Celebrate Giving Tuesday with us
A generous donor to the Society has offered to match donations up to $75,000. Your gift will nurture in Canadian youth a passion for Canada’s diverse history.
Sponsored
2020 Book & Gift Guide
Canadarm and Collaboration: How Canada’s Astronauts and Space Robots Explore New Worlds
by Elizabeth Howell
Filled with exclusive interviews with key Canadian astronauts, including Chris Hadfield and Marc Garneau, Canadarm and Collaboration tells the tale of Canada’s involvement in international space exploration from the 1960s to the present day.
A Like Vision: The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson
by Ian A.C. Dejardin and Sarah Milroy
The definitive book on the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson with over 300 full-colour images, celebrating the centenary of the Group’s first exhibition.
War: How Conflict Shaped Us
by Margaret MacMillan
The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war — organized violence — comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war.
All ’Bout Canada: A Compendium of Canadiana
by Elizabeth F. Hill
All ’Bout Canada is a fun, informative celebration of Canada that will both educate and entertain a diverse readership. Featuring dictionary-style entries and witty poems for each letter in the alphabet, this collection of Canadian facts and anecdotes from “Aurora Borealis” to “Zellers” makes an excellent gift for avid and reluctant readers as well as parents, teachers, and librarians.
The Demons of Leonard Cohen
by Francis Mus
How are we to understand Leonard Cohen’s plea? Who speaks to whom in this oeuvre spanning six decades? In search of an answer to this question this study considers the different guises or “demons” that the Canadian singer-songwriter adopts. The wide international circulation of Cohen’s work has resulted in a partial severing with the context of its creation
Recipes for Victory: Great War Food from the Front and Kitchens Back Home in Canada
edited by Elizabeth Baird & Bridget Wranich
Recipes for Victory shows how we fed the troops and ourselves during the Great War. It combines history and cooking as it presents domestic and military recipes (and their modern-day equivalents) used during the Great War — in the trenches, behind the lines, and on the home front.
Whom Fortune Favours: The Bank of Montreal and the Rise of North American Finance
by Laurence B. Mussio
The definitive history of one of North America’s most enduring banks. The Bank of Montreal is not only Canada’s first bank: it has also occupied a prominent place in the pantheon of Canadian nation building.
Beaver bow tie
Made exclusively for Canada’s History
Beautiful woven all-silk bow tie — burgundy with small beaver images throughout. This bow tie was inspired by Pierre Berton, inaugural winner of the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media: The Pierre Berton Award, presented by Canada’s History Society.
Seen but Not Seen: Influential Canadians and the First Nations from the 1840s to Today
by Donald B. Smith
Seen but Not Seen explores the history of Indigenous marginalization and why non-Indigenous Canadians failed to recognize Indigenous societies and cultures as worthy of respect. Approaching the issue biographically, Donald B. Smith presents the commentaries of sixteen influential Canadians — including John A. Macdonald, George Grant, and Emily Carr — who spoke extensively on Indigenous subjects.
First Canadian Army: Victory in Europe 1944-45
by Simon Forty and Leo Marriott
A pictorial history of the decisive role played by Canada in the final year of World War II. After Dunkirk, as the tattered remnants of Britain’s best troops returned home without their heavy weapons, Canadian troops moved in to defend northwest Europe, sending in virtually all of its disposable weapon resources and 368,000 soldiers. The book concentrates not just on the events of 75 years ago but also what can be seen on the ground today. Includes over 350 illustrations.
John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Year Canada Was Cool
by Greg Marquis
In 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their iconic bed-in for peace at an upscale Montreal hotel, culminating with the recording of anti-war anthem “Give Peace a Chance.” Historian Greg Marquis uses the couple’s visit to offer a unique portrayal of Canadian society in the late sixties. An illuminating and entertaining read for anyone interested in this fascinating moment in Canadian history.
Embedded: Two Journalists, a Burlesque Star, and the Expedition to Oust Louis Riel
by Ted Glenn
The remarkable story of two reporters and one extraordinary woman as they journeyed to Red River with Colonel Garnet Wolseley and his expeditionary force.
Imperial Standard: Imperial Oil, Exxon, and the Canadian Oil Industry from 1880
by Graham D. Taylor
Winner of the Petroleum History Society Book of the Year, this is the authoritative history of Imperial Oil. For over 130 years, Imperial Oil dominated Canada’s oil industry while its partnership with Exxon-Mobil made it one of Canada’s largest foreign-controlled multinationals. Graham D. Taylor provides unprecedented insight into one of Canada’s most influential oil companies and sheds light on the inner workings of the industry itself.
Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia, 3rd edition
by Crawford Kilian, with a foreword by Dr. Adam Rudder
Updated with a new foreword by Dr. Adam Rudder, the third edition of this under-told story describes the hardships and triumphs of B.C.’s first Black citizens and their legacy in the province today. Partial sales proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the Hogan’s Alley Society. Copies are available from Black Bond Books and Book Warehouse — www.bookwarehouse.ca
Canada 1919: A Nation Shaped by War
Edited by Tim Cook and J.L. Granatstein
With compelling insight, Canada 1919 examines the year following the Great War — a war that was, for Canada, completely unexpected in its magnitude. In the midst of relief that the killing had ended, economic and political tensions were fraught as the survivors attempted to right the country and chart a path into the future.
Cold Case North: The Search for James Brady and Absolom Halkett
by Michael Nest, Deanna Reder, Eric Bell
In 1967, Indigenous leaders James Brady and Absolom Halkett mysteriously disappeared from their campsite in Saskatchewan, sparking rumours of secret mining interests, political intrigue, and murder. Cold Case North is the story of how a small team, with the help of the Indigenous community, exposed police failure, discovered new clues and testimony, and gathered the pieces of this missing persons puzzle.
The Taste of Longing: Ethel Mulvany and her Starving Prisoners of War Cookbook
by Suzanne Evans
Ethel Mulvany is starving in Singapore’s infamous Changi Prison, along with hundreds of other women jailed there as POWs during WWII. She beats back pangs of hunger by writing down recipes filled with cream, chocolate, butter, ripe fruit — the unattainable ingredients of peacetime, of home, of memory. This novelistic, immersive biography is a testament to the often-overlooked strength of women in wartime.
Kate Wake: A Novel
by Mariianne Mays Wiebe
A tender and deeply engaging novel from a distinctive new voice. Katie fights to reclaim her life from the grip of a psychological crisis, tracing back a stumbled-upon and uncertain family history at an abandoned prairie mental asylum. As she seeks to rehabilitate the present by understanding the past, her fate becomes intertwined with that of her great-grandmother Kate Wake, an enigmatic, independent-minded artist with her own remarkable story.
Compelled to Act: Histories of Women's Activism in Western Canada
edited by Sarah Carter and Nanci Langford
Compelled to Act showcases fresh historical perspectives on the diversity of women’s contributions to social and political change in prairie Canada in the 20th century. It reminds us of the myriad ways women have challenged and confronted injustices and inequalities.
St. Michael’s Residential School: Lament & Legacy
by Nancy Dyson & Dan Rubenstein
One of the very few accounts of life in a residential school by caregivers who witness the shocking discipline, poor food and harsh punishment for the children’s use of their native language.
Mégantic
by Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny translated by W. Donald Wilson
When a driverless, out-of-control train carrying highly volatile crude oil decimated the downtown area of the picturesque town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, it killed forty-seven people and lead to the suicides of several others. In revealing how the tragedy was not an accident, but rather was knowingly caused by powerful people and institutions, Mégantic offers a scathing critique whose ultimate goal is to prevent the preventable.
White Maple Leaf Socks
Made exclusively for Canada’s History
Maple leaf socks: Cream-coloured background with burgundy leafs and trim. 85%25 Egyptian combed cotton, 12%25 nylon, 3%25 Spandex. Sizes: CAN/US Men’s 7-12 / Women’s 8-13; EUR 39-46.
I Can Only Paint: The Story of Battlefield Artist Mary Riter Hamilton
by Irene Gammel
Uncovering the life of Mary Riter Hamilton and the lasting significance of the art she created on the battlefield.
Stay the Blazes Home: Dispatches from Nova Scotia During The COVID-19 Pandemic
by Len Wagg
A photo-filled collection of stories about Nova Scotians’ resilience during the pandemic from an award-winning photographer.
Doodem and Council Fire: Anishinaabe Governance through Alliance
by Heidi Bohaker
This book presents the history of doodem, or clan identification markings, left by Anishinaabe on treaties and other legal documents from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. These doodems reflected fundamental principles behind Anishinaabe governance that were often ignored by Europeans.
What Once Was Lost: The Blacksmith’s Art in Nova Scotia
by Frank Smith
Author Frank Smith exposes the rich history of blacksmithing in Nova Scotia, explores the subsequent emerging art form, and provides a resource of practising artisans’ profiles.
An Honourable and Impartial Tribunal: The Court Martial of Major General Henry Procter, Minutes of the Proceedings
transcribed and annotated by Guy St-Denis
After Major General Henry Procter abandoned his army and Indigenous allies during the Battle of Moraviantown, the disgraced British commander demanded a court martial, hoping to vindicate his retreat. Transcribed and annotated here for the first time, the trial’s minutes offer a wealth of historical detail about the War of 1812 and British, Canadian, and American history during the early nineteenth century.
The PS Royal William of Quebec: The First True Transatlantic Steamer
by Eileen Reid Marcil
World trade was revolutionized in the 19th century when ships went from sail to steam. The PS Royal William of Quebec steamed from Pictou, Nova Scotia, to Portsmouth, England, in 1833, the first vessel to span the Atlantic under steam. Other ships and countries challenged that claim, whence the “Royal William controversy.” Eileen Reid Marcil lays the controversy to rest.
Written in Stone: A Novel
by Peter Unwin
Paul Prescot’s desire to catalogue and comprehend the Aboriginal rock paintings of the Canadian Shield draws him and his wife deeper into a history that, while foreign to them both, seems to offer a meaningful alternative to a world that has gone wrong.
Haldane: The Forgotten Statesman Who Shaped Britain and Canada
by John Campbell
A new biography of a towering figure in twentieth-century British and Canadian politics, revealing his relevance for our contemporary crises.
The Fight for History: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, and Remaking Canada’s Second World War
by Tim Cook
The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country’s emergence as a middle power on the world stage; the rise of the welfare state; industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. The Fight for History examines how Canadians framed and reframed the war experience over time.
Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life
by Vera Maloff
For many, the Doukhobor story is a sensational one: arson, nudity and civil disobedience once made headlines. But it isn’t the whole story. Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life is an intricately woven, richly textured memoir of a family’s determination to live in peace and community in the face of controversy and unrest.
The Roadants of Canadian Services College Royal Roads
by Douglas Cope
A novel about the cadets at CSC Royal Roads, the toughest of Canada’s three military colleges in the 1960s, The Roadants conveys the shock for new boys at being thrust into a rigid system that gave them virtually no privacy and harassed them almost 24 hours a day. Incredible as some of the stories may seem, all of the anecdotes in this book are fundamentally true.
Pier 21: A History
by Steven Schwinghamer and Jan Raska
Since 1998, researchers at the Pier 21 Interpretive Centre and now the Canadian Museum of Immigration have been conducting interviews, reviewing archival materials, gathering written stories, and acquiring photographs, documents, and other objects reflecting the history of Pier 21. This book builds upon the resulting collection to present a history of this important Canadian ocean immigration facility.
Leonard Cohen: A Woodcut Biography
by George A. Walker
Eighty-two wood engravings depicting the life and career of the great poet and songwriter. Arranged chronologically, the engravings depict scenes from Cohen's many and varied creative endeavours, including poetry, novels, singing and songwriting.
Acadian Driftwood: One Family and the Great Expulsion
by Tyler LeBlanc
Piecing together his family history through archival documents, LeBlanc presents a unique and deeply researched biographical history of the Acadian Expulsion.
“Living Lightly on the Earth:” Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974–76
by Steven Mannell
Built in 1976 by Solsearch Architects and the New Alchemy Institute, the Ark bioshelter integrated ecological design features to provide a self-reliant life for a family and a model of sustainable living for the world. Illustrated with dozens of original drawings and period photographs, the book traces the history, context, research, and construction of this still-relevant experiment.
Mnidoo Bemaasing Bemaadiziwin: Reclaiming, Reconnecting, and Demystifying Resiliency as Life Force Energy for Residential School Survivors
by Theresa Turmel
Mnidoo Bemaasing Bemaadiziwin brings forward Indigenous thought, history, and acts of resistance as viewed through survivors of residential school who, through certain aspects of their young lives, were able to persevere with resiliency and share their life experiences, teaching us about them and their understanding of their own resiliency.
In Search of Almighty Voice: Resistance and Reconciliation
by Bill Waiser
Almighty Voice has been maligned, misunderstood, romanticized, celebrated and invented. Indeed, there have been many Almighty Voices over the years. What these stories have in common is that the Willow Cree man mattered. Understanding why he mattered has a direct bearing on reconciliation efforts today.
Treasuring the Tradition: The Story of The Military Museums
by David Bercuson and Jeff Keshen
The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta, is Western Canada’s only tri-service museum and military education centre. It is dedicated to preserving the memories and traditions of the countless Canadians who proudly served their country through war and conflict. Discover how The Military Museums came to be in this story of perseverance, cooperation, and community.
Because We Love, We Cry
by Sheree Fitch
During the global pandemic, Sheree Fitch shared what she calls “moments” — her first-burst warm-up writing exercises, on social media almost every day. Sometimes funny verse, other times lyrical prose or poetry, these daily missives were one way to negotiate the strange, unpredictable times.
Canada’s Great War Album: Our Memories of the First World War
edited by Mark Collin Reid
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.
Firebird
by Glen Huser
A crossover novel about a Ukrainian boy during the First World War who learns that his brother has been sent to an internment camp for enemy aliens. Will he save his brother from the camp’s deadly conditions?
Canada at War: Conscription, Diplomacy, and Politics
by J.L. Granatstein
In this collection of his previously published essays on the two world wars, J.L. Granatstein brings together research from archives in Canada and abroad, illuminating Canada’s political transition from the British to American sphere of influence in the first half of the twentieth century.
On the Cusp of Contact: Gender, Space and Race in the Colonization of British Columbia
essays by Jean Barman, edited by Margery Fee
Working to recognize past actors that have been underrepresented in mainstream histories, Barman’s focus is B.C. on “the cusp of contact.” The sixteen essays in this collection piece together stories of individuals and groups disadvantaged in white settler society because of their gender, race, and social class. Copies are available from Black Bond Books and Book Warehouse — www.bookwarehouse.ca
Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory
by Brittany Luby
Dammed explores Canada's hydroelectric boom in the Lake of the Woods area. Luby weaves text, testimony, and experience together, grounding this historical work in the territory of her paternal ancestors, lands she calls home.
The Bomb in the Wilderness: Photography and the Nuclear Era in Canada
by John O’Brian
Photographs provide a link between the nuclear past and present, and they play a significant role in shaping the public’s perception of nuclear events. The Bomb in the Wilderness contends that photography is one of the principal ways, if not the primary way, that Canadians have represented, interpreted, and remembered nuclear activities since 1945.
The Captain Was a Doctor: The Long War and Uneasy Peace of POW John Reid
by Jonathan Reid
A Canadian medical officer and prisoner of war returns from the Second World War a hero — and a very different man. Reid survived the war, but finding a peace of his own took ten tumultuous years, with casualties of a different sort.
The Ku Klux Klan in Canada: A Century of Promoting Racism and Hate in the Peaceable Kingdom
by Allan Bartley
Allan Bartley traces the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada through the turbulent years of the 1920s and ’30s to their small but violent resurgence in the 1980s. The Ku Klux Klan in Canada tells the little-known story of how Canadians adopted the Klan's image and ideology to express the racism that has played so large a role in Canadian society for the past hundred years — right up to the present.
Burden
by Douglas Burnet Smith
A collection of poems that tell the story of a British soldier during the First World War who was shot for desertion but was retrospectively understood to have suffered from PTSD. Burden is a reminder of the misconceptions around PTSD and the complex injustices of wartime.
Jeannie’s Demise: Abortion on Trial in Victorian Toronto
by Ian Radforth
August 1, 1875, Toronto: The body of a young woman is discovered in a pine box, half-buried in a ditch along Bloor Street. So begins a real-life Victorian melodrama that played out in the bustling streets and courtrooms of “Toronto the Good.” Historian Ian Radforth’s intensive research grounds the tragedy of Jeannie’s demise in sharp historical analysis, presenting more than a dozen case studies of abortion trials in Victorian-era Canada.
Professional Heckler: The Life and Art of Duncan Macpherson
by Terry Mosher, foreword by John Honderich
A candid biography of one of the most influential editorial cartoonists in recent Canadian history. Duncan Macpherson (1924-1993) won six National Newspaper Awards and a Molson Prize, among other honours. A formidable and groundbreaking artist, he also struggled with many personal demons.
The Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain
by Dukesang Wong
Dukesang Wong’s remarkable diary tells of the appalling conditions while constructing the treacherous British Columbia section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It places this part of Canadian history into context as Wong gradually, painfully establishes a new life in a new land — moving from his early years in an unstable China, to his decision to emigrate to “the Land of the Gold Mountains,” his becoming a tailor in New Westminster, B.C., and the joys of family life.
Leo Tolstoy and the Canadian Doukhobors: A Study in Historic Relationships. Expanded and Revised Edition.
by Andrew Donskov
Donskov’s expanded study presents an outline of Doukhobor history and beliefs, their harmony with Tolstoy’s lifelong aim of “unity of people,” and the portrayal of Doukhobors in Tolstoy’s writings. This edition features Tolstoy’s complete correspondence with Doukhobor leader Pëtr Vasil’evich Verigin. Three guest essays by prominent Canadian Doukhobors are also included.
Silver Hair and Golden Voice: Austin Willis from Halifax to Hollywood
As told to Ernest J. Dick
Halifax-born film, television, and radio performer Austin Willis worked with luminaries from Orson Welles and Peter Sellers to a young William Shatner. Oral historian and archivist Ern Dick has brought the voice of Austin Willis to life in the memoir Willis wanted to write — but didn’t, because he never stopped performing.
The First Century of the International Joint Commission
edited by Daniel Macfarlane and Murray Clamen
The International Joint Commission oversees and protects the shared waters of Canada and the United States. Created in 1909 it is one of the world’s oldest international environmental bodies. Detailed, informative, and fascinating, this collection separates myth from reality to uncover the historical evolution of the International Joint Commission.
Grey Owl: Three Complete Works
The three most famous and influential works from the controversial legend and early conservationist. In mid-life, Archibald Belaney adopted the Ojibwe name Wa-sha-quonasin, or Grey Owl. All of Grey Owl’s stories are based on true-life experiences.
Restigouche: The Long Run of the Wild River
by Philip Lee
Part canoe travelogue, part investigative journalism, Philip Lee explores the history and future of conservation on the world-renowned Restigouche salmon river.
Spirit of the Grassroots People: Seeking Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Canada’s Colonial Education System
by Raymond Mason, edited by Jackson Pind and Theodore Michael Christou
A compelling memoir by a survivor of the Indian residential and day school system who fought for justice on behalf of Indigenous people.
Setting a Fine Table: Historical Desserts and Drinks from the Officers’ Kitchens at Fort York
by Elizabeth Baird and Bridget Wranich
Setting a Fine Table contains 32 recipes for desserts and drinks from cookbooks that are hundreds of years old.
Intimate Integration: A History of the Sixties Scoop and the Colonization of Indigenous Kinship
by Allyson D. Stevenson
Privileging Indigenous voices and experiences, Intimate Integration documents the rise and fall of North American transracial adoption projects, including the Adopt Indian and Métis Project and the Indian Adoption Project. The author argues that the integration of adopted Indian and Métis children mirrored the new direction in post-war Indian policy and welfare services.
Lost in Barkerville
by Bitten Acherman
Zach, Kyle and their eccentric teacher Miss Reid are transported back in time to 1866 at the height of the Cariboo gold rush in Barkerville, where they have to save their good friend Theo from hanging at the hands of Judge Matthew Begbie. A crossover novel.
Canada’s History slipcase
from Canada’s History
Each case holds twelve issues of Canada’s History magazine — two years of magazines — and ensures that your collection stays in perfect condition for future reference.
Themes associated with this article
Sponsored by
The 2020 Book & Gift Guide is brought to you by publishers from across Canada.
Advertisement
More books...
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Your purchases support Canada's History
Our online store carries a variety of popular gifts for the history lover or Canadiana enthusiast in your life, including silk ties, dress socks, warm mitts and more!
