The Penguin History of Canada

The history of a country like Canada does not seem at first glance like it would be terribly interesting, but this book actually engaged my interest from beginning to end. The author contends that the secret to Canada's success is that it is a vast country that is greatly underpopulated, so that resource distribution has never been a major problem. Still, with such a large immigrant population, it seems remarkable how Canada has managed to avoid the ethnic tensions that have plagued the United States; perhaps there are a few things we Americans can learn from our northern neighbors.

I recommend this book to all readers, but particularly to fellow US citizens for its invaluable gift of relating Canada's history to our own. There are ways in which it tells us more about pre-revolutionary and revolutionary history than you will find in most US texts.For Canadians, this flyover may do insufficient justice to some critical aspects of the nation's history, but it still serves as an important overview. It is not just a political history, but delves deeply into the economic and social changes that shaped the Canada we know today.Few history books qualify as page turners, but this comes close.

Read this at my History Book Club (Politics & Prose in Washington DC). There were a few who really enjoyed it. I rate it OK at best. The work is a tantalising survey. There is a lot that doesn't get the coverage that I had hoped for (Canada's first nations being one example) and the focus is definitely on the political. So this work has nothing to say about, say, cultural history. It would then better include "Political" in the title. Whenever an interesting issue was raised, the discussion was, as is necessary in a work like this, over before it could be developed. Perhaps this wasn't a book that I should have chosen although the US history version is much better.

Just what I wanted. None of this is taught in the states.

Good reference. After taking many trips to British Columbia and Alberta plus one trip to Quebec and Ontario, I wanted to learn more about Canadian history.

I had always wanted a history of Canada and I took a risk with this book and the risk paid off. This book was well written and very informative. I am very happy I have this book and will definetly look into more of the author's works.

Excellent summary of Canada's history. Read it before you travel there. I didn't. But this book provided insight to the many physical and social questions I asked myself while enjoying this beautiful country.Can't wait to return. Much more to see and experience.

Good entre into Canadian History for those who have no familiarity with the subject. However, it's really dry. Gets a bit boring.

When I decided to read a history of Canada I asked a historian acquaintance for his recommendation of the best one-volume history. Hr recommended something he himself had written which turned out to be a high school text. Left to my own evaluations, I chose the Penguin History. I chose very well. It's comprehensive without being too weighty, full of insight, and generous toward every interest and aspect of Canadian life.

A good read and well referenced, however it covered 1990-2000 rather briefly and then stopped.

Compellingly and clearly written. Good storytelling that expertly balances specificity with the broad historical themes appropriate to its subject. Does an excellent job of weaving the connected histories of the USA, Britain, and France into the Canadian story. At times hilarious (e.g. describing Canada's early fur trade as "the competitive international slaughter of the beaver", and commenting on how, for the British, "Newfoundland [...] was most valued as a piece of rocky real estate surrounded by fish"). I'll be referring to Bothwell for years to come.

book is iwth very good quality

It is difficult - if not impossible - to cover such a broad subject as the entire history of Canada in a single volume, and under the circumstances the author does an admirable job. As previous reviewers have noted, the narrative is skewed towards politics in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, with some detail on the Prairie provinces (especially Alberta) but very little on British Columbia and almost nothing on the three territories in the north. The neglect of the west and north, and of the First Nations, is a weakness. However, for those (like me) coming new to Canadian history, this was a readable, fast-paced account which serves as a very good introduction. It is not a definitive history of the subject, but such an expectation is unfair. For those just wanting to know something about Canada prior to a holiday or for general interest, it is very good; for those wanting to explore Canadian history in more depth, it is a useful book for beginners to ground themselves and gain some reference points and basic knowledge from which to begin deeper explorations.