Rise to Greatness: The History of Canada From the Vikings to the Present

by Conrad Black

Masterful, ambitious, and groundbreaking, this is a major new history of our country by one of our most respected thinkers and historians -- a book every Canadian should own.
     From the acclaimed biographer and historian Conrad Black comes the definitive history of Canada -- a revealing, groundbreaking account of the people and events that shaped a nation.
     Spanning 874 to 2014, and beginning from Canada's first inhabitants and the early explorers, this masterful history challenges our perception of our history and Canada's role in the world. From Champlain to Carleton, Baldwin and Lafontaine, to MacDonald, Laurier, and King, Canada's role in peace and war, to Quebec's quest for autonomy, Black takes on sweeping themes and vividly recounts the story of Canada's development from colony to dominion to country. Black persuasively reveals that while many would argue that Canada was perhaps never predestined for greatness, the opposite is in fact the emergence of a magnificent country, against all odds, was a remarkable achievement. Brilliantly conceived, this major new reexamination of our country's history is a riveting tour de force by one of the best writers writing today.

Genres: History, Canada, Nonfiction, Politics, Unfinished, The Americas, World History

1120 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2014

About the author

Conrad Black is a Canadian-born British peer, and former publisher of the London Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Jerusalem Post, and founder of Canada's National Post.

He is a columnist and regular contributor to several publications, including National Review Online, The New Criterion, The National Interest, American Greatness, the New York Sun, and the National Post.

As an acclaimed author and biographer, Lord Black has published comprehensive histories of both Canada and the United States, as well as authoritative biographies of Maurice Duplessis, and presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump.

Lord Black is also a television and radio commentator and a sporadic participant in the current affairs programming of CNN, Fox News, CTV, CBC, BBC, and Radio Canada.

Reviews

[Amanda Poirier · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the most offensive and inaccurate piece of cr*p I've ever seen.

[Gabino G. Ocampo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book wanting to learn about the history of Canada, not knowing anything. I learned nothing except politics and policies of PMs. It is the most uninteresting book I've read. I wanted to know about the people, important events, heroes of Canada, social problems, etc. and all I got was who was the leader of what party, their personalities, what they wanted to do etc... Also, the author seems to be very biased towards the PM who was in power when the book was written.

*The author is a climate change denier and very anti-diversity bordering on racism.

Reading this book was a huge mistake.

[Daniel Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

poorly written, confusing, offers nothing new, or any interesting insights or themes. Really weak history book and disappointing effort by Black.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conrad Black's "Rise to Greatness" is a moderately good book. However, Black has written three truly great books (i.e. his biographies of Nixon, Roosevelt and Maurice Duplessis) that one should most certainly read before "Rise to Greatness" which has as many weaknesses as strengths.
"Rise to Greatness" does not cover economics, business, culture, demography,labour relations, aboriginal issues or social trends. It's unique subject is Canada's national political leadership. Black is a fervent believer that Canada was founded as a partnership of the French and the English. Canada has succeeded because its political leaders from the time of James Murray (the first civil governor of Quebec following the British Conquest) to Stephen Harper have understood that Canada must me governed in a way that is consistent with this basic bilingual and bicultural reality. The product of this collaboration between the English and French is a country that is prosperous, social progressive and increasingly playing an important role in International affairs.
Black first articulated his views on the French-English partnership that constitutes Canada in his stunning 1976 biography of Maurice Duplessis. In Black's view, everything that has happened in the forty years since has simply confirmed the validity of his orignal views. For anyone who has not read Black's biography of Duplessis, "Rise to Greatness" will be very tough going. "Rise to Greatness" succeeds well as a follow-up to "Duplessis". On its own, it has clear problems.
The overriding emphasis on the French-English issue is the first thing that bothers most readers. In fact, Black ignores every other topic that would be addressed on an undergraduate survey course on the history of Canada. The second thing that worries the reader are Black's numerous asides in which he reminds the reader that he knew one of the historical players being discussed and his opinions are based on hisdealings with the person. In other instants Black will tell the reader what one individual (for example, Margaret Thatcher) thought of the habits of another (in this case, Pierre Trudeau's frequenting of Fidel Castro) and then add that he is reporting what was communicated to him in a conversation with the famous individual. In this manner Black creates the impression that this book is a compilation of his memoires rather than the work of a legitimate historian which Black most unquestionably is.
Many readers will also be horrified by Black's bibliography which cites only works intended for the general public and which creates the impression that Black has not read a single academic monograph or article since completing his MA in history in the 1970s. Not surprisingly there is no reference to any archival work in the bibliography.
Conrad Black is one of the finest English-Canadian observers of French Canada that there has ever been. His brilliance in the area of Quebec shines through in every chapter and for some readers like myself it will be enough to make "Rise to Greatness" a great pleasure to read. I also find myself cheering as Black punctures the myth of the greatness of Trudeau while ardently defending the records of Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper. "Rise to Greatness" has many fine moments. My chief reserve is that Black has written three books based on archival work that are much more worthy of the reader's time. Only if you have read his biographies of Duplessis, Roosevelt and Nixon should you consider launching into "Rise to Greatness".

[Tommy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very top down history in which not many actual Canadians played much of a role... Canada appears largly an epiphenomenon of foreign royal court politics, wars, decadent governor generals and prime ministers, etc... the only extra-governmental actors to have had a real transformative influence on the state appears to be Quebec separatists. Also the gushing over a largly forgettable opportunist like Harper, and trying to elevate him to the position of world historic PM, is especially embarrassing.

If you can fall hook, line, and sinker for every deceptive narrative put forth by establishment shills, such as the USA being totally sincere in all regards from foreign aid not being just about corporate subsidizations/organizations like USAID not being just a tool for maintaining hegemony to NATO really being just about defence, you'll love this.

[Karl-O · Rating 4 out of 5]

I moved to Canada in 2016, and bought this book before even coming here. I was always intimidated by its size. Finding myself locked in for the last 2 months, I decided to read it. I’m glad not only to have done so, but to have done it now and not say in 2016. Having more familiarity with Canadians, Canada, its culture and history definitely made the book more enjoyable and my investment of reading -- we’re talking 1000 pages of history -- more worthwhile.

I don’t know Conrad Black very well. A casual online browsing tells me he is a colourful personality (these days that’s almost a complement). I’ll not say a lot about the person, but only that it is a bit rich — a phrase Black uses quite a few times in this book — for someone to give up his Canadian citizenship to get a peerage in England, and then write a history about Canada where he doesn’t shy of waxing patriotic about Canada every few pages.

In any case, I found his tone engaging, and it kept the otherwise dry subject matter — most of the time — interesting. I don’t think he cares much about political correctness, and I can see how it might throw off 95% of those interested in the subject. For instance, he certainly believes that European civilization coming to North America was a blessing. No, not to the newcomers, but to those who received them.

Another example where he would surely offend most of his readers is when he laments why Robert Borden (Canada's prime minister 1911-1920) didn’t accept an offer from David Lloyd George (UK prime minister 1916-1922) to get a piece of the British West Indies for Canada. What a waste for Black that Borden had forgone bulking up Canada’s population with that move, and save poor Canadian on exchange rate with winters spent in Caribbean Canada instead of Florida! All that and, of course, justifying a mighty navy, which for Black is the mark of a great nation. I couldn’t help being amused reading this fantasy.

The book is very chronological, and may be used as a reference by anyone interested in a particular era. As the subtitle says it starts with the Vikings (though they barely get a mention, and I just looked up and didn’t find them in the index), with Leif Erikson discovering Vinland around 1,000AD, which is believed to be the present day Newfoundland. The history continues until 2014, right before Justin Trudeau becomes a worldwide sensation.

Besides these shortcomings, the book redeems itself, I think. An area where Black excels is in presenting the British and France wider contexts (both in North America and Europe) throughout the text until Canada became — what he believes — a really independent country towards the end of the 20th century, not anymore in the shadow of its ancestors or mighty neighbour to the south. For instance, he thinks the reason the French didn’t endure in Canada was because the monarchy was distracted with such ventures as the 30 years war to divide Germany, and didn’t want to spend money or goods on La Nouvelle France. This is compared to the British who prided themselves for their global footprint and were more keen to spend money and resources on their adventures in North America.

The French also wanted commercial activity such as fur trade in Quebec to be self sustaining with minimal enforcement. However, this made it easy for the British to seize the fledgling colony in 1759 at the Battle of Quebec. Naturally enough, Black thinks that was really great for Canada and French Canadians in particular who would otherwise have been subsumed by America.

Another disadvantage the French had was their difficulty in convincing people to leave their nice country and come to what was essentially in those days a wasteland with extremely harsh winters. Black mentions many episodes where with the passing of a single winter, more than half of a community’s population would die of hunger and scurvy, among other ills.

Beside the obvious chronological element, the book is very much character focused. Many would sneer at what they would call Black’s “great man of leadership” approach. Hundreds of pages are devoted to the cunning, ingenuity but also idiosyncrasies of many of Canada's prime ministers who were the de factor leaders of the country. MacDonald, Laurier, Mackenzie King, Trudeau (père) and countless others are presented in full pomp but also meticulous detail. I personally don’t think Black was unduly sympathetic to these leaders or presented them as flawless but rather people who knew how to turn the moment to their advantage which coincided with that of the country.

For instance, Black’s idea is that for most of Canadian history, French Canadians were the key to govern the country successfully. The above four leaders at least recognized that and had (in varying degrees) the patience, intelligence, diplomatic and coalition-forming skills to keep the French Canadians engaged in the Canadian project, providing them assurances that they will be able to maintain their culture and resist being taken over politically, economically and culturally by Britain and the ever rising USA.

I very much enjoyed reading this, and could say that I learned a lot about what I consider more and more to be home. Some would say it could have been edited down by some 20-30% though I think that's an exaggeration. I appreciated most of the time the provided details as they really do a good job of presenting the political and economic climate both in Canada and globally, and the landscapes in which people like Laurier or even Samuel de Champlain existed.

Many people including myself find fault with the fact that indigenous populations are kept very much in the background in what is otherwise a drama played by the British and French, and later by the USA, and as we get closer to the present, the Canadians, who are largely defined as members belonging to either the British or French settlers. Those who are not from one of the so called (by Black) “founding cultures” may find this history of their country far removed from how they experience it. You get a sense that there is a missing part in this history, maybe not a huge part but an important part.

I realize I should end this never ending review. What I think is worthwhile to end with Black’s view about the future of this country. At least a desired one:

- Canada should take a bigger role in the world, as a model country for good government and civil society. This is especially important as the role of our mighty neighbour gets smaller and moves to a different direction than that of Canada (at least in terms of foreign policy, social welfare and economic policy)
- Quebec should participate more in federalism, and the rest of Canada should acknowledge the uniqueness of French Canadians and their culture
- Quebec, to avoid creating a gap between itself and the rest of Canada, should make the province more hospitable to non-French Quebeckers

These aspirations may seem vague, but you have to read the book to understand some of the ways in which Canada had enlarged its global and arguably positive role throughout its short history, little by little, and how Quebec at many points was much closer to the rest of Canada and to Canadians than it is today.

I recommend this to anyone serious about knowing a large part of Canada's history

[Catherine O'Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Save your money. The man's breathtaking arrogance shines through.

[Anthony Meaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this four stars partially because it is a massive undertaking and the author should be commended for putting this heavy tome together for the benefit of Canadians or people who would like to learn more about Canada.

However at the same time this is a sprawling and at times frustrating work. Black is a former newspaper man and has authored several books (including two autobiographies) and while he tends to litter his prose with obscure and multi-syllabic words this hasn't usually detracted from his cleverness with a sentence nor his razor sharp wit in earlier works.

In this case however there are many times when this book quite frankly bogs down and threatens to collapse under its own weight and it's times like this Lord Black's tendency to litter his prose with needlessly extravagant descriptions like "fissiparous" "obstreperous" or "coruscation" don't really add much to the reading experience.

So for the average person this might have you running for the dictionary more than reading the actual book.

Also this isn't really a history of Canada so much as the history of Canadian politics, Prime Ministers, cabinets and elections. And almost exclusively it is a history of Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec) as opposed to the entire land mass that now makes up the Country.
Therefore places like Newfoundland which has been continuously settled as long as Quebec get merely a mention.

Ditto such seminal (to most Canadians) touch points as the Riel Rebellion or the cancellation of the Avro Arrow fighter jet which Black devotes scant pages to.

As such there are long parts of this book where you will get lost in a meandering confusion of characters who appear quickly with little or no background and biographical information and then disappear just as quickly. Only to return several pages later and have you asking "who was this guy again" in that respect it is analogous to the jokes often made about "Game of Thrones" (the TV series not the books on which it is based).

Black has an in-depth and encyclopedic knowledge of Canada's political turmoil of the last few decades and it is here that he finally hits his stride. As Canada enters the 1960's and separatist movements burble to the surface in Quebec the book reaches a climax of sorts with Pierre Trudeau's effective and some what unheralded defense of federalism. The writing picks up tremendously here and the reader is carried along by the cleverness of Black's prose.

But getting there is going to be some work.

Recommended if you've already a good foundation in Canadian history. Also probably not a book to read cover to cover but maybe one to sit on your shelf (electronic or otherwise) to be taken down and read when you've an interest in a certain point in Canadian history.

[Neil S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everyone always says Canadian history is boring (it isn't). If, however, the only exposure you have to it is through this book you could be excused for thinking that. Conrad Black is verbose, pompous and full of his own importance. I couldn't finish this book as it was mostly full of info about our former PMs. According to Black if they were Conservative they were good and if they were Liberal they were bad. I shouldn't have been surprised.

[Leila · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess at some point this book was broken up into two volumes, and I read the second.
There's no way the history of Canada is actually this boring.

[Baljit Sanghera · Rating 1 out of 5]

This feels very unfocused. Being 700 something pages in I often say to myself, "what does this have to do with Canada?"
Really one of the worst history books I've ever encountered.

[M Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very difficult book to rate on a five point scale.

The good:
* though the book is over 1,000 pages, the author is a fluid writer and interspersed enough snarky comments to keep one plodding ahead.
* furthermore, he is a very astute judge of character and analyzes political and geopolitical situations well
* I learned a lot about Canadian parliamentary politics and their historic geopolitical challenges.

The bad:
* this is entirely political and diplomatic history. There is essentially no attention paid to economic, social or cultural change.
* the political focus is entirely on the federal and Quebec governments. There's no mention of provincial level politics in the other ten provinces.
* Quebec is the only province mentioned in detail with perhaps a paragraph or two on Alberta. The addition of Newfoundland to the Confederation merited a single sentence.
* Toronto's ascension to economic dominance at the expense of Montreal was dealt with in a subordinate clause at the end of a sentence. This is astonishing given Toronto's current dominance of the country.
* Similarly, the banking system's unique share of the nation's prosperity is not mentioned.
Remember this book is over 1,000 pages long.

Why it gets two stars:
I read the book because I don't know a lot about Canadian history. However, I know a lot about American and European history. Unfortunately, the author was very sloppy in writing about those areas and committed a plethora of errors. The first ten (that I found) were:
(1) Fort Le Boeuf is not on the Ohio River, but rather 110 miles to the north
(2) Saxony was never an Austrian province
(3) the American Revolution was not LARGELY carried out by slaveholders - certainly there were very, very few at Lexington, Concord or Bunker Hill
(4) the indigenous tribe in the American Southeast is the Creek, not the Cree
(5) John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry was not a farce; fatalities did occur.
(6) Grant had been junior to Lee in the pre-Civil War U.S. Army, but had never been his subordinate
(7) Dominick Daly is also spelled as Daley. Both names are shown in the index!
(8) the German Army occupied Bucharest in 1916, not 1915
(9) Salazar's regime in Portugal was by no means under the Nazi sway
(10) the Romanian Army did not join in the attack on Yugoslavia in 1941.

All in all, this book should be read in tandem with another history of Canada, which should not be the case for such a long book.

[Jay Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't finish Rise to Greatness, I made it to WWII which was good enough for me. I had a love - hate relationship with this book. It was a struggle to read on a daily basis, and as I was reading, I didn't feel that I was making any progress, yet when I finished a chapter, I felt that I actually learned something. it is a very difficult book to read - I was thankful I read it on Kindle and could easily look up the rare, archaic and just plain "big words" that prevailed.

I decided to read it because I wanted to learn more about our neighbors to the North, and to understand how Canada became Canada. Rise to Greatness totally met my goals and also gave me some good insight toward US history that I missed along the way. My mission was accomplished.

[BonnieL · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always with Conrad Black, his prose and writing skills are superb. However, this is less a "history of Canada" and more a brilliant history of Canadian politics and leaders. Some of the Goodreads reviews are obviously less about the book and more about his political viewpoints. At a hefty 1106 pages, this book offers some controversial opinions, an incredible, well-researched amount of Canadian history that is no longer taught in schools and a wonderful overview of the explorers, leaders and politicians who created this country. One doesn't always have to agree with Black and his viewpoint but he presents some thought-provoking analysis that could lead to interesting debate and discussion.

[Betty Welch]

A very comprehensive history of Canada, from the arrival of the Vikings to Justin Trudeau becoming leader of the Liberals. To say I learned a lot would be an understatement! Overall it was very interesting, especially reading about the political events of older countries that affected Canada's development in the early days. Knowing a little bit about the author I expected some bias, and perhaps there was, but I found he gave a pretty objective overview of each of our prime minister's performance as well. It took me a long time to read this book, and I needed to have my dictionary handy, but I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in Canadian history.

[Lewis Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very lengthy book, and not as well organized as I was hoping / expecting it to be. But, my biggest complaint is the almost total exclusion of maps! I found only one map in the 1,000+ pages of this book, and it was lacking in a lot of details. And, surprisingly, it was only to show the route of the Trans-Canada rail road.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Black's books are very detailed. If you stay with it, afterwards you will understand our Canadian History and culture like never before.

[Paco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book wanting to catch up on Canadian history and not knowing anything. I learned nothing except politics and policies of PMs. It is the most uninteresting book I've read. All I got was who was the leader of what party, their personalities, what they wanted to do. The author me seems very biased towards the PM who was in power when the book was written. When I wanted to learn about Canadian History, I wasn't exactly looking for a book about "Canadian Politics" it does tell how it all started but yet, it focused on the political side of it all.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a valuable contribution to Canadian history. The text is not to be taken as the only contribution to Canadian history, but is a good and valuable focus on the decisions of the few men who became Prime Minister and other senior members of the governments. It is a good argument for how the insights of leaders such as Macdonald, Laurier, King and Trudeau have contributed to the growth of Canada into a most desirable place in the world in which to live. I hope to be a life long student of Canadian life, politics and history and will return to this book from time-to-time.

[Rob Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conrad Black’s book on the history of Canada “Rise to Greatness” is well written but lacks breadth. If I did not have an interest in politics I likely would not have finished the book. It is an interesting story of the many connections and dealings within the political structure of Canada. However, it is primarily focused on the political history without much context. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a detailed history of Canada’s political shenanigans from it’s earliest days.

[Yvonne Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this. The author is no professional historian and unfortunately not a good popular historian either. Rather than present a readable and relevant look at a great country's history and culture, he gives us twisted, awkward prose, a laundry list of names of powerful people, and nothing to flesh out Canada for us. I'm an American who knows a bit about Canada and who has lived there a little, and I've been rolling my eyes .

[Richard Cahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

History with an attitude.

The author is not a historian but a passionate advocate for Canada. This comes across in his dismissive view of native society in the opening chapter, and also in his inaccurate presentation of conjecture as fact.

However, there is something persuasive in his passion for the subject and I did enjoy the book and his perspective. One doesn’t think of Canadiens as strong nationalists but there is much for them to be proud of and this author will tell you why.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not written by a historian

This is not a history of Canada by any stretch of the imagination. The author ignores native people, spends half his time talking about America and the other half dunking on the Liberal Party. If you want an actual history of Canada, don't waste your time with this partisan nonsense. This is probably the worst book I've read in a decade.

[Aysha Bisimwa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very interested in Camadian history and hoped there might be something of value in this book, given its very broad scope. But, nope, there wasn't. It is bogged down with the weight of pomposity.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conrad Black is an eminent Canadian historian.

[Kamran · Rating 3 out of 5]

As title suggests, this book covers the period from the earliest settlement of Canada by the Europeans till 2014.

[Peter]

TPL e-book.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canada's Rise to Greatness: I spent part of the last Canadian winter season diligently roaming through Conrad Black’s wide-angle historical sweep through the history of Canada. Voluminously researched, it presents what seems like every fact, event and statistic of note, with interesting ‘asides’ on the characteristics and quirks, even the psychological makeup of Canada’s former prime ministers.

And as I believe former PM Stephen Harper has also remarked, none of the unfolding of Canadian history was a foregone conclusion or a given. Its nation-defining events were a series of strenuously, bravely, intelligently wrought decisions and actions over hundreds of years. Just a few degrees off the mark, and we might be hoisting the star-spangled banner in a United States of more than 350 million souls, rather than the distinctive Canadian maple leaf flag of today.

And on that note, Mr. Black’s recent column in the National Post reassures us that the US presidential election campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is merely an ongoing expression of legitimate democracy in action and not a seismic calamity, as opined in many media reports worldwide. At any rate, the 2016 election spectacle is fascinating and intriguing. Just a few weeks left to go!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the biographies of a number of prime ministers led me to many questions about Canadian history. I bought this sometime in the year after it was published, it seemed to be the only major book of Canadian history around at the time (a few published this year have been suggested to me). There was much scepticism about a book of history written by Conrad Black. I found his writing to be highly readable and felt his treatment of history to be fair. I was curious about how he would treat individuals, but even those I know he didn't get along with was more than fair.
I especially appreciated that everything in he wrote about was couched in global affairs (whatever happened to be going on in the world at the time).
Despite being readable, this is not an easy book and it is long. I ended up putting it down to read cheerier things, especially as the 20th century dragged on.
I felt I could have done without Chapter 10 and rehashing the Chretien-Martin fights, the sponsorship scandal and successive minority governments in the late 2000s.
The only thing I felt was missing was suffrage and the Persons Case, otherwise I thought it was fairly exhaustive.

[Aaron Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Though Canada's progress has often seemed to be a freakish sequence of usually trivial events, only rarely punctuated by anything grand and dramatic, it has been invincible. The past reveals the future."

I came into this not knowing much about Canada. Although too long for my liking (I had to skim through the last 20%), well worth the time investment.

That said, if the claim is that Canada has risen to "greatness," the last line of the last chapter probably shouldn't have been: "Stephen Harper has been generally successful, and that quality is the largest single component of the history of Canada, a country that has grown steadily, always pursued admirable goals, has never been defeated, and has rarely embarrassed itself."

(back-handed compliment if I've ever read one)

More than anything, I now want to buy a Montreal Expos hat/shirt and go explore Canada.