A pleasant listen.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

An expansive, detailed history of the US fur trade

For those interested in the history of the Northwest US, particularly the fur trade and those people involved, this book is an expansive, detailed, scholarly work full of information with interesting stories and characters. The narration is engaging and keeps the listener involved in the substantial text. This is a lot of information.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Truly immersive

Great, lessor known tale of history. Truly immersive with a great perspective. Highly recommended. Talented Voice artist.

Very informatiove

Would you consider the audio edition of The Fur Trade Gamble to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version.

Have you listened to any of Bill Nevitt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first performance by Bill Nevitt. He did an outstanding job with such deep and rich material. This material could have been boring or the listener could easily get lost in the details, but this did not happen to me and I believe that was largely due to Mr. Nevitt's narrating style.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not emotionally. But I learned a lot about a subject I previously knew nothing about. It was very obvious that this book was a result of unending research.

Any additional comments?

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review

Good information. Dry narration.

What did you like best about The Fur Trade Gamble? What did you like least?

It is always nice to learn about history of different parts of the world, specially the country you are living in. This book showed me the world from long ago, a trade history that I was unaware of. And I'm thankful for that. But the entirety of the book was pretty dry. I know history books aren't supposed to be exciting like thrillers novels. But to get people more interested in history, I suppose the same factual information can be presented in an interesting manner. Make it more presentable and easily consumable. i.e. make it sound like listening to a story, instead of like attending a history class.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, the narration matched the pace of the book perfectly, given the subject matter.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

A movie based on the subject covered in this book, sure. That would have to be a lot more juicier though.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author / narrator / publisher and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.

Information galore. Wonderful historic telling!

This author has done a great job of gathering all sorts of detailed information and stories about the history of the fur trade in the northern area of North America. Lots of things that I did not know were revealed and the historic stories and characters were enjoyable to learn about. I thought the narration was well done and brought the topic alive. A definite book for history buffs!