Canada Since 1945

by Robert Bothwell, Ian Drummond, John English

From the preface

"A visitor seeing Canada for the first time since 1939 might well conclude that Canada, even more than nations devastated by war, has become another country. On the surface so much remains the same: the Liberals prevail in Ottawa; the provinces quarrel with Ottawa and among themselves; and we worry about Americans in our future. But most of the pieces have been rearranged, and the effect of the picture is quite different...This is a book about our own times, and as such it expresses definite views. No reader will agree with everything we say. We have not tried to end debate; we have tried to clarify and broaden. We trust that our readers will be encouraged to seek for themselves a better understanding of where Canadians have been and what they have become."

Genres: Canada, History, Politics, Nonfiction

508 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1981

About the author

Robert Bothwell is a professor of Canadian history, and the foremost scholar on Canadian Cold War participation, as well as a frequently published author.

Bothwell completed his BA at the University of Toronto and his PhD at Harvard University. He is currently Director of the University of Toronto's International Relations program at Trinity College, where he is a fellow, and a professor of Canadian political and diplomatic history. Bothwell holds the May Gluskin Chair in Canadian History. His research interests include modern Canadian history and political, diplomatic and military history. Bothwell is an expert on Canada-U.S. relations.

Reviews

[Justin M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good entry place for someone like me who didn’t know a lot about Canadian political history. It still required a little knowledge, as a lot of names and acronyms get tossed around. Overall I’d say it was a solid read, if a little textbooky at places. Also, I couldn’t help but think about how present some biases might have been, even though the author acknowledges some of them. It’s interesting to read it in the 21st century, and the added history since 1980 frames some discussions in different lights. Took my a loooong time to read through it, but that’s history I suppose.

[Danieru · Rating 3 out of 5]

A companion book to the authors' other title, Canada, 1900-1945, this is another "standard" in Canadian history bookshelves. Most of my comments for the latter still hold here. I would just add that, while the authors would obviously want to heap praise on Trudeau, a Liberal Prime Minister, they cannot get passed his arrogance and his lack of political flair. "One thing most people expected in late 1977 or early 1978 was an election, but Trudeau held off. In the late summer of 1977, as the polls showed almost two-to-one support for the Liberals over the Conservatives, Trudeau ignored his leading advisers, but not his nervous causus, saying: 'As far as I am concerned, just because one is convinced he is going to win an election is not a good enough reason to go to the people.' Mackenzie King would have been horrified" (328-329).

Just like its companion, this is a very decent primer to Canadian history.

[Horus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I would have been happy to read in my politics classes. As most of the history discussed occurred before I was born, it filed in many gaps. The authors candid writing style, with sometimes thinly veiled scarcasm makes for a very enjoyable read.