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The belief in the dullness of Canada’s history is as Canadian as Confederation and grain elevators. So ingrained is the idea that, in 2000, even the government-sponsored television station CBC--not known for its adventurous programming--addressed the issue by punching up the storyline in a documentary-style mini-series with excerpts from memoirs and scenes of actors in snowshoes and deerskins. The fifth edition of Desmond Morton's A Short History of Canada could use the literary equivalent of a few such cheesy historical re-enactments. Alas, Morton is an academic--in fact the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and a former University of Toronto history professor--and his book reads like a series of lecture notes. Names, dates, and events are reeled off rapid-fire, making a scorecard necessary to keep track of who belongs to what party. This overview does, however, adequately fulfill the author’s not insubstantial goal of summing up, in just under 400 pages, over 100 years of political back-stabbing, labour unrest, conflicts between eastern and western Canada and provincial and federal governments, and the numerous other events that have shaped the country. Perhaps it was Morton's desire to produce "a short history" that has resulted in a lack of telling details and anecdotes and a tendency toward avuncular generalizations such as "Booms end and love affairs cool" and "Disasters are rarely predicted and seldom come singly." Nevertheless, as the book moves into the latter half of the 20th century, the historian's grasp becomes surer, events take on added dimensions, and the text itself becomes appreciably more readable; indeed, Morton's relief at reaching the colourful Trudeau years is palpable. "Since liberation was often a matter of style, its disciples adored a prime minister who wore sandals in the House of Commons, slid down a banister at a Commonwealth conference, and told a political opponent (in Trudeau's own sanitized version) to 'fuddle duddle,'" he writes of the unconventional politician. It's enough to make Canadian history seem positively interesting. --Shawn Conner
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“To write a popular history of Canada which is both entertaining and informative is not an easy task. Desmond Morton is to be congratulated for doing precisely this.”
–Canadian Historical Review
“A joy to read, succinct, sensible, and well balanced in its viewpoint as well as in its coverage.”
–Quill & Quire
–Canadian Historical Review
“A joy to read, succinct, sensible, and well balanced in its viewpoint as well as in its coverage.”
–Quill & Quire
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
1867 and all that,
By Bruce Conron (Scarborough ON) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Short History of Canada - Revised: Sixth Edition (Paperback)
Morton achieves very well what he sets out to do - to write a short history for someone with only a small commitment to the subject, a reader looking for the once-over lightly in order to grasp the major moments and recognize the greatest actors. Over 70 per cent of the book concerns events after 1867. There are no footnotes or bibliography. He doesn't implicate any fellow historians in the foreword. He is writing it from the perspective of the students he has encountered in the large urban universities he has worked in. Morton's style is breezy and witty. He refers to Louis St. Laurent as being "used only one more time" in the 1957 federal election, as if he were a piece of old furniture, which is figuratively not far off the mark. Regarding John Diefenbaker's opposition to arming Canadian missiles with nuclear warheads in 1962, claiming they were just as effective without them, Morton observes that "only the innocent and the resolutely unmilitary could believe him. In Canada, such people were numerous."I found one error of fact in my edition: the GST was "awkwardly in place" by January 1, 1991, not in 1990 as stated in the 3rd revised edition (1997). Overall, A Short History of Canada will give readers many good reasons to want to explore the dynamic story of our country in more depth when they have more time.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
"A Short History of Ottawa" to be more precise,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Short History of Canada (Paperback)
Morton is tackling a tough task for sure, attempting to cover the entire history of a complex nation in only 350 (or so) pages. However, this does not forgive some very significant oversights. Morton dedicates an extraordinarily large portion of his work to discussing Canadian politics and politicians. While politics represents a very significant part of any country's history, it is only part of the story. I was disappointed to find little more than an occasional paragraph dedicated to non-political events: social movements, trade issues, non-political figures, etc. In addition, I think Morton tries to tackle too much in such a short text. At times, I felt that I was merely reading a chronology of events rather than an engaging, well-woven narrative. The back cover touts Morton's abilities as a "storyteller" - I found few "stories" but a lot of straightforward "this is what happened, then this is what happened next, etc." Although I was mostly disappointed, this book does convey a tremendous amount of knowledge about Canada - I know much more about the great nation to the north than I did before I read the book. But, I'd have a hard time recommending this book to other "weekend historians" such as myself.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Recommend Roger Riendeau's book instead,
By Russil Wvong (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Short History of Canada (Paperback)
For a one-volume history of Canada, I'd recommend Roger Riendeau's "A Brief History of Canada" instead. Desmond Morton seems to be attempting to tell the history of Canada as a single narrative, but it's simply too long and multifaceted to be coherent. I found the colorful writing and light tone (e.g. introducing some historical figure by describing him as a "short, stout Scotsman") more annoying than engaging -- I was looking for facts and explanations, not amusing details. Finally, the book doesn't so much end as trail off.I don't want to say that it's a bad book (Desmond Morton is a well-known and respected historian, and there were several glowing blurbs on the book cover), but it wasn't what I was looking for. Perhaps it might be more interesting for teenagers.
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