A History of Canada in Ten Maps

Epic Stories of Charting a Mysterious Land

  • Language:
    Publisher:
  • English
    Allan Lane Canada (Penguin Canada)
About A History of Canada in Ten Maps:

The sweeping, epic story of the mysterious land that came to be called “Canada” like it’s never been told before. 

Every map tells a story. And every map has a purpose–it invites us to go somewhere we’ve never been. It’s an account of what we know, but also a trace of what we long for.

A History of Canada in Ten Maps conjures the world as it appeared to those who were called upon to map it. What would the new world look like to wandering Vikings, who thought they had drifted into a land of mythical creatures, or Samuel de Champlain, who had no idea of the vastness of the landmass just beyond the treeline?

Adam Shoalts, one of Canada’s foremost explorers, tells the stories behind these centuries old maps, and how they came to shape what became “Canada.”

It’s a story that will surprise readers, and reveal the Canada we never knew was hidden. It brings to life the characters and the bloody disputes that forged our history, by showing us what the world looked like before it entered the history books. Combining storytelling, cartography, geography, archaeology and of course history, this book shows us Canada in a way we’ve never seen it before.


Awards, Nominations, and Distinctions:

National Bestseller – The Globe and Mail

Longlist – RBC Taylor Award for Literary Non-Fiction (2018)


Critical Praise:


About the Author(s):

ADAM SHOALTS is a historian, archaeologist, geographer, and Westaway Explorer-in-Residence at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Shoalts holds a PhD from McMaster University where his research examined the influence Indigenous oral traditions had on fur traders in the subarctic and Pacific Northwest. He is also the author of the national bestsellers Alone Against the NorthA History of Canada in Ten MapsBeyond the Trees, and The Whisper on the Night Wind. He enjoys long walks in the woods. Follow his adventures on Facebook and Instagram.


Other Editions:
  • English (Hardcover)


Other Books by Adam Shoalts:
  • Alone Against the North

  • Beyond The Trees

  • The Whisper on the Night Wind

  • Where the Falcon Flies