The Promise of Canada: 150 Years--People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country

by Charlotte Gray

What does it mean to be a Canadian? What great ideas have changed our country? An award-winning writer casts her eye over 150 years of Canadian history.

“Our country owes its success not to some imagined tribal singularity but to the fact that, although its thirty-five million citizens do not look, speak or pray alike, we have learned to share this land and for the most part live in neighbourly sympathy.” —Charlotte Gray, from the Preface of The Promise of Canada

On the eve of Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations comes a richly rewarding new book from acclaimed historian Charlotte Gray about what it means to be Canadian. Readers already know Gray as an award-winning biographer, a writer who has brilliantly captured significant individuals and dramatic moments in our history. Now, in The Promise of Canada , she weaves together masterful portraits of nine influential Canadians, creating a unique history of the country over the past 150 years.

What do these people—from George-Étienne Cartier and Emily Carr to Tommy Douglas, Margaret Atwood, and Elijah Harper—have in common? Each, according to Charlotte Gray, has left an indelible mark on our country. Deliberately avoiding a “top down” approach to our history, Gray has chosen people whose ideas have caught her imagination, ideas that over time have become part of our collective conversation. She also highlights many other Canadians, past and present, who have added to the ongoing debate over how we see ourselves, arguing that Canada has constantly reimagined itself in every generation since 1867.

Beautifully illustrated with evocative black and white images and colourful artistic visions of our country, The Promise of Canada is a fresh take on our history that offers fascinating insights into how we have matured and yet how—150 years after Confederation and beyond—we are still a people in progress. Charlotte Gray makes history come alive as she opens doors into our past, our present and our future, inspiring and challenging readers to envision the Canada they want to live in.

Genres: History, Canada, Nonfiction, Biography, Politics, Book Club, Biography Memoir

378 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

Charlotte Gray is one of Canada’s best-known writers, and author of eight acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. Born in Sheffield, England, and educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she began her writing career in England as a magazine editor and newspaper columnist. After coming to Canada in 1979, she worked as a political commentator, book reviewer and magazine columnist before she turned to biography and popular history.

Charlotte's most recent book is Gold Diggers, Striking It Rich in the Klondike. In 2008, Charlotte published Nellie McClung, a short biography of Canada’s leading women’s rights activist in the Penguin Series, Extraordinary Canadians. Her 2006 bestseller, Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, won the Donald Creighton Award for Ontario History and the City of Ottawa Book Award. It was also nominated for the Nereus Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize, the National Business Book Award and the Trillium Award. Her previous five books, which include Sisters in the Wilderness, The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, Flint & Feather, The Life and Times of E. Pauline Johnson and A Museum Called Canada, were all award-winning bestsellers.

Charlotte appears regularly on radio and television as a political and cultural commentator. In 2004 she was the advocate for Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, for the CBC series: The Greatest Canadian. She has been a judge for several of Canada’s most prestigious literary prizes, including the Giller Prize for Fiction, the Charles Taylor Prize for Non-fiction and the Shaunessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

Charlotte has been awarded five honorary doctorates, from Mount St. Vincent University, Nova Scotia, the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, York University and Carleton University.

An Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of History at Carleton University, Charlotte is the 2003 Recipient of the Pierre Berton Award for distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history. She is former chair of the board of Canada’s National History Society, which publishes the magazine Canada’s History (formerly The Beaver.) She sits on the boards of the Ottawa International Authors Festival, the Art Canada Institute/Institut de l’Art Canadien, and the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa. Charlotte is a member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Charlotte lives in Ottawa with her husband George Anderson, and has three sons.

Reviews

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a book event featuring award-winning author Charlotte Gray. She was interviewed by fellow Canadian author Susanna Kearsley about her recently published book The Promise of Canada. It was an interesting interview which got to the heart of why Gray chose this specific format and focus for her tenth published book.



Gray arrived in Canada 40 years ago, and as an immigrant she brings a unique perspective as she chronicles the elements that have most influenced our 150 year old country. Each chapter focuses on one person within each of these elements. She doesn't necessarily choose well-known Canadians (and has consciously not focused on Prime Ministers and famous athletes) and yet the diverse group of people she has chosen are pivotal in the formation of the Canada we know today.

These influential Canadians include:
- George Etienne Cartier and his involvement in the formation of federalism
- Sam Steele, one of the founding officers in the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP)
- Emily Carr and the distinction and recognition of Canadian art
- Harold Innis and his Staples Theory about how the exploitation and export of natural staples (fur, lumber) effected Canadian economics, politics and culture
- Tommy Douglas and the beginning of Canadian Medicare
- Margaret Atwood for the beginning of CanLit
- Bertha Wilson - first woman on the Supreme Court of Canada
- Elijah Harper - politician and First Nations leader and his effect on the Meech Lake Accord
- Preston Manning - a politican who changed Canadian politics more than many people realize
and five short vignettes which include a mayor, rapper, artist, journalist and business innovator

This is a well researched book. Gray uses first and secondary sources as well as interviews with some of the subjects and brings it all together for an enjoyable read. This is no dry textbook-like read nor is it a comprehensive history of Canada. It is compelling (even for this rare Non-Fiction reader) and filled with facts, humour and history. It is an honest and a non-partisan look at our country from infancy to modern day and will give readers a better insight into how our country attained its unique culture, diversity, values and all the things that bring us together as a country.

While overall this is a positive look at Canada's history Gray also recognizes some events that weren't our proudest moments - most egregious being the treatment of Canada's Indigenous peoples in the past, present and their as yet unknown future within our country. Even these negative moments have influenced the formation of our country.

Since this is Canada's sesquicentennial this book is very apropos and a nice reminder about where we started, our struggles and the hard work that others did to form our country. I had my favourite Canadians within the bunch but this book has shown me that although I am a proud Canadian I didn't know as much about my country as I thought. Gray has enlightened me and helped me to reconnect with the country that I'm proud to call home. And even though the question "What does it mean to be a Canadian?" may continue to be elusive I think that understanding where we've come from will help us to see that our uniqueness, core values and history bind us together more than separate us.

Highly recommended.

[Alexander Kosoris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really having trouble with this one. I mean, it’s not even that it’s difficult for me to express my feelings toward it––it’s really good––but it’s just that I’m having a hard time talking about it, bringing any useful commentary into the review. Usually, with any of my reviews destined for The Walleye, as this one is, I tend to start with my longer online review and sort of chop off pieces until I wind up with something focused and worthy of publication. This time around, I found myself working in reverse, making my bare-bones review and building it up for an online post, and I really hope that by the end of it all it doesn’t come across as an attempt to fatten the review without really adding any content, but I guess we’ll see what happens.

The Promise of Canada consists of a set of biographies of nine Canadians who left their mark on the nation. Starting with the birth of the Confederation with Georges Étienne-Cartier, Gray moves through the years, tracing people impacting our understanding of history (Harold Innis), culture (Emily Carr), and civil rights (Bertha Wilson), up to modern times. In doing so, she paints a convincing picture that each individual significantly influenced how we perceive ourselves and our nation, helping Canada assert its independence on an international stage as a young and growing country. And, even when I thought I knew about her subjects, such as with Margaret Atwood or Tommy Douglas, Gray was able to reveal so much their lives, their work, and their impact.

It’s amazing how much Gray is able to demonstrate about such a broad subject by taking focused explorations into the lives of individuals––even such influential ones as she discusses. The Promise of Canada is truly an inspiring work, and it comes highly recommended.

[Damaris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

I've sat here for a good few minutes trying to come up with a better way to start this review, but there literally isn't any other phrase that I can think of. 'Wow' is the only word my dumbfounded, awestruck brain can come up with after finishing Charlotte Gray's masterpiece The Promise of Canada tonight, accompanied by many cups of tea and starry nights spent curled up on the sofa, in the company of Gray and her myriad of characters: Cartier, Steele, Carr, Innis, Douglas, Atwood, Wilson, Harper and Manning.

Before I continue rambling about my intense love and appreciation for this book, there are two things you need to know. First, Charlotte Gray is, quite honestly, one of my favourite authors. Like, top three. She's just so cool - I mean, seriously, I have yet to read another author who so diligently researches and writes Canadian history like she does. She has this amazing way of combining both historical facts and personal stories into fantastic biographies and retellings. The second thing you need to know, is I love Canadian history. I always have, and I always will. Graduating in the year of Canada's 150th birthday is such a gift, and I like to think it's a gift that was carefully planned for me by the Man Upstairs before I was even born.

So, the girl writing this review is a lover of Canadian history, and an avid Charlotte Gray supporter. Imagine her excitement when she was browsing through Goodreads one day, and stumbled upon Gray's new book: The Promise of Canada: 150 Years -- Building a Great Country One Idea at a Time. Continue to picture her thrill when her library copy came in, and she held this amazing piece of literature in her hands, and as I already mentioned, read it cover-to-cover.

With all of that being said, I was completely sold on this book before I even opened the first page. The concept, the people, the author, the cover, the illustrations: all of it was a match made in heaven. Indescribably, as Gray so often does for me, even with all my excitement as I started the book, she still managed to surpass my wildest dreams and deliver one of the best commentaries on Canadian history that I have yet to read.

My favourite chapters in The Promise of Canada were the first three, the ones on George-Etienne Cartier, Sam Steele and Emily Carr. The other seven were equally impressive; but overall, the loveliest thing about this book was Gray's ability to tie it all together. A common theme revisited throughout The Promise of Canada, as summed up on page 56: "The Canadian habit of discovering talent only after it has been recognized elsewhere is a perennial theme in our history." Gray deliberately chose to stay away from prime ministers and other men of high status in The Promise of Canada; instead, she tells the story of Canada from the lesser-known heroes of our history books.

To me, that right there - the story of Canada, told by the everyday man - that is the promise and premise of Canada. Because Canada never was a nation of celebrities or spotlight seekers - it never has been, and it never will be. It's a nation filled with beautiful ideas that center around thoughts like compromise, freedom, diversity, hope and promise. And that is the most beautiful thing about The Promise of Canada, because, through Gray's retelling of the lives of people like Cartier, Carr, Douglas, Atwood and Steele, she reveals the promise of Canada herself. The promise of Canada is shown most clearly through the lives of the men and women whom Gray highlights in The Promise of Canada: the promise of an incredibly rich heritage, a safe and secure today, and a bright, brilliant future. The secret to unlocking the promise of Canada, or really, the hope we have as Canadians, is not through confusing philosophical statements or political criteria, the secret can be unlocked by picking up a history book and reading about the men and women who shaped Canada into the nation we are today. In my opinion, what better place to start than with The Promise of Canada?

[Sebastien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off strong. I initially enjoyed the style and Gray's decision to focus on lesser known contributors to Canadian culture and history. The further I read, the more it seemed like Gray wrote a series of independent essays that were only superficially related to each other and shoehorned them into this book. I know she couldn't have possibly elaborated more on what it means to be Canadian without having added another 400-500 pages, but the gaps were apparent - what does it mean to be Canadian for nunavamiut, for Acadians, for Maritimers, for Newfoundlanders, for Quebecois?

I particularly enjoyed Gray's writing on Georges-Etienne Cartier, Tommy Douglas, Sam Steele and Elijah Harper. Although it wasn't meant to be read as a typical history book, I learned a lot of valuable new historical information on Canada and its subjects.

The book occasionally took a political turn when Gray defended choosing certain Canadians who are controversial enough to have merited their own book picking apart their arguments and actions. Not that I mind - Gray can choose whatever politics suits her - but it felt like this book, politically speaking, had a certain target audience in mind.

The book's conclusion was a little confusing and hardly seemed related to the preceding chapters. I couldn't really tell what her point was. She seemed to want to paint a broad picture of Canadians while recognizing that that would sort of defeat the point. We're boring, but we're not. We're friendly, but we're not. It left me more confused than anything.

This book was alright, but I doubt I will recommend it to anyone.

[Amy Roebuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of many books published to celebrate our 150th--and as Gray is a very good writer, this is interesting. I'm more likely to recommend Adam Shoalts' A History of Canada in Ten Maps.

[Amy Minh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, succint, personal, and engaging. Highly recommended for Canadians who struggle to answer the basic question: what does it mean to be a Canadian. As an immigrant growing up in this country but so ignorant of its becoming, I discovered a new sense of belonging and proud to call Canada home. The Transcanada railway, the Universal Health Care, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are just a few examples, often taken for granted, which form part of Canadian identity. Respect!

[Nancy Croth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Gray has a talent for taking tremendous historical detail wrenched from impeccable research and creating a non-fiction story that pulls the reader into every page. I discovered many things about Canada that I didn't know and and am thinking about my country in a more enlightened way.

[Delia]

I am a fan of Canadian history and this book was a pleasure to read. The people that Charlotte Gray chose to write about are not the first you would think of as nation-shapers, but they are inspired choices. I learned about our country, our history, and about our secret handshake. 😉

[Bonnie Zink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this read!

[Bret Kinghorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The back of the book asks a (what one would think) simple question: What does it mean to be Canadian?
Charlotte Gray takes a look at Canada, from the planning stages of her birth, to the modern country in which we live. It shows the unknown people who have helped to bring us to this point. By avoiding using past or present Prime Ministers, and avoiding professional athletes, she shows us the little parts that we sometimes miss. Some of them are not our most shining moments (Mountie strike breaking; Indigenous people's treatment), but those events have shaped us just as much as Vimy Ridge, hockey and the Maple Leaf. We should not hide our scars, but learn from them.
The history is wonderfully researched, brutally honest and non-partisan. By reading it, you begin to understand more about yourself as a Canadian, or, if you're not Canadian, more about how the country came to be.
Prior to this I had no idea who Harold Innis was, or his economic take on the fur trade. I had heard the stories of Sam Steele, but never knew how much was myth. George Cartier was glossed over in school with Confederation, but was never shown how much he contributed. The path to our (oft put down) universal Health care is sometimes not fully shown. The impact of Margaret Atwood's writing is sometimes overshadowed in today's more inclusive environment. Bertha Wilson fought for equality of all mankind, not just for woman, and her fight has been taken up by others who will be her voice going forward. Elijah Harper showed a nation that our dark past can not simply be ignored. And Preston Manning changed the political landscape in more ways than many realized.

These events don't define Canada, but Charlotte Gray shows how they helped make it what it is. After all, the question `What does it mean to be a Canadian?' really has no one single answer.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know enough Canadian history!
I bought this book primarily because of Canada's 150th - I thought it would be kind of light reading. You know, like a chapter a night, and then I'd know everything I needed to know about my country.
However, "The Promise of Canada..." really got me interested in learning about the exploration and development of my country.
Charlotte Gray has focused on people that have an had impact on the growth of Canada. I found the chapters thought provoking, interesting and even entertaining. I now have several pages of notes that I will follow up on by seeing what else I've missed over the years.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in who and what got Canada where it is today.

[Bilal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a recent immigrant to Canada, and I wanted to learn more about Canada’s history. This book was published recently, and had a very high customer rating, so I figured it might be a good one to start with. I was not disappointed. It is not a traditional history book that meticulously lists and describes the wars fought, governments or rulers formed or installed, key events, key personalities, geographical features that shape the nation, belief systems that define the peoples motivations, etc., in a more or less chronological fashion. In this book the author does proceed chronologically at a high level, but she does not dig into each war, government, key event, key personality, geographical feature, belief system, etc., in any detail. Instead she has picked a few personalities that in her judgement define what Canada is today in some significant way. She acknowledges upfront that another historian taking a similar approach might chose a different set of personalities to reach a similar conclusion, more or less, and in that sense it is intentionally a subjective account. The time period covered is from a few years before the Confederation in 1867 until shortly after Justin Trudeau’s government took office in 2015.

In Part 1 she starts with George-Étienne Cartier who championed the idea of a Federation to combine the various British colonies north of the United States into one country (Dominion at the time) and his collaboration with John A. Macdonald who helped him realize this idea. She describes the formation and the first operations of the North Western Mounted Police (ancestor of today’s RCMP), and how it became a respected symbol of Canada, both inside and outside of it; she talks about Samuel Steele and his role in the defining character of the force. She follows the life of Emily Carr of British Columbia, an artist who worked essentially in isolation for a long time before she was connected to the Group of Seven artists in central Canada, whose work altogether came to be recognized as uniquely Canadian in essence, i.e., depicting Canadian themes motivated by the uniquely Canadian landscape, its vastness, and its isolation (on account of distance) from cultural centers of the Western world. She talks about Harold Innis who after having served in World War I and having been disillusioned by it came back and decided to research and write about the economic forces that shaped the Canadian nation. His most famous work being “the Fur Trade in Canada”, but he also wrote about the Canadian Pacific Railway, The cod fisheries in the North Atlantic, and about the technologies of communications in Canada.

In Part 2 she moves past to the period after World War II, starting with Tommy Douglas of Saskatchewan who led the campaign for state-funded health insurance in his province, which provided a model and the inspiration for the federal Liberal Party to make the same happen for the entire country. She talks about the coming to note of the Canadian literary circle with primary focus on Margaret Atwood. And finally about Bertha Wilson who in 1982 became the first female judge of the Canadian Supreme Court and who was among the first cohort that interpreted cases concerning the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She emerged as the most sympathetic to the rights and freedoms of the people under the Charter versus the laws of the state.

In Part 3 she gives some background on the modern day contentious issues starting with indigenous people’s concerns. She talks about Elijah Harper’s negative vote in the 1990 Manitoba Legislative Assembly that killed the Meech Lake Accord because the indigenous communities considered the accord disappointing, even more so than the Constitutional Act of 1982, since it had nothing to say about their rights and history. She talks about populist movements and traces the history of Alberta’s Preston Manning who championed the demands of the Western provinces and curtailing of the federal powers, and she sheds light on the constitution of today’s Progressive Conservative Party. In the final chapter she highlights a diverse set of personalities that offer a glimpse of what Canada is today including the artist Douglas Coupland, musician Shadrach Kabango, Journalist Lise Bissonnette, businesswoman Annette Verschuren, and Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, some cheerful of Canada, some not so much, and some to whom Canada makes no sense.

Overall this is a cheerful, feel-good, and hope-filled account, true to its title, “The Promise of Canada.” Perhaps it is a little less than honest in giving such a cheerful sense of the history of the first 150 years since Confederation? In any case, I enjoyed reading the book very much; I learned a lot; and I am happy to recommend it to anyone wishing to learn about Canadian history. But if you’re going to read only one book on Canadian history, perhaps this is not the right title for you.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems it’s always been complicated to be Canadian, particularly with so many different places and perspectives to consider. For centuries, people have tried to define what makes us Canadian, what ties our experiences together and what exactly our national identity is.

And, with the country’s 150th birthday just around the corner, it seems these questions are coming up once again. However, Charlotte Gray’s latest, The Promise of Canada: 150 Years – People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country, takes a beautiful, slightly different and very successful way of looking at things — by looking at the people, places and stories she feels helped bring us together.

"There is no single image that captures our country, just as there is no single narrative in our multi-layered history," Gray writes. "Every vision, every story is part of the promise of Canada."

Gray has chosen to tell the story of Canada through portraits of people whose contributions speak to her. As a British woman who emigrated to Canada in 1979, she is able to comment from the perspective of both insider and outsider, taking a fresh look at our shared history.

Her early essays are about the people she feels are most responsible for laying the foundations of our national identity. While the contributions of Sir John A. MacDonald are more often remembered, those of lawyer George-Étienne Cartier were significant in negotiating the federalist system that became the foundation of the Canadian government.

Sir Sam Steele was chosen for his role as a unifying force in the creation and eventual mythologizing of the RCMP; Emily Carr for her ground-breaking work, achieved in isolation but of enormous value to the development of Canada’s artistic identity; and Harold Innes for his economic and historical scholarship that looked to times before Confederation and at the fur trade, one of the first people to do so.

Gray tries to be as inclusive as possible despite the limitations of history, referencing men and women, both French and English. She talks of the settlers who took the land as well as the indigenous Canadians forced to live on both the physical and cultural fringes of our newly formed country.

Other essays focus on Canadians she feels have fundamentally changed our society. She highlights the accomplishments of Tommy Douglas in bringing medicare to all Canadians, the extraordinary works of Canadian literary giant Margaret Atwood and the strength and determination of Supreme Court judge Bertha Wilson.

She seamlessly blends historical details (such as references to the Winnipeg General Strike) into the stories. This allows her to highlight major moments in Canadian history and put them in context, tying them into the development of our national identity without dwelling on them.

She doesn’t shy away difficult topics, either — there’s the story, for example, of Elijah Harper and the Meech Lake Accord, and the reconciliation with indigenous Canadians. Her essay on Preston Manning is fascinating, highlighting the divisions between Western and Central Canada as well as the cycles of populist political movements.

As always, her research is thorough and done well. But she doesn’t hesitate to leave the history books behind and look to the current day, and the people she feels are carrying the torch forward. This includes author and artist Douglas Coupland, rapper and radio host Shad, business leader Annette Verschuren and journalist Lise Bissonnette.

Gray creates an intimacy between herself and the reader while sharing important ideas about what being Canadian means.

The Promise of Canada looks at the good and the bad, what we have already achieved and what needs to be worked on, and shows us a road to a stronger future — together.

[Regan Steed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I was told (on the dust jacket) that Charlotte Gray is one of Canada's leading authors I must admit I've never heard of her before. Despite my initial ignorance I now grasp why she is regarded so highly as a writer.
Even before getting to her actual writing she made a few great decisions for this book. The first was to bypass some of the well-known historical Canadians and select individuals who were still very prominent in our nation's story yet might be considered second tier. The second useful thing she did was to use their stories as the context for various issues of our developing country. George Etienne Cartier is the key figure in describing the initial formation. Emily Carr and Margaret Atwood serve as examples of the arts in our country. Ernest Manning, while never ascending to the highest office in our country, was essentially the father figure of the recent national conservative movement that defined federal politics until the most recent election.
This book isn't, and never claims to be, any sort of comprehensive historical look at Canada. Yet, it provides some great insights into all the hand wringing about values, culture and the things that keep us together or seem to draw us apart. The overall tone of the book is optimistic (which I agree with) yet it recognises the past and ongoing faults of Canada.
Although I am perhaps mildly embarrassed I hadn't heard of Gray prior to picking this book up (I did so as it was prominently displayed at Chapters and I wanted to read something Canadian given it's our 150th birthday) - I am more embarrassed to admit that I wasn't familiar with Elijah Harper prior to reading this book. As a country we have yet to come up with any answers when addressing both the past and future of the Indigenous people of Canada.
All this and so much more was accomplished in this relatively short book with a writing style that was descriptive and yet flowed. Gray's style seemed light yet she was still able to tackle some of the heavy issues of the subject matter without letting anything drop.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Gray's "The Promise of Canada" looks back the last 150 years of Canada's history. The author highlights some of the key people and events that have made an impact.

I found Chapter 3 dealing with the struggles of Emily Carr and the popularity of the members of the Group of Seven quite interesting. During the early days of interest in the new Canadian painting style, Emily Carr faced an upward battle; she did not have others to support her. Surprisingly, my other novel in progress is "Be Quiet" by Margaret Hollingsworth; it deals with Emily's stay in a Suffolk T.B. sanatorium for 18 months.

While reading both books, it's relevant to understand the struggles Emily Carr had to face both in per artistic and personal life.

Another fascinating chapter dealt with Justice Bertha Wilson--the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. As the first woman to be employed by a large traditional law firm and her subsequent period with the Supreme Court, she made significant contributions and acted as a mentor to future generations of female lawyers.

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

[Noah Kochanowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in America, I wanted a book that would give me a view at 10,000 feet of Canada. The Canadian civics class I missed out on, if you will. This was definitely that book.

The only negative, there are times when you can tell the author swings to the left. That bias may have effected sentences and paragraphs here and there, but the overall content of each chapter and the book as a whole was very well written and did a fantastic job at presenting just the facts.

The way the book was written wasn’t what I expected. From the get go she said this was not a book about hockey players and prime minister. Every chapter walks you through an important piece of Canada’s history, the good and bad, through the scope of one person and then expands out from there.

Though the book hits a lot it’s an easy book to digest every morning on my commute. Highly recommend, looking forward to reading some of her other works.

[Sam B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book through Goodreads first reads giveaway.
It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be.

First of all, I had a really hard time finishing this book. Actually, I might have put it down for good if I didn't feel so bad about not finishing a book.
The first few chapters were really interesting, focusing on Canada's creation and the founders of some of Canada's unique institution, such as the RCMP. But unfortunately, the focus in the following chapters changed a bit and focused a lot more on politics and culture, which wasn't as interesting to me.

Overall, I'm glad I read through it all, because I did learn things about Canada, but it's not the kind of book that I would re-read.

[Karen Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar!
Gray's book has entertained me, educated me and excited me. I've always been proud to be Canadian (and in spite of my dual citizenship) I have and will always identify as Canadian. Gray has given me insight as to where this loyalty has come from.
It's an extremely well researched book and written with passion, honour and thoughtfulness. I put it down with a greater respect for the work previous Canadians have done to sucessfully bring up this wonderful baby country to the place it is now.

[Elijah Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

“First the memory starts to go. Sufferers forget all those commitments that were made during the election. Then it’s the hearing… It gets hard and harder to hear the voices of the folks back home. After a little while the head starts to swell, and that can be fatal.” Pg. 293

“This country is not about carbon atoms in the ground or the maple sap in the trees. Its core strength is that we have figured out that our neighbour’s strength is our strength – that the success of anyone of us is the success of every one of us. When Canada works, it works better than anywhere.” Pg. 321

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remembered I read this book out loud in its entirety to a dear friend of mine who couldn't read it because of the smaller print. This helped me to learn about important people over the past 150 years that have shaped Canada. It overall gave me a scope on what it means to be Canadian. I felt the modern era was a bit rushed and some people were glossed over, but overall a great read for any Canadian and for anyone interested in Canadian history over the past 150 years.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte Gray is an excellent story teller and this book is an excellent example of her ability to humanize Canadian history. In this book, she recounts the stories of ten Canadians of influence and impact - some well known, some less so. Each profile is written in a conversational, affectionate tone, clearly thoroughly researched, but presented in language which is less academic and more journalistic.
A very entertaining and informative read.

[BrightStar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand Canada

I have read histories of Canada and admit to be a Canadaphile, but The Promise of Canada gave me a different perspective of this great and fascinating neighbor. Taking a different approach, the author highlights several not-so-major historical figures who nevertheless give the reader an essential understanding and appreciation of The True North Strong and Free.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider this book essential reading for anyone interested in learning about those who have helped shape Canada. Charlotte Gray paints a vivid picture of the importance of several Canadians who are often overlooked when it comes to their impact on Canada. Gray does a masterful job of telling the stories of these key people and weaves their stories together to describe what it means to be Canadian. A terrific read, especially on the occasion of Canada's 150th birthday.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. As a new Canadian Citizen it opened my eyes to the history of Canada without focusing on people who were highlighted on the citizenship test. It made me realize how young Canada really is as a country and appreciate the values that it is still cementing. Also, as an American, it made me understand that Canada isn't "our little sibling", but in fact, a country that was formed with the express desire to not be American.

[Mwanafunzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the individual chapters are enjoyable--G.E. Cartier, Emily Carr, and Margaret Atwood especially--but the overarching framework that Gray tries to support is lacking/unclear. The conclusion reads like a hodgepodge of unrelated thoughts and recent interviews. Overall, the book is a collection of good narrative biographies that aren't woven together as well as they could/should be.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte Gray is one of my favourite Canadian biographers and this survey of Canadians who've made unique and critical contributions to the formation and identity of this country was thorough, perceptive, and surprising. Her perspective as an immigrant provided valuable context. It is a book worth owning for the pictorial history alone.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. Easy to read, interesting picks for Canada’s “movers and shakers” , well written and researched. Many of the subjects had diverse and unique backgrounds that caused them to be particularly qualified for their historical role without really having a plan or a defined path to that outcome. Highly recommended for all Canadians in our 150th year and beyond.

[Morgane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I arrived in this country 6 years ago and heard of some important names, yet never have I been told such interesting stories that highlight the peculiar character of Canada while being critical of the stories the country had avoided telling for decades. Some names stood out and will stay with me for a long time, and I am thankful to this book for bringing the spotlight on them.

[Matthieu Lemieux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte eloquently weaves together a tapestry of our heritage and our origins, but also leaves us with much to think about in terms of our future as a nation. I'm closing the cover on this one with a giddy sense of potential and gratefulness to call this country home.

[Mar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written history of Canada which focusses on some of the lesser known characters in the country's history. Covers a variety of topics--history and founding; supreme court justice, the RCMP, etc. Interesting material.