The author and historian Mark Bourrie discusses his biography Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson (Biblioasis, 2019), the recipient of the final RBC Taylor Prize, with Joseph Planta.

Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson by Mark Bourrie (Biblioasis, 2019). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Bush Runner

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Mark Bourrie joins me again. Just about a year ago, he published his latest book Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson. It is an accessible, refreshing biography of Radisson, sourced from Radisson’s journals, which provide some of the best first-hand accounts of 17^th-century Canada. I’ll get Mark to tell us about his book. I read it a year or so ago when the book came out, and found it engaging. In this time, when a lot of us are self-isolating, keeping our physical distance from one another, due to COVID-19, I reached Mark from the woods near Ottawa, where he’s working on another book, to talk to him about this book, about Radisson, and what qualities of his are worth thinking about today. What was Radisson’s relationship with the First Nations? How did he view the Mohawk that adopted him? One finds in reading the book that his life intersected with royalty as well as witnessed the Great Plague and the Great Fire in London. He was at the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company as well. Mark Bourrie is the author of thirteen previous books including the bestsellers The Fog of War, and Kill the Messengers: Stephen Harper’s Assault on Your Right to Know. He holds a master’s degree in journalism and a doctorate in Canadian history. He was a staff reporter for the Hamilton Spectator, London Free Press, and Toronto Sun, and has contributed articles to the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and National Post. He also holds a Juris Doctor degree, and lectures in history at Carleton University, and Canadian studies at the University of Ottawa. For this book, Mr. Bourrie received the 2020 and final RBC Taylor Prize, as the best work of Canadian literary non-fiction. I’ll get Mark to reflect on the book, which is published by Biblioasis, its sales, and this prestigious prize. The Twitter handle is @MarkBourrie. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Mark Bourrie; Dr. Bourrie, good morning.

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