Fur, Fortune, and Empire Audiobook By Eric Jay Dolin cover art

Fur, Fortune, and Empire

The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Fur, Fortune, and Empire

By: Eric Jay Dolin
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.74

Buy for $19.74

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

From the best-selling author of Leviathan comes this sweeping narrative of one of America’s most historically rich industries. Beginning his epic history in the early 1600s, Eric Jay Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur trade industry, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the rise of the conservation movement in the late 19th century.

Dolin shows how the fur trade, driven by the demands of fashion, sparked controversy, fostered economic competition, and fueled wars among the European powers as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations.

The trade in beaver, buffalo, sea otter, and other animal skins spurred the exploration and the settlement of the vast American continent, while it alternately enriched and gravely damaged the lives of America’s native peoples.

Populated by a larger-than-life cast, including Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant, President Thomas Jefferson, America’s first millionaire John Jacob Astor, and mountain man Kit Carson, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is the most comprehensive and compelling history of the American fur trade ever written.

©2010 Eric Jay Dolin (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Americas Colonial Period Commodities Economic History Economics Investing & Trading United States German Empire History

Critic reviews

“[An] absorbing story…Dolin, author of the acclaimed Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, offers another good history well told.” ( Publishers Weekly)
“A delightful history, reminding readers that while noble ideals led to the settling of the United States, the fur trade paid the bills.” ( Kirkus Reviews)
Comprehensive History • Fascinating Storyline • Excellent Narration • Refreshingly Evenhanded • Insightful Perspective
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
somewhat slow at times, with lots of detail that didn't make the pace any better

interesting story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great history filled with facts and honest assessments. Tells the stories of some of the best commodities traders in world history.

Great historical analysis of a commodity market

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really a great source of info on the mountain man and history of the fur trade from the 1600s to the late 1800’s

Great book!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting in many ways, great story which coincides with American founding. Read this book, it’s very well written.

Very well written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent background information on why and how the many countries sent men over to participate in the fur trade. Motivations are explained for countries, Indians & individuals on why the fur trade business made great business sense and then what it became by the corrupting influences.

Great Coverage

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
…gradually gained momentum until, as the author promised, he leaves us (wanting more) on the precipice of Teddy Roosevelt. Most refreshing is the author’s refusal to digress into a politically correct ethnic or environmental tirade. Clearly plenty of terrible repercussions from the fur trade…(and he doesn’t ignore the same)…yet he is not out to catalogue villainies or apportion blame. He relates history in an evenhanded and fair manner and is rarely sidetracked by virtue signaling.

Starts a little slow, but…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
While I had already knew the fur trade was big business, I had no idea how much of an impact it had.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dolin offers a well researched book on a topic few would dare tackle. A bit of a "dry" narration buy well worth the listen.

Nicely Done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great story that connects many seemingly unconnected stories of American origins. The who, what and why that underlined American settlement through global politics. insightful introduction to environmentalism and figures of developing a continent.

A stich that holds it together.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was awesome. Really gets into the history of the United States and major events and how fur trade, mountain men, and explorers had an impact on it. Manly men who lived rough lives and were def not perfect by any means but represent the spirit of America.

Great overview of History in relation to the trade

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews