"Champlain's Dream" is the apotheosis of historical biographies. So carefully researched and lovingly but objectively written, I really think it belongs in a category all its own. This book looks at the founder of New France (Quebec) and the unique historical moment that made such a colony possible. Fischer carefully shows how the founders of New France were part of a period of French history celebrated for a spirit of religious pluralism after decades of religious wars. Many, including Champlain himself, came from a region of France famed for its practicality and toleration. The argument of the book is that there was a genuine desire among the founders of New France to build something truly unique - a place that combined French and Indigenous peoples into one nation. The author goes further to argue that the unique personality of Quebec and of Canada generally can be laid at this broader vision practiced by the founders of New France. I am not as well versed in Canadian history and I know that the story is much more complicated than this. But for its sheer bravado, "Champlain's Dream" is worth a read.