A Brief History of Canada

This book is great, exactly what I was looking for! I was looking for a brief history of Canada, guess what I got? Exactly! The book starts with the earliest ages of Canada population, than gradually moves through time until present day. If you are looking for a history book, than this is what you want. I noticed that people who gave grade 1 to this book are very dissatisfied because the author is writing bad things about USA, but this is just not true. I really like how the book is organized. It was a very good investment.

Suppose you had to write an entire history of America in fewer than three hundred pages, including maps and photos, and aimed at readers who know nothing about it. Where would you start??@The founding of Jamestown? The centuries before that? How many pages would you devote to the Civil War and its causes? To the changes in everyday life?@brought about by the railroads? To the Depression? What would you leave out? What very complex and controversial issues like the Civil Rights Movement would you have to simply gloss over? Not easy, huh? Yet, this is exactly the task that Riendeau sets out to accomplish for the history of Canada. And for the most part he succeeds!Riendeau begins his tale with a geographic survey of the land and shows that, logically speaking, the different parts that make up present-day Canada could never have joined together to form a country in the first place. Then he proceeds to tell us how that happened anyway. And while he is relating such events as the struggle between the French and British Empires for control of the land, confederation of the provinces, etc., he also gives us accounts of the War of 1812 as seen from Canadian eyes, and the influences of the American Civil War on the framing of Canada?fs own Confederation.Now look, I?fm an American who has earned a B.A. in Modern World History, has traveled extensively to many other countries (though not Canada), and spends several hours a day reading newspapers. Before I read this book, I was sure I already knew Canada. Riendeau quickly annihilated that conceit with a fascinating barrage of facts, events, and social trends I?fd never heard of right down to the very humbling tidbit that Mary Pickford -- Hollywood?fs top star of the early silent movie era?@and proudly known nationwide as ?gAMERICA?fs Sweetheart?h -- was in reality a Canadian!Okay, so this book is strictly Canadian History 101 to be laughed at by Canadians. But if all you've taken so far is Canadian History 000 like me, then this book forms a delightful introduction to the subject. And now Riendeau has got me eager to sign up for Canadian History 102. Not bad for so short and relatively easy a read!

What do you think of when you hear the word Canada? Do you think about hockey? Canadian bacon (which is neither Canadian nor technically bacon, by the way)? Eskimos? Whatever pops into our heads when we think about our neighbor to the north, it most likely has nothing to do with the historical Canada. Roger Riendeau aims to correct that ignorance with this one-volume history of the Great White North. Within a few pages of this excellent history primer it becomes apparent that Canada is much more than beer and Michael J. Fox.The book is divided into five parts: the first section is the shortest, entitled, "Exploring the Northern American Frontier." This deals with topics such as geography (Canada is massive in size and encompasses extremes in climate and topography), the native population and a quick overview of their lifestyles and languages, and the earliest voyages to Canada from Viking explorers up to Jacques Cartier in the 16th century. The impetus for European exploration is one we were all taught in grade school-an attempt to open up a northern passage to Asia in order to save money and time moving products between Europe and China.The second section, "The French Empire in Northern America, 1608-1760," deals with the attempts by the French to exploit their toehold in Canada through fur trading. Along the way, Riendeau gives a highly detailed exposition on life in New France, with an emphasis on governmental functions and exploration into the Great Lakes regions. The French would ultimately fail to expand their control into Canada due to unsuccessful attempts to integrate trade and a lack of support from the French government.The next section, "The British North American Colonies, 1760-1867," deals with the era of British control over Canada. Probably the most important aspect of this era is that Canada eventually gained its independence peacefully, without having to resort to a violent confrontation with England as the United States did in the 1770's and 1780's. It was also during this time that Canada saw an enormous influx of British and Scottish settlers move into Canada. It was the descendents of these settlers who ran the Canadian state during the darkest hours of the 19th and 20th centuries.The fourth section, "The Foundations of Canadian Nationhood, 1867-1931," sees Canada striking out on its own, while still maintaining important links to England. It is during this period that Canada begins to seriously confront the difficulties in creating a unified Canadian nation. An important event in this process occurred during the reign of the first Canadian leader, John A. Macdonald. Macdonald recognized the difficulties in bringing together regions with seemingly irreconcilable differences. It was his National Policy (a policy that included a protective tariff, a transcontinental railroad system, and a settlement policy for western Canada) that helped forge links that are still in place today.The final section, "Affluence and Anxiety in the