Reviews for The field and the work

The average rating for The field and the work based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-08-10 00:00:00 Steve Samson This memoir is a little slow to get traction. The early content, having to do with the recruitment of Orkneymen into the Hudson Bay Company, should have been engaging, but Cowie's prose style starts out so cumbersome as to be tiresome. Fortunately, it improves as he goes, through chapters originally published serially. Thereafter Cowie's narrative not only details affairs having to do with his service at Fort Qu'Apelle but also his perambulations across the prairies as far as the Cypress Hills. Moreover, since his service to the company entailed all manner of intelligence-gathering and the acquisition of knowledge about the peoples of the plains, Cowie's narrative is a storehouse of detail about individuals, tribes, and cultural groups. His observations about wildlife and the environment, too, are fascinating. From Cowie we learn, for instance, that in the winter of 1871-72 the company's trade in red deer (elk, or wapiti) hides specifically from the Cypress Hills was 1500, and that in grizzly bear hides was 750. 750 grizzlies from the Cypress Hills in one winter! The book is lengthy, and uneven, but well worth the journey through to the end.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-04 00:00:00 Brian Williams Hmmn, I'm one that finishes almost every book or movie regardless of its merit educational, philosophical, or entertainment. Even early on at the age of 11, 12 I wouldn't walk out on the Malcolm X biopic. this is definitely a slow read, but full of truth, understanding, and understanding of The tumultuous history of Canada,, The Hudson Bay Company ,and its relationship with the aboriginals. Interesting characters, and stories, just not necessarlybinterestingly told!!!