Books that make the past come alive
Top row, left to right:
Coal In Our Blood: 200 Years of Coal Mining in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County by Judith Hoegg Ryan (Formac Publishing Company Limited, 1992) – The history of the coal-mining region of Pictou County from the perspective of the working class community.
Last of the Curlews by Fred Bodsworth (McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1954) – A deceptively simple book about a bird, an Eskimo Curlew, the last survivor of its species. First published in 1954, it had a significant impact in raising environmental awareness in Canada.
Getting the Goods: Information in B.C. How to Find It, How to Use It by Rick Ouston (New Star Books, 1990) – Guide to accessing resources in British Columbia including legal services, libraries, and, charities.
The MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion: Canadian Participation in the Spanish Civil War by Victor Hoar (Copp Clark, 1969) – Stories of the Canadians who fought against Franco’s fascists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
Close the 49th Parallel Etc: The Americanization of Canada by Ian Lumsden (University of Toronto Press, 1970) – Collection of essays that discuss how US corporate imperialism has affected Canada and how Canadian elites are complicit in this process.
Bottom row, left to right:
Canada’s 1960s: The Ironies of Identity in a Rebellious Era by Bryan D. Palmer (University of Toronto Press, 2008) – Discusses how the roots of Canadian national identity became unsettled in the 1960s due to a series of emerging and rebellious political movements, political figures, and ideologies, such as Quebec separatism, Red Power, and the New Left.
Silent Surrender: The Multinational Corporation in Canada by Karl Levitt (Macmillan, 1970) – Historical overview of Canada’s political economy including an analysis of the influence of foreign investments, multinational corporations, and the US corporate system.
Quebec: A Chronicle 1968-1972 edited by Robert Chodos and Nick Auf der Maur (James Lewis & Samuel, 1972) – Overview featuring contributions from journalists, militants and labour movements and organizations.
A People’s History of Prince Edward Island by Errol Sharpe (Steel Rail, 1976) – History of PEI which looks at how tenant farmers, independent merchants, fishermen, workers, and farmers fought to improve their conditions and their society.
All That Our Hands Have Done: A Pictorial History of Hamilton Workers by Craig Heron, Shea Hoffmitz, Wayne Roberts, and Robert Storey (Mosaic Press, 1981) – Discusses the history of steel workers in Hamilton which was a centre of the labour movement in Canada. It considers broad trends in the history of unions and work as well as personal stories from the workers themselves.