Looking for a history of Canada that makes for a compelling read

Hi

I’m looking for a history of Canada that makes for a compelling read. I’m looking for something along the lines of William Manchester’s “The Glory and the Dream” incorporating political, economic, historical., social and literary Canada. I really don’t know of any books on Canada like that.
I look forward to your feedback
davidmich

You might check Pierre Berton. He was a popular Canadian historian. I don’t think he ever wrote a general history of Canada but he wrote books on several subjects in Canadian history.

I came to mention Pierre Berton but was scooped.

If you go through the titles he wrote (regarding Canada and its history), I bet you’ll find something helpful and enjoyable.

Dear God,

I know I’m not a good person, but I’m trying to be better, so why dost thou test me so? I’m already counting my additional days in Purgatory for my Air Canada crack in the Polio/AIDS thread and laying a straight line like that at my feet is not fair.

Best regards,

dropzone

Thanks for the feedback.

I was thinking more along these lines…

davidmich

Here’s a hilarious clip that I think of every time someone mentions Canada-

ENJOY!

I’ve read Morton’s A Short History of Canada. It’s good, and will give you a good overview of our country’s history. It is a broad overview though–not as broad as Canadian History for Dummies, but broad nonetheless. However, as I recall, it has plenty of notes and sources, so if something strikes you as something you’d like to further explore, you can do so.

Thanks for the tip Spoons. I wasn’t sure about Canada For Dummies at first. But I’ll order that one too.
davidmich

I’m going to recommend Pierre Berton’s books.

Most specifically, The National Dream and The Last Spike.

These concentrate on the building of the CPR, the Canadian-Pacific Railway. Canada was put together right after the US civil war, and the fear was that if they did not establish dominion over the vast unsettled areas, they would suffer a repeat of what happened to Texas, not to mention the risk of a rebellion like Louis Riel in Manitoba succeeding next time. The challenge of running through 2000 miles of rugged forest north of superior, across the prairies, and the massive Rockies. The amazing thing was that the government project succeeded where “free enterprise” failed miserably.

If you want an interesting view of nature, get Farley Mowat’s Sea of Slaughter. He discusses the abundance of wildlife in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Canada generally, and how the settlers basically destroyed the ecology of the country bit by bit - from the codfish six feet long in schools so thick you could almost walk on them, the carrier pigeons and curlews flocks that darkened the skies, the great herds of buffalo - all gone now.

Harry Turtledove might have written something…

:wink:

Yes, yes, yes on Pierre Berton. The Will Ferguson book looks intriguing as well - I enjoyed his “Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw”.

And I basically logged in to brag that I played trivia with Pierre Berton (and the Front Page Challenge team) in a Duncan pub when I was a teenager. They kicked ass.

I know zip about Canadian history, but enjoyed this: Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography

Ok. Pierre Berton too.
Thanks everybody. Very helpful
davidmich.

An oxymoron.

I have read and recommend “Canada - A People’s History”. It’s a set of two large-format hardback books to accompany a TV series, but it’s very readable and interesting, and beautifully illustrated.

The first volume was more interesting to me - it covers the period from early inhabitants through French and British colonisation to about the time of Confederation. If that’s the period you’re more interested in, you may choose to buy only the first volume.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking that looking for a compelling history of Canada is sort of like looking for really spicy tapioca pudding…

Just kidding, Canadians! My daughter is in the process of becoming one of you, and I have immensely enjoyed my visits to your lovely country!

My friend Phil Jenkins is a musician, historian and writer, I found his books quite intriguing with an unique outlook.
An Acre in Time - explores the history of the Lebreton Flats in Ottawa
Riversong - explores the St. Lawrence River’s geography and history.
Beneath my Feet - biography of George Dawson.

Canada has given us some wonderful gifts- Maple Syrup and Anne Murray alone are reason enough to love them!!! :stuck_out_tongue:

Seriously though, every time I visit Toronto, I always start thinking about what a great place it would be to live! Especially when I’ve spent any time in Chicago (or God forbid, Detroit), the Toronto area seems like Heaven on Earth! So much less crime and poverty and it’s so clean! The Canucks that I’ve encountered have also been such genuinely kind and friendly people…the difference compared to large Northern U.S. cities is pretty sad…

And I’ll admit it, I am a 39-year old man and I really do love Anne Murray’s music! Blame my mom! :smiley:

When I visited Vancouver many years ago I recall seeing a Canadian history textbook in which the chapters alternated between Canadian and US history. The US bits were mainly about how the various attempts by their friendly neighbor to the south to take over their country (or large chunks of it) were thwarted.:slight_smile:

We’re still biding our time over the Alaska panhandle …