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  • Bush Runner

  • The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson
  • Written by: Mark Bourrie
  • Narrated by: Jeff Burling
  • Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (146 ratings)

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Bush Runner cover art

Bush Runner

Written by: Mark Bourrie
Narrated by: Jeff Burling
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Publisher's Summary

Murderer. Salesman. Pirate. Adventurer. Cannibal. Cofounder of the Hudson's Bay Company. Known to some as the first European to explore the upper Mississippi, and widely as the namesake of ships and hotel chains, Pierre-Esprit Radisson is perhaps best described, writes Mark Bourrie, as “an eager hustler with no known scruples”. Kidnapped by Mohawk warriors at the age of 15, Radisson assimilated and was adopted by a powerful family, only to escape to New York City after less than a year. After being recaptured, he defected from a raiding party to the Dutch and crossed the Atlantic to Holland - thus beginning a lifetime of seized opportunities and frustrated ambitions.

A guest among First Nations communities, French fur traders, and royal courts; witness to London’s Great Plague and Great Fire; and unwitting agent of the Jesuits’ corporate espionage, Radisson double-crossed the English, French, Dutch, and his adoptive Mohawk family alike, found himself marooned by pirates in Spain, and lived through shipwreck on the reefs of Venezuela. His most lasting venture as an Arctic fur trader led to the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which operates today, 350 years later, as North America’s oldest corporation. 

Sourced from Radisson’s journals, which are the best firsthand accounts of 17th-century Canada, Bush Runner tells the extraordinary true story of this protean 17th-century figure, a man more trading partner than colonizer, a peddler of goods and not worldview - and with it offers a fresh perspective on the world in which he lived.

©Mark Bourrie, 2019 (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Bush Runner

Average Customer Ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jolly good adventure yarn that is actually true.

This provides a look at Canada and its place in the 17th century world. A fascinating look at one of France/England/Holland/Canada’s most colorful figures. A great retelling of his own tale woven into a well researched background that gives the reader a hitherto rarely seen look at many of the indigenous nations and their ways of life. This will stay with me longer than most books and I fear I will be reading a lot more recently published historians. I’d rather do some fantasy trilogies but now I’m hooked on facts. Thanks Mr. Bourrie. I hope to see more from you. (after reading some of these reviews I will admit there were an number of mis pronounciations but I was able to get over them. It didn't kill the story for me - if I could give 4 1/2 stars I would as the French sounded pretty good - but I am not able to read or understand most French.)

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Long-winded good story

The intertwined historical events are quite interesting, and might have you running to encyclopedias, but the monotone performance lacks enthusiasm. Many tangents in the story could be removed or streamlined

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A great adventurer if not really an explorer

The Audible description of this biography is a bit unfair in that it paints Radisson as a somewhat distasteful character when in truth he was a pure adventurer, a man who did what he had to do to survive, who may or may not have discovered some parts of Canada and the US upper midwest but certainly started the Hudson's Bay Company which still operates today. This is a rollicking read about a man who led a really exciting life. The narrator was generally very good except when he had to pronounce French names..

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

The book was really interesting as advertised. I recommend it.

I liked the narration, the tone is fairly consistent like other people have mentioned but I didn’t think it was bad. He has a great french accent.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If only history was this cool in school!

Very enjoyable perspective on "stories" we heard in elementary school. My only criticism is the narration. It's a little dry and he doesn't seem to have much enthusiasm for the subject and from my perspective there is plenty to be enthusiastic about when it comes to these tales. Another thing in general, I know these are audiobooks but I don't understand why some of these are so plain. I prefer the books with sound effects and music as it seems to really take advantage of the medium. If I wanted to read something, I would just read it myself. I love the books that seem like more of an old radio production or resemble a play.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome story!

Loved it! Very compelling and the true story is a must to know about for Canadians and indigenous peoples. It provides a lot of insite into the highly developed moral codes, customs, traditions, laws and the ancient practices of Canada's first peoples. I thought I knew something about all this but now I realize I had very limited knowledge and understanding!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting piece of Canadian history

The main character was quite the scoundrel but it was interesting to read of his life in the 1600s. I found the book a bit dry and hard to follow at times.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book, disappointing narration

The book is very well written, engaging and informative. The author paints a clear picture of an amazing life. I wish he had been the reader. The narration is not good - the narrator’s voice is fine but the number of mispronunciations and misplaced emphasis on too many sentences is irritating. Examples: “potluck” for “potlach”, “see you” for “Sioux”, “peppies” for Pepys”, “plag” for “plague” etc. The end credits cite many editors/technicians etc - surely someone among them would know better.

Still, a terrific book. Maybe better to read it in hard copy, if you can.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book; terrible narrator

The ways the narrator butchered names (places and people) made this book almost impossible to listen to. It was clear he had initially mispronounced “Sioux” and had to re-record the name so it stood out awkwardly every time. So many other names were mispronounced, I lost count, but it blew my mind that someone narrating a history book would pronounce Thames “Tames”

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Subpar production

The narration seems slapdash. There are many mispronunciations of simple words. There is imprecise pacing too.

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2 people found this helpful