LAND OF THE FUR TRADERS AID International, n.d. Sound Filmstrip. 1-62 frames, colour. $35.75. Includes 1 audiocassette, program guide obert B. Mansour, 1981. Kit. $44.50. Includes 20 slides, colour, map, 30 air photographs, 30 topographic maps, teacher's guide. Distributed by AID International, Box 4513, London, Ont, NSW 5 J56. Grades 4 and up. Reviewed by the Evaluation Committee of the Board of Education for the City of North York. Volume 12 Number 6 1984 November The development of the fur trade and the rivalries among the various elements of the business-the French/British, the Northwest Company/Hudson's Bay Company-are documented. Life for the "common man" in the growth of the fur trade is touched upon with mention of the hardships and loneliness of the voyageurs and traders plus casual mention of the leading explorers of the three centuries of the business of trading and development of Canada's western half. The current state of Canada's west with its oil, lumber, wheat, and mineral resources is the introduction to the filmstrip/tape presentation, and it is this premise that is somewhat misleading. The fur trade was the antithesis of settlement and urban growth as the presentation itself states, so it seems inappropriate to commence a presentation showing cities and urban development. Aside from this, there are several glaring inaccuracies: naming "Hudson Bay" "Hudson's Bay;" conversion of 500 miles to 310 km; use of the word "plundering" to describe the Plains Indians' dependence upon the buffalo. The art work in several frames looks shoddy and lacking in detail, and the presentation is difficult to follow due to a lack of connecting narration/picture. For example, a frame showing mountains, presumably the Rockies, is matched with the audio, which states that the exploration of the West reaches the Rockies. This is extremely vague, if not inaccurate, considering that many explorers travelled from the Pacific coast inland toward the east. Overall, the presentation lacks cohesion: mentioning Daniel Boone and the penetration of the Appalachians seems most inappropriate, and the focus of the kit upon the fur trade without some explanation of the latter system or method of trading at Hudson's Bay posts is inexcusable. The role of the Indian in the trapping and preparation of the fur is hardly mentioned either. Not recommended. From the Evaluation Committee of the Board of Education for the City of North York.