| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 96.2

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 96.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Champlain's Dream. By David Hackett Fischer. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. x, 834 pp. $40.00, ISBN 978-1-4165-9332-4.)

Champlain's Dream will serve as the definitive biography of its subject for decades. In the introduction, David Hackett Fischer writes that the book begins with no thesis, theory, or ideology, but in his very last paragraph the thesis is clear: "[Samuel de Champlain's] greatest achievement was not his career as an explorer or success as a founder of colonies. His largest contribution was the success of his principled leadership in the cause of humanity. That is what made him a world figure in modern history" (p. 531). Fischer's approach to Champlain is nuanced, balanced, and creative. He obviously admires his subject for his Christian faith, "grand design," and "pivotal role in founding three different francophone cultures in North America: Quebeçois, Acadian, and Métis" (p. 511). Above all, however, Fischer applauds Champlain for believing that leadership was about treating other people with humanity (p. 531).

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