First edition: "the first crossing of the continent from ocean to ocean by a white man. The narrative portion was prepared for publication by William Combe from Mackenzie's notes. The account of the fur trade — the first ever published — is attributed to Roderick Mackenzie" (Howes). Leaving Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabaska in 1789, Mackenzie set out for the Arctic Sea on the river now bearing his name, and returned the same year. In 1792, he again set out, this time for the Pacific. In both cases, unlike so many of the earlier and subsequent explorers, he was successful, despite the constant and seemingly insurmountable obstacles he encountered. This work was considered remarkable for its accuracy by the many explorers of the nineteenth century who followed Mackenzie's tracks.

First edition: "the first crossing of the continent from ocean to ocean by a white man. The narrative portion was prepared for publication by William Combe from Mackenzie's notes. The account of the fur trade — the first ever published — is attributed to Roderick Mackenzie" (Howes). Leaving Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabaska in 1789, Mackenzie set out for the Arctic Sea on the river now bearing his name, and returned the same year. In 1792, he again set out, this time for the Pacific. In both cases, unlike so many of the earlier and subsequent explorers, he was successful, despite the constant and seemingly insurmountable obstacles he encountered. This work was considered remarkable for its accuracy by the many explorers of the nineteenth century who followed Mackenzie's tracks.

The "first and finest edition of the earliest expedition made by a white man in this direction. His investigations, although pursued at so early a period of Arctic exploration, were remarkable for their accuracy; Sir John Franklin more than once expressed his surprise at being able to corroborate their correctness in his own explorations" (Sabin). Mackenzie's account of the "Rise, Progress, and Present State of Fur Trade" is the first printed. The three maps, some of the earliest of this area, include: "A Map of America. exhibiting Mackenzie's track from Montreal to Fort Chipewyan & from thence to the North Sea in 1789 & to the West Pacific Ocean in 1793", "A Map of Mackenzie's Track from Fort Chipewyan to the North Sea, in 1789", "A Map of Mackenzie's Track from Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean in 1795".