A History of the Canadian Peoples

by J.M. Bumsted

A History of the Canadian Peoples is a skilful condensation of the two-volume history. In a single volume, it covers the whole of Canadian history from pre-contact times to the present, integrating social, cultural, political, and economic history into a coherent overarching narrative.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, Textbooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

J.M. Bumsted is the author of many popular and scholarly books on Canadian history, including Fur Trade Wars, The Dictionary of Manitoba Biography, and the widely used textbook The Canadian Peoples: A History. He teaches history at the University of Manitoba.

Reviews

[claire marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

makes me weep daily. who let me choose history as a part of my major

[Martin Bihl · Rating 3 out of 5]

a comprehensive and engaging overview of Canadian history that is readable and highly informative. mr. bumsted not only gives the facts, he gives the background, the tone and the personality of the times, with sidebar original sources and photography. the last section is a little confused, but this is to be expected (and mr. bumsted even acknowledges it) as the recent history is extremely difficult to put into the same perspective as that which happened a century ago.

all in all i highly recommend this to anyone looking for a true understanding of canada - my only regret is that i didn't read this years ago.

a wonkish footnote - a couple of annoying mistakes that a copyeditor should have caught - it's "Rudyard" not "Rudolph" Kipling, and the hockey team in Canada is the Oilers, not the Edmonton Eskimos (that's the CFL football team) to name only two, along with a plethora of mid-sentence hyphenations. Hopefully a more recent edition caught these, as they tend to detract from the authority of the entire work.

[ayanami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this comprehensive overview of Canadian history for a university class on the subject. Not the most gripping read but it did contain a lot of information and was very informative. The book is well-organized and included a lot of photographs and excerpts from primary sources, which gave me a better grasp on the particular time periods and historical contexts. This book served as a huge aid in the course, from which I learned a lot.

[Laura-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for anyone looking to get into Canadian history!

[Vyvyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave me what I was looking for--initial overview of some parts of early Canadian history. Not the widest view nor the most thrilling writing, but it's serviceable.