2018 Summer Reading Guide

While the Klondike Gold Rush is one of the most widely known events in Canadian history, particularly outside Canada, the rest of the Yukon’s long and diverse history attracts little attention. Land of the Midnight Sun has long been the standard source for understanding the history of the territory. This third edition includes a new preface to update readers on developments in the Yukon’s economy, culture, and politics, including Indigenous self-government.

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At 7,700 square kilometres, Algonquin Park offers constant surprises, even for McNab, who shoots in all seasons and never tires of the park’s natural beauty. In this travel-friendly keepsake book, photographer Iain McNab shares some of the stunning photographs he has taken in over twenty years of visiting Canada’s first provincial park.

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This compelling account of the Fraser River salmon strikes of 1900–1901 — told with journalistic flair by award-winning author Geoff Meggs — illuminates this pivotal event in B.C. history, creating discussion about issues such as inequality, racism, immigration, and economic power that remain relevant today.

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The populist who mobilized farmers to support a socialist platform, George Hara Williams was undermined by Tommy Douglas and M.J. Coldwell just as Saskatchewan’s CCF was on the threshold of power.

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Settler ranching in Southern Alberta conjures the image of a lone cowboy riding the range. But women have always played an essential part in the cattle industry, often working without recognition or support. This book examines the rhythms, routines, and realities of women’s lives on family ranches.

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In this book Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson challenge virtually everything that non-Indigenous Canadians believe about their relationship with Indigenous Peoples and the steps that are needed to place this relationship on a healthy and honourable footing. Late Indigenous activist Arthur Manuel offers a six-step program to decolonization and an illuminating vision of what is needed for Canada and Indigenous Peoples to reach true reconciliation.

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In the spring of 1940 Canada sent hundreds of highly trained volunteers to serve in Britain’s Royal Air Force as it began a concerted bombing campaign against Germany. Nearly half of them were killed or captured within a year. This is the story of one of those airmen, as told through his own letters and diaries as well as those of his family and friends.

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From the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, in the midst of the Cold War and second-wave feminism, the RCMP security service — prompted by fears of left-wing and communist subversion — monitored and infiltrated the women’s liberation movement in Canada and Quebec. A sharp-eyed inquiry into spy policies and tactics in Cold War Canada, Just Watch Us speaks to the serious political implications of state surveillance for social justice activism in liberal democracies.

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Did you know pirates once sailed the seas around Atlantic Canada? Pirates might seem like fun in the movies, but back in the 17th and 18th centuries — the Golden Age of Piracy — being a pirate was very serious business. In the newest book from Nimbus’s popular Compass series for young readers, learn about what everyday life was like for some of the fiercest pirates of all time.

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Now back in print, this thoroughly researched and highly informative classic contains an incredibly varied and highly refined assemblage of tools, techniques and knowledge — the culmination of thousands of years of evolutionary development. Indian Fishing is more than a bare account of the technology of fishing; it is about fish and fishing in the total lives of the Northwest Coast people.

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Canadian readers have enjoyed their own graphic satire since colonial times and Canadian artists have thrived as they took aim at the central issues and figures of their age. Drawing on new scholarship by researchers working in art history, material culture, and communication studies, Sketches from an Unquiet Country follows the fortunes of some of the artists and satiric themes that were prevalent in the centres of Canadian publishing.

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Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the First World War, Canada’s Great War Album is an unprecedented and remarkable collection of Canadian photographs, memorabilia, and stories of the war. Includes contributions from Peter Mansbridge, Charlotte Gray, J.L. Granatstein, Christopher Moore, Jonathan Vance, and Tim Cook.

Buy this book from Canada’s History Society. 

China’s interest in the Arctic is growing. This book provides in-depth analysis of Chinese interests and activities in the Arctic from a Canadian perspective. Exploring topics from shipping and resource development to government and security, it provides an unparalleled point of reference to discuss implications of China’s Arctic ambitions for the Canadian North.

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Despite the growing threat of global warming, Canada has failed to take serious steps to reduce carbon emissions. In this book, former Alberta politician Kevin Taft exposes exactly how our democratic institutions have been captured by the oil industry to pursue its agenda, ultimately stopping action on climate change.

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The twenty-fifth of August 2018 marks the 250th anniversary of the departure of the Endeavour from Plymouth, England, and the first of three voyages by James Cook that would nearly complete the map of the world. A stunningly illustrated object-centred history, James Cook: The Voyages offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to discover the extensive Captain Cook collection of the British Library, including original maps, artworks, journals, and printed books.

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From fiddleheads to spruce tips, wild food can be adventurous and fun–with the right guide. In Eating Wild in Eastern Canada, award-winning author and conservationist Jamie Simpson shows readers what to look for in the wilds and how and when to collect it.

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In Ranch in the Slocan, renowned Canadian geographer Cole Harris offers a case study in pioneering and a portrait of his family’s experiences in the Slocan Valley. Using diaries, letters, his grandfather’s writings, historical photographs and his own recollections, Harris pieces together a fascinating history of a place and how its use and purpose has evolved over time.

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From the Last Spike to Pierre Trudeau, from Vimy Ridge to Terry Fox, from Bob and Doug McKenzie to Ben Johnson, from Sir John A. Macdonald to Kim Campbell — these subjects come to life in 100 images that touch us, unsettle us, or make us proud to be Canadian. Contributors include Christie Blatchford, Will Ferguson, J.L. Granatstein, Peter Mansbridge, Don Newman, Jacques Poitras and Winona Wheeler.

Buy this book from Canada’s History. 

Farmers feed cities, but starting in the nineteenth century they painted them too. Flax from Canada and the northern United States produced fibre for textiles and linseed oil for paint — critical commodities in a century when wars were fought over fibre and when increased urbanization demanded expanded paint markets. Flax Americana re-examines the changing relationships between farmers, urban consumers, and the land through a narrative of Canada’s first and most important industrial crop.

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After returning from Rwanda, Lieutenant Colonel Stéphane Grenier was haunted by his experiences. Faced with post-traumatic stress disorder and an archaic military establishment, he spent ten years confronting its mental health system. Taking a radical new approach, he founded the Operational Stress Injury Social Support program that provides practical help for mentally injured soldiers. His groundbreaking work has since been adopted by civilian society.

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100 Things You Don’t Know About Atlantic Canada (for Kids) includes fun photos and helpful explanations that go with all the wacky and weird trivia that is sure to entertain and educate. As an added bonus, each ‘thing’ is paired with an interactive sidebar suggesting fun family activities, and places to visit.

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In prose that is both accessible and engaging, and featuring over 200 archival photos, On the Line tells the important story of how labour organizations have shaped the economic, political and social fabric of British Columbia — at a cost of much blood, sweat, toil and tears. This comprehensive overview will appeal to union members, community activists, academics and historians alike.

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Selling Earth observation satellites on their abilities to predict and limit adverse environmental change, politicians, business leaders, the media, and technology enthusiasts have spent sixty years arguing that space exploration can create a more peaceful, prosperous world. Tug of War confronts the mythic lure of technological progress and the ways in which those who profess little interest in war rationalize their leap into military contracting by avoiding the moral and political implications of their work.

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Featuring stunning colour and black-and-white photographs, 100 Days That Changed Canada is an elegant keepsake and an essential addition to every library. Contributors include Michael Bliss, Stevie Cameron, Adrienne Clarkson, Tim Cook, Charlotte Gray, Ken McGoogan, Dick Pound, Bob Rae, Peter Mansbridge, Rona Maynard, Peter C. Newman, Margaret Wente and Brian Williams.

Buy this book from Canada’s History.