This book is a new history of this country for the new millenium. This book, the first of two volumes based on the landmark CBC series of the same name, tells a dramatic story of the rise and fall of the empires, the clash of great armies, and the turmoil of revolutions. It is about the major events of our past, the explorations, the battles, the political struggles but it is above all, a story of the people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances in a vast and promising land.