Surveyor, cartographer, fur trader, adventurer, naturalist and entrepreneur, David Thompson is now recognized as one of the greatest explorers and geographers of all time. By 1812, he had surveyed almost four million square kilometres of the North American wilderness and become the first European to navigate the entire length of the Columbia River. This compelling biography draws from Thompson’s detailed accounts of his gruelling voyages and follows him from his apprenticeship with the Hudson’s Bay Company through his extraordinary accomplishments in the service of the North West Company to his later years struggling to claim his legacy.

Elle Andra-Warner is a bestselling author, journalist, and photographer. Her award-winning articles appear regularly in major publications, and her newspaper columns have been in print since 1994. She has given journalism workshops throughout Canada, is an online guest lecturer in journalism for the University of California, Los Angeles, and is the co-editor of the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s annual journal. Estonian by heritage, Elle was born in a post–Second World War United Nations displaced persons camp for Estonians in Eckernforde, West Germany.

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