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John Boyko

Goodreads Author

Born

in Hamilton, Canada

Website

http://johnboyko.com

Twitter

johnwboyko

Genre

History, Biography, Nonfiction

Influences

Kurt Vonnegut, Shelby Foote, Margaret Atwood.

Member Since

August 2012

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My 7th book, Sir John's Echo: The Voice for a Stronger Canada, will be released by Dundurn Press on April 1, 2017. Watch for give aways on Good Reads as the date approaches.

My sixth book, Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front, was published by Penguin Random House Knopf in Canada and the United States on February 2. It will challenge ideas many people have about Kennedy, the times, and Canada.
My previous books include Last Steps to Freedom: The Evolution of Canadian Racism, Into The Hurricane: Attacking Socialism, and Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation.

Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation was published in 2013. It was a national bestseller and chosen as one of the Globe and Mail's My 7th book, Sir John's Echo: The Voice for a Stronger Canada, will be released by Dundurn Press on April 1, 2017. Watch for give aways on Good Reads as the date approaches.

My sixth book, Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front, was published by Penguin Random House Knopf in Canada and the United States on February 2. It will challenge ideas many people have about Kennedy, the times, and Canada.
My previous books include Last Steps to Freedom: The Evolution of Canadian Racism, Into The Hurricane: Attacking Socialism, and Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation.

Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation was published in 2013. It was a national bestseller and chosen as one of the Globe and Mail's Best Books of the year. It received positive reviews in Canada, the United States and Britain. In 2014 Blood and Daring was released in paperback and the next year shortlisted for a Governor General's award for its translation into French.

I enjoy speaking with groups and doing radio, TV and print interviews and have done so across Canada. The travel is sometimes tiring but I like meeting people who share an interest in books, ideas and history.

I enjoy writing my Monday morning blog which I post on johnboyko.com.

My op. ed. columns are writing exercises but also, like this site, meant to present ideas that might cause a reader to reflect or hopefully be stirred to debate. The Globe and Mail, Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa's Hill Times, Fredericton Telegraph-Journal, Montreal Gazette and more have published my columns.

I have earned degrees from Trent, Queen's and McMaster Universities. I’m the former Dean of History and now an administrator at Lakefield College School. I’ve served on many boards including, currently, the Lakefield Literary Festival. I have also been elected to municipal office. The guitar has offered me great solace and pleasure over the years. I am now the lead guitarist and singer in a pop-rock band that plays a once a month gig at the local pub.

Home is the small Village of Lakefield, Ontario where I live in a 130 year old house with my dear wife Sue.
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John Boyko’s books

Average rating: 3.99 · 231 ratings · 48 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation 3.94 avg rating — 143 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation 4.03 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front 4.16 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Last Steps to Freedom 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Into the Hurricane: Attacking Socialism and the CCF 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2006	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sir John's Echo: The Voice for a Stronger Canada 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Devil's Trick: How Canada Fought the Vietnam War it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — expected publication 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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John Boyko's Blog

One Pandemic – Three Ideas

A crisis is a cruel teacher. It offers the test first and then its lessons. Among COVID’s lessons is the potency of three ideas too often misconstrued, dismissed, or ignored. Marx was right. It’s all about class. Nineteenth century German political philosopher Karl Marx argued that we either own the means through which stuff and … Continue reading One Pandemic – Three Ideas Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 30, 2020 02:35

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John is Currently Reading

John Boyko is currently reading

Banting: A Biography

by Michael Bliss

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Mar 20, 2017 06:49AM

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John Boyko wrote a new blog post One Pandemic – Three Ideas A crisis is a cruel teacher. It offers the test first and then its lessons. Among COVID’s lessons is the potency of three ideas too often misconstrued Read more of this blog post »
19 hours, 35 min ago · like
John Boyko is currently reading Banting: A Biography by Michael Bliss	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2017 06:49AM · 11 likes · like
John Boyko finished reading Testimony: A Memoir by Robbie Robertson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2017 06:48AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Testimony by Robbie Robertson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Testimony by Robbie Robertson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Boyko is on page 102 of 500 of Testimony Testimony: A Memoir by Robbie Robertson progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2017 04:17AM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Testimony by Robbie Robertson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Testimony by Robbie Robertson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Boyko is currently reading Testimony: A Memoir by Robbie Robertson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2017 04:16AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Testimony by Robbie Robertson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Testimony by Robbie Robertson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Boyko has read Louis St Laurent: Revised by J.W. Pickersgill	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A fairly light read about an all but forgotten Canadian prime minister.
Feb 20, 2017 04:12AM · like · see review
John Boyko answered Goodreads's question: Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why? Butch and Sundance in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". I dare anyone to watch the old movie and not fall in love with them and the power of friendship.
Feb 20, 2017 04:05AM · like
John Boyko is currently reading Louis St Laurent: Revised by J.W. Pickersgill	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 07, 2016 02:42AM · like
John Boyko has read Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King: So Similar, So Different by Terry Reardon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a good account of one politician who was trying to stay out of the war and another trying to get in - one basically shy man and another whose bold personality sometimes overshadowed his accomplishments.
Sep 14, 2016 06:18AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King by Terry Reardon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King by Terry Reardon <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Boyko finished reading Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? by Ian Brown	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 14, 2016 06:16AM · like