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6th out of 77 books
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19 voters
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Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada
Canada's number one humorist, routinely compared to our own Bill Bryson, has written a funny, idiosyncratic, and warmly humane book full of sly observations and witty stories culled from his travels among the people and places of our neighbors up north. Will Ferguson spent the past three years crisscrossing Canada. In a helicopter above the barren lands of the subarctic, i...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
May 5th 2005
by Canongate U.S.
(first published 2004)
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In order to remedy the terrible deficiency in my knowledge about our Neighbor to the North, I checked out Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw, a wonderfully named travel book, written by a Canadian, all about travelling from the western edge of the country, to the eastern edge, to the Great White North part, and many stops in between.
After reading the book, I learned a lot more about Canada that I didn’t know before. For example:
- Victoria is “more English than England” and full o...more
After reading the book, I learned a lot more about Canada that I didn’t know before. For example:
- Victoria is “more English than England” and full o...more
I'm pretty certain Furgusson got the idea for this book from Jan Morris's O Canada! Travels in an Unknown Country. Morris's attempt is superior, but unfortunately out of print. What we have instead is this watery, dumbed-down version, heavy with personal asides (the origin of my kid's name, that song by Smash Mouth I like so much, why I'm so humourous) and light on Travels in Search of Canada. You wonder who the audience is? Teenyboppers? The jokes are juvenile, and it's unbearingly narcissistic...more
This is a book written for Canadians, by a Canadian. Anyone reading from outside, have to realize that this book is written with a Western Canadian mentality (which I can identify with, and maybe that's why I feel like i "get" it).
The feeling of this book to me is one of a guy who is trying to explain what Canada is and looks to areas most often overlooked by everyone (Even its inhabitants). Takes you away from the most obvious (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, etc), to the buried ...more
The feeling of this book to me is one of a guy who is trying to explain what Canada is and looks to areas most often overlooked by everyone (Even its inhabitants). Takes you away from the most obvious (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, etc), to the buried ...more
Filled with humour and the unexpected and with much cultural history, this travel book is really a wonderful tribute to Canada.
Did you know, for example, that Thunder Bay "contains the largest Finnish community anywhere outside of Finland?" or that "...long before the Europeans arrived, Native routes had been established along the waterways, from the St. Lawrence all the way to James Bay?" or that "...every summer, as the ice melts on Hudson Bay, more than 1...more
Did you know, for example, that Thunder Bay "contains the largest Finnish community anywhere outside of Finland?" or that "...long before the Europeans arrived, Native routes had been established along the waterways, from the St. Lawrence all the way to James Bay?" or that "...every summer, as the ice melts on Hudson Bay, more than 1...more
How can one resist the book's title... especially when one at one time called Moose Jaw home? Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada by Will Ferguson is like taking a literary road trip accross this vast country and stopping to check out all the crazy shit that seems to line our highways. Ferguson chooses to write about small, and in many cases, relatively unknown areas of Canada, and the interesting history they share. History geeks and useless information lovers will especi...more
Right, so Will Ferguson's apparently a columnist of some kind who writes occasional books about Canada. This one is a series of trips across the country from west to east. The best parts are where he talks about his childhood and various regions' folk histories. The worst parts are when he invokes any kind of poetry (he is a self-described failed poet) or humor.
He manages to be self-deprecating and pretentious at the same time, and I suspect it's all part of his "everyman"...more
He manages to be self-deprecating and pretentious at the same time, and I suspect it's all part of his "everyman"...more
Ever since I visited Canada for the first time in 2006 I meant to read Will Ferguson. When I moved to Canada in 2008 I would see his work every time I took a BC ferry and intend to buy one. I've finally picked this book up (after also giving his work as a gift) and wasn't really very interested in it. As I've heard such good things about Will Ferguson I'll try again with another one. Perhaps a Canadian born and breed will be more likely to appreciate this.
I checked out this book to help me plan my trip to Canada this summer.
The cover advertises Ferguson as "Canada's Bill Bryson," and he is pretty funny. Maybe funnier than Bryson?
Ferguson is very much a Canadian patriot, and he obnoxiously dismisses Quebecois nationalism.
Otherwise, if you like reading about traveling in Newfoundland, long drives on the prairie, and Canada's far north, you might like this book. I thought it was fun.
The cover advertises Ferguson as "Canada's Bill Bryson," and he is pretty funny. Maybe funnier than Bryson?
Ferguson is very much a Canadian patriot, and he obnoxiously dismisses Quebecois nationalism.
Otherwise, if you like reading about traveling in Newfoundland, long drives on the prairie, and Canada's far north, you might like this book. I thought it was fun.
I love reading books about Canada and this one is particularly awesome. It covers Victoria, Fort Vermilion, Moose Jaw, Churchill, Thunder Bay, Chatham, Amherstburg, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Tadoussac - Lac Saint-Jean, New Brunswick, the Republic St. John's, and L'Anse aux Meadows.
Of those places, I've been to six. Since I never did finish this post back when I read the book, I have no idea what my note "cash cars at Eaton's and Woolworths" might have meant. But I do know that this ...more
Of those places, I've been to six. Since I never did finish this post back when I read the book, I have no idea what my note "cash cars at Eaton's and Woolworths" might have meant. But I do know that this ...more
A humorous travel account of Canada covering the author's various trips to different parts of his country. There is no real unifying or chronological theme (other than possibly a general west to east ordering), such as undertaken in HITCHING RIDES WITH BUDDHA, but it is an enjoyable mix of memoir, history, and observation about our northern neighbor.
Will Ferguson's humour brings Canadian history to life. His first-hand accounts of various places across the country are fascinating. I feel inspired to look a bit deeper into our history, acknowledging the contributions made by First Nations, French, British and other cultural groups that formed this country.
Canadian history has never been so engaging, so charming, so funny and so interesting. They should teach this version in school! I have a full review on my blog.
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Hmm...I have to admit I much prefer Bill Bryson's style, it seems less forced maybe? I don't know....some of it is quite interesting and I must admit I did enjoy the bit about Newfoundland which made me smile, but all in all it fell flat to me. A real shame though because I was really looking forward to reading it and revelling in the bizareness that is Canada but I really didn't feel it. It could be that it just didn't speak to my reality nor did it really cover those places I've been and lived...more
An interesting mix of travelogue, history, humour and personal/family memoir. I enjoyed the glimpses of different parts of Canada and the theory about Canada being a nation of outposts. A lot of the book rang true to me and I was fascinated to learn more about the Underground Railroad in particular.
Fun, but as usual, he is a little too flip for me. Thus, I never know if I should believe him. I like this edition because it has "Special Features", including his bibligraphy, so, if I want to know more, I can look things up.
I had to read it just for the title. I found it listed in Book Lust to Go, then ordered it online. It was a pretty good read about small-town Canada.
It's too tempting to compare this to a Bill Bryson travelogue, and it's almost impossible not to ... there's the same gentle sarcasm and wit, the same interest in the offbeat, and the same love of country that Bryson displays in his best work. But Ferguson is a Canadian true-and-true, even if it took years of living in Japan to finally realize it, and the book is an amusing and always interesting look at various Canadian areas he travels to, along with personal stories and reminisces by Ferguso...more
Ferguson combines local history and his own travel experiences with a sense of humour. I would've given the book a higher rating, but there were a couple chapters that put me to sleep.
As someone who desperately wants to live in Canada, this was an absolute joy to read. Informative, very funny, and sometimes beautiful. I look forward to reading Mr Ferguson's other works.
I really ehjoyed Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw. It was a great book to read while life was very busy and I couldn't devote long periods to reading. Each chapter was a standalone story but they all connected to give an insight into Canada, it's history and the many cultures that make up the country. It has definitely increased my desire to visit the country and see for myself. Will Ferguson's writing style is very easy going and relaxed. The book is really informative but with bits of humour scatter...more
My book club chose this recently (one member lived in Canada for some years). I actually got to read only about a third of the book, but I did enjoy it. The comparison to Bill Bryson is pretty apt, tho Ferguson doesn't have quite the sense of the absurd that Bryson does. The book is a fond, and often funny, look at various spots in Canada that many Canadians don't even know about. No charge for the history lessons thrown in here and there. This book could only have been written by a Canadian, a...more
Tori
added it
2011- Having never read a book by this author, I thought he was fairly entertaining, which was a nice surprise. I love travel/history writing and it's hard to find a author who does this mixture well. However I don't think he is close to being as good as one of my favorite authors in the genre, Bill Bryson.
Terrific, as always! A little more wistful than some of his other work.
Was slow to get into, but after a couple of pages it always flowed smoothly.
This book made me realize I need to travel in my own country.
Part travelogue, part eclectic history book, this is my kind of travel book. Informative, evocative - makes me want to explore Canada whilst adding a cultural context for why Canada is the way it is.
This could have been a fun book to read, but the writer seems to suffer from both personal insecurities and an inflated ego. He keeps reassuring readers, throughout the book, that he's such a funny guy. And blasted all over the cover of the book are quips that this author is the funniest Canadian to date. Well, maybe Canadians have unique comedy tactics, but I think subtlety is a universal, albeit underestimated, ingredient of humor, and this guy really could have used a dose of it.
I'm really horrible at non-fiction, even when it comes to humorous non-fiction like "Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw." In my defense this time though, the book just wasn't as funny as I hoped it would be. Sure, there were some funny parts, but they were surrounded by a lot more wistful memoir-type passages about the author's travels through Canada. It's not that it was a bad book, it just wasn't quite what I expected, so I was a bit disappointed.
As someone currently obsessed with Canada (don't ask), this book was pretty darn perfect. Ferguson explores some of the country's most eccentric spots, sprinkling his journeys with just the right amount of historical information and personal narrative. I love the idea of Canada as a Land of the Lost—a shipwrecked nation—and Ferguson captures that exquisitely, that combination of melancholy and hope. You're not helping to cure my obsession here, man.
Always despaired because Bill Bryson has never written about Canada? Ferguson does it for him and while his voice isn't quite as ha-ha funny as Bryson's, it's still an amusing and super-informative trip; one that makes me want to chuck it all for a long trip in exploration of a country I've always kind of wanted to call home.
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Will Ferguson (born William Stener Ferguson) is a Canadian writer and novelist who is best known for his humorous observations on Canadian history and culture. His success as a writer can be attributed to an innate ability to view Canada much the same way an outsider would, as described in his debut book, the ironically named Why I Hate Canadians. Ferguson talks about this in a recent CBC radio in...more
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“You ever want to negotiate a hostage situation in Quebec, I'm your man. Send me in for a little parley and the francophone miscreants will flee, hands over bleeding ears.”
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