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A Fair Country (Hardcover)

by John Ralston Saul (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 340 pages
Publisher: Viking Canada (AHC) (Sep 16 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670068047
ISBN-13: 978-0670068043
Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
Shipping Weight: 409 g

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #19,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#7 in Books > History > Canada > First Nations
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#8 in Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Native Issues

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Product Description

In this startlingly original vision of Canada, thinker John Ralston Saul unveils 3 founding myths. Saul argues that the famous "peace, order, and good government" that supposedly defines Canada is a distortion of the country's true nature. Every single document before the BNA Act, he points out, used the phrase "peace, welfare, and good government," demonstrating that the well-being of its citizenry was paramount. He also argues that Canada is a Métis nation, heavily influenced and shaped by aboriginal ideas: egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group, and a penchant for negotiation over violence are all aboriginal values that Canada absorbed. Another obstacle to progress, Saul argues, is that Canada has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial non-intellectual business elite that doesn't believe in Canada. It is critical that we recognize these aspects of the country in order to rethink its future.

About the Author

John Ralston Saul's philosophical trilogy-- Voltaire's Bastards, The Doubter's Companion and The Unconscious Civilization--has had a growing impact on political thought in many countries. The conclusion to this trilogy, On Equilibrium--an exploration of the six qualities of the new humanism--is a persuasive and groundbreaking exploration of the human struggle for personal and social balance.

Mr. Saul has written five novels, including The Birds of Prey and The Field Trilogy. These works deal with the crisis of modern power and its clash with the individual. Like his non-fiction, his novels have been translated into many languages.

He has received many national and international awards for his work. The Unconscious Civilization won the 1996 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, as well as the Gordon Montador Award for Best Canadian Book on Social Issues. His reinterpretation of the nature of Canada, Reflections of a Siamese Twin, also won a Montador Award and was chosen by Maclean's magazine as one of the ten best non-fiction books of the twentieth century. His novel The Paradise Eater won the Premio Lettarario Internazionale in Italy. Most recently he received the Pablo Neruda Medal in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of Neruda's birth.

Mr. Saul was born in Ottawa and studied at McGill University and the University of London, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1972.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Perspective on Canada, Dec 14 2008

By	David Reddoch (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have seen two commentaries on John Ralston Saul's "A Fair Country", both of which make me wonder whether the authors actually read the book. The first was from Margaret Wente of the Globe and Mail, who claimed that Saul's book creates a romanticized myth of strength and sophistication for Canadian aboriginals, with no proof for his arguments. In fact, Saul provides plenty of proof, discussing aboriginal strength and their influence on Canadian society through 100 pages of historical references and insight.

The second review is right here on amazon.ca by "Book Reader" of Vancouver BC. Book Reader accuses Saul of glorifying Canada as morally superior while conveniently ignoring the truth of aboriginal residential schools. Not true. On page 32, Saul writes "I sense that the evil perpetrated in the residential schools -- the deadly health conditions, the banning of language and culture, the sexual degradation and physical violence, the disruption of families -- was the expression of a deep and growing Euro-Canadian anger at the refusal of the noble ancestor to reach for his full apotheosis by disappearing." This is a full and brutal acknowledgment of residential school truth. Far from glorification, Saul exposes and decries Canada's track record in dealing with aboriginals.

Book Reader also claims that Saul attempts to steal aboriginal cultural identity, which is also incorrect. Saul argues that Canada's true identity has been shaped by profound influences of aboriginal society, not by a monolithic European heritage as is taught in our schools today. In other words, Saul doesn't steal aboriginal cultural identity but rather reinforces it by giving our aboriginal ancestors full credit for what is good in Canada. Book Reader is correct that much has been stolen from Canada's aboriginals, but incorrectly directs his/her vitriol at this book.

I have just finished A Fair Country, and I believe Saul has discovered something important about Canadian identity, and how we can realize a fuller destiny as a nation by coming to terms with that identity and its true origins.

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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Unvarnished Truth, Nov 27 2008

By	Ian Gordon Malcomson (Smithers, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

John Ralston Saul, Canada's self-declared iconclast and demythasizer, has produced another humdinger of a study to challenge Canadians to come to grips with their true potential as a nation. His advice in this book is for us to stop seeing ourselves as stereotypically passive, ordinary, and statically cultured. To prove his point, Saul does an in depth review of the so-called truth of those historical issues that seem to set the tone as to how we perceived our place in the modern world. First, the author tackles the view that we are predominately a distinct culture based on the true-and-tried principles of western democracy. While this idea may be somewhat true, accepting it has lulled us into a sense of complacency that doesn't respond well to the forces of global change. Historically, our culture heritage is founded in a history of interracial marriages that brings with it a sense of great adventure, tolerance, and enrichment. Second, Saul takes dead aim at how Canadians view the process of government. Focusing on the concept of peace, order and good government, many Canadians may have been lulled into thinking that personal security rather general well-being is the essence of their existence. A law and order approach does not, in Saul's estimation, lead to a greater realization of justice. Saul finishes off his book with a review of the historical record as to the forces of these past two centuries that have made Canada timid in its international stature. One area that comes in for attack is the prevailing belief that contemporary provinces like Ontario and Quebec develop and protect their own economies like they did back in pre-Confederation days. Canadians still tend to see ourselves as drawers of water and hewers of wood within the colonial context. The challenge for us Canadians in the 21st century is to start seeing ourselves more in terms of what we might become rather than who we think we are.

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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What if Saul is right ?, Dec 30 2008

By	Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

There is a fundamental flaw in this book which can be summed up in this premise: If we drink water, and since Stalin drank water, therefore Stalin must have been a democract like us.

This flaw doesn't make Saul fundamentally wrong; instead, it is the flaw of assuming the commonality of certain principles means they must have been adopted from others rather than being independently invented. Saul believes, "We are a people of aboriginal inspiration organized around a concept of peace, fairness and good government."

If so, then Canada must have Zuni origins. Governor Robert Lewis of Zuni Pueblo expressed the same principles to me on various occasions, as did Navajo Nation President Albert Hale. They are wise enough in the ways of people to cite common values among people rather than believing good ideas much have a common origin.

Likewise, in 'Woodcraft and Indian Lore,' Ernest Thompson Seton outlines "Teepee Etiquette" which consists of many similar ideas. As a former Navajo Nation official, including serving as president pro tem, I saw many of these principles in day-to-day reality. To cite one example, the 'Dine' system of justice is based on different principles than Anglo-Saxon law which now governs much of the world.

Navajo "Peacemaker Courts" are quite different than Canadian courts. If adopted, such principles would turn Canadian legal society upside down. Obviously, it is worth considering and, if adopted, might even give lawyers a good name.

It is profoundly true, as Mohawk writer Beth Brant says, "We do not worship nature. We are part of it." Every modern biologist readily agrees. Does this mean the origins of modern biology are aboriginal? Or does it indicate common sense is universal?

Saul is brilliant, innovative, provocative and original. If Canada adopts these principles, it will be a better society. But, his argument will make more sense if he understands universal principles which make a good society rather than suggesting Canadians are too dumb to think of such principles on their own.

In many ways, it is a gem. As one of Canada's best known intellects, Saul is worth reading for his varied insights. He's inspiring if true, interesting if not and obviously the epitome of Canadian self-deprecation. It'd be much better if he had pride in Canada instead of his own cleverness.

He'd do far better if he credited Canadians with using their own intelligence to develop a fine society instead of saying, "Here's some more ideas for you copycats to adopt."

So why five stars? Any book that makes you think, even if your conclusions are the opposite of the author, deserves praise. What's more, perhaps Saul is right and Canada is wrong.

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