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Valerie Knowles’ competent survey of the life and times of William Van Horne is the latest volume in the highly accessible Quest series of biographies of significant Canadians.

The book tracks Van Horne’s epic career from the age of eleven, when he was a self-taught telegraph operator, to his final international business transactions in the weeks before his death at the age of seventy-two. However, it’s Knowles’ ability to bring the personality behind the legendary business magnate to life that makes the book such an enjoyable read.

She chronicles his love of family and practical jokes as well as his passionate interests in food, art, graphic design, and geology — each of which, she illustrates, informed and shaped his business development decisions for the Canadian Pacific Railway in significant ways.

As with all titles in the Quest series, this book includes a chronology of events and a bibliography. It makes for a wonderful entry point into the life and times of one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs.

For those looking for more on Van Horne, Knowles also authored a longer, award-winning biography in 2004, entitled From Telegrapher to Titan: The Life of William C. Van Horne.