Canadian Pacific: The Golden Age of Travel

In this sweeping history, Lane charts the rise of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company from the late 19th century, as it built a transcontinental railway across Canada, to its heights in the 1920s and '30s as a transportation and travel empire spanning the globe. Lane conjures up a "Golden Age of Travel" in which Canada was a preeminent destination and a key player in international tourism. After outlining the trials of building track through the vast Canadian wilderness, Lane offers a lucid chronology of the company's expansion. It amassed vast shipping fleets on both the Atlantic and Pacific, and constructed and marketed luxury accommodations and mountain resorts. He also looks at how the company was affected by both World Wars and the growing accessibility of automobiles and airplanes. The text is accompanied by more than 200 stunning illustrations, including photographs of daring workers atop towering bridges and intrepid Victorian ladies scaling glaciers, and sumptuous travel posters, including some iconic Art Deco images from 1920s and 1930s. By highlighting Canadian Pacific's inextricable ties with Canada's history and formation, Lane succeeds in creating a beautiful and highly readable work that will entertain any reader and a significant analysis that will satisfy those with deeper interests in history. (Oct.)