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Canada: A People's History, Vol. 2

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The top non-fiction bestseller of fall 2000 was the authoritative and beautiful A People’s History, Volume One . For fall 2001, M&S is proud to present the equally stunning and comprehensive second volume of this landmark work.

This fall, on consecutive Sunday evenings starting on September 30, the CBC will broadcast eight new episodes from its spectacular – and spectacularly successful – series A People’s History .

Volume Two opens with the rebellion over property and language rights for the French-speaking Métis in Manitoba, led by the charismatic and troubled Louis Riel – a key event in our history and one that haunts us to this day. It closes with the less bloody but no less traumatic confrontation between the Mohawk and the army at Oka, Quebec, in 1990.

Between these two harrowing events lie more than a hundred years of astonishing change and development in Canada. In those years Canadians have fought in two world wars, struggled through long, savage Depression years, adjusted to the post-war world, and peaceably accommodated themselves to wave after wave of immigrants arriving from around the globe. The political changes have been no less striking, with the eruption of nationalism in Quebec, women’s long fight for equal rights, and the creation of Canadians’ most cherished social universal health care.

Even more than was possible in Volume One, this well-researched book tells the major events of the twentieth century as a story of the famous and occasionally flamboyant politicians and public figures are here, but the book’s strength lies in the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

The tremendous popularity and the impeccable historical accuracy of both the first year of the television series and the first volume of the book, surprised and delighted historians and reviewers alike. The second year of the series and the second volume of the book are both now poised to rocket to even greater success in 2001.

342 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

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About the author

Don Gillmor

32 books36 followers
Author and journalist Don Gillmor was born in Fort Frances, Ontario in 1959 and presently lives in Toronto, Ontario. Don possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Calgary. He has worked for publisher John Wiley & Sons, and has written for a number of magazines including Rolling Stone, GQ, Premiere, and Saturday Night.; where he was made a contributing editor in 1989.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Tanya.
150 reviews
August 4, 2011
An amazing pair of books. Exactly the way I think Canadian history should be presented to people... a story. A story that excites us, unites us, divides us, and makes us reflect on who we are as Canadians.
Profile Image for Daniel Kukwa.
4,790 reviews126 followers
January 29, 2011
It's a very basic history book, designed to be nothing more than a coffee table version of the TV series...and frankly, it's not needed if you own the DVDs. "Superfluous" is the best description.
Profile Image for Jamie.
996 reviews12 followers
July 29, 2011
I learned more about the founding and history of Canada from these books than I ever did in school.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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