No, we know you’re aware we exist. You’ve gotta blame those chilly Arctic winds on somebody, after all.
I own and have read Morton’s Short History of Canada, by the way. It’s quite good. Not as detailed as it could be, but it is a good overview of the major players and events. Certainly, it would be a good place to start; and if it piques your interest enough, I’m sure that we Canadian Dopers can point you to other, more detailed, sources. And if not, that’s okay too.
As for me, when I have a few free minutes from my studies, I’m either enjoying one of the crossword puzzles in a New York Times Sunday omnibus (as you might guess, twickster!) or reading my way through The Best of Jim Coleman.
I’ll explain. Jim Coleman was a sports columnist here in Canada for many years. He wrote for a variety of newspapers and syndicates, and his columns were very much like Rick Reilly’s in Sports Illustrated. They dealt with all sports, although Mr. Coleman did have a special place in his heart, and his columns, for horse racing. In fact, when the Daily Racing Form Press published a collection of famous racing writers a few years ago (titled Finished Lines if anybody is interested), Mr. Coleman was the only Canadian writer included.
Incidentally, I cannot think of him in any other way than “Mr. Coleman,” because I did meet him when I was a child. He knew my father, and so when I was with Dad, and Mr. Coleman happened by, my Dad would say, “Hello, Jim! And Spoons, you remember Mr. Coleman, don’t you?” Hard to break the habit of “Mr. Coleman,” even now.
Great columns though. They follow Canadian sports history from 1939 to 1983, and as I said, dealt with everything: hockey, football, curling, boxing … and horse racing. Maybe it was by reading one of Mr. Coleman’s earlier books on the subject that I became interested in horse racing. Anyway, for now, I’m quite enjoying the recent collection of Mr. Coleman’s columns.