Canada

A Very Short Introduction

By: Donald Wright

Narrated by: Matthew Josdal

Canada is not one nation, but three: English Canada, Quebec, and First Nations. Yet as a country Canada is very successful, in part because it maintains national diversity through bilingualism, multiculturalism, and federalism. Alongside this contemporary openness Canada also has its own history to contend with; with a legacy of broken treaties and residential schools for its Indigenous peoples, making reconciliation between Canada and First Nations an ongoing journey, not a destination.

Drawing on history, politics, and literature, this very short introduction starts at the end of the last ice age, when the melting of the ice sheets opened the northern half of North America to Indigenous peoples, and covers up to today's anthropogenic climate change, and Canada's climate politics. Donald Wright emphasizes Canada's complexity and diversity as well as its different identities and its commitment to rights, and explores its historical relationship to Great Britain, and its ongoing relationship with the United States. Finally, he examines Canada's northern realities and its northern identities.

©2020 Donald Wright (P)2020 Tantor

Interesting

This was simultaneously a bit dry and an easy listen. I would have kept listening if it was longer. I grateful I found this. Perhaps an alternative perspective, not a classic history book.

A very clear, succinct history presented…

History presented so engagingly that book was over before I knew it and kept my full attention the entirety of listening…I was left wanting to hear more

Ideologically driven screed

A tortured telling of a nation’s history with emphasis in the most vapid points while papering over key developments, periods, and people.
An author who is touting for brownie points with each paragraph.