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Roderick Benns: Posted on April-07-13 9:55 AM
 It was today, back in 1868, when one of our most important fathers of Confederation was shot and killed by militants one year after Canada was born. ThomasD'Arcy McGee was returning home to his Sparks Street lodging house in Ottawa. As he turned the key in his lock he was shot and killed by a Fenian assassin. He had just made a stirring speech in Parliament and had denounced the Fenians, a militant Irish-American group. It was one of Canada’s few political assassinations. When John A. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on April-01-13 2:12 PM
It’s warm, narrative and grand in scope and the illustrations are superb. Granted, my daughter is inquisitive, but I was struck by how enamoured she was with the story – a testament to the authors’ ability to convey historical information in a captivating way. My daughter is reading the sidebars and inset information (of which there are plenty) while I am reading the main text. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on March-25-13 10:58 AM
If you’re a parent or student and interested in Canada’s history (and if you’re reading this I’m betting you are) check out this fantastic contest from the folks at Canada’s History. I say this with firsthand experience, having been one of the judges for the contest for the past two years. There are some talented students in this country who are able to tell great history stories. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on March-20-13 11:48 AM
 Today former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney turns 74. If you haven’t yet read Mr. Mulroney’s ‘Memoirs’ you’re really missing out. Whether you’re left or right leaning, this is a fast-paced, comprehensive, well-written effort that spans an exciting time of Canada’s history. So Happy Birthday, Mr. Mulroney. If only federal politics today had half the energy and panache that you brought to the job. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on March-15-13 10:09 AM
 Military history fans will no doubt be happy with this fall’s offering of ‘Merry Hell: The Story of the 25th Battalion (Nova Scotia Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919’ in hardcover. Looks like an interesting account of the battalion from the First World War, given that it’s a team-up between Captain Robert Clements and professional military historian Brian Douglas Tennyson. According to the publisher, University of Toronto Press, Clements served in the battalion throughout that period and wrote the story long after the war, all based on vivid personal memories and the experiences he had. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on March-05-13 1:41 PM
 Kim Campbell has been making the news lately for a number of reasons – reasons that mostly that have to do with theTitanic II’s future launch. A great story for those nautically inclined. However, I was more interested in her comments on Senate and House of Commons reform. (Surely this is a psychosis in and of itself.) The former Prime Minister musesthat the Senate has far too much power, given that it has nearly the same powers as the House of Commons (notwithstanding money bills). |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on March-01-13 10:42 AM
 Justthought I'd say fifty years ago, Lester 'Mike' Pearson kicked off his bid to become Prime Minister atThomas L. Kennedy Secondary School in Cooksville. I've written some about Pearsonbefore, including his connections to Peterborough. Funny how some of our strongest Prime Ministers kind of fell into the job, like Pearson, as is evident by this comment from him: "When I look back on my career the most amazing thing is that things just happened." A diplomat through and through, he nonetheless went on to have a storied (if acrimonious) five years in power as PM, leaving a trail of accomplishments behind in a compressed period of time. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on February-21-13 11:24 AM
 There's agreat conversationgoing on over at Christopher Dummitt's blog, as is often the case. In response to responses and yet more responses, I give my two cents on the teaching and writing of Canadian history. One paragraph from my response: It is not the historian's job to instil pride in one's country. Pride, satisfaction or gratitude for living in a country like Canada, I would think, would occur naturally from a clear understanding of our story. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on February-17-13 6:55 PM
 Canadian history, in our higher academic institutions, has been piecemeal and ‘social’ in context for a long time. The grand story of Canada, our nation’s political big-picture narrative, has been told by too few for too long. It’s also true at the high school level, where provinces do either a lukewarm or failing job to teach Canadian history in the way any mature nation should teach its own history. In the Ottawa Citizen, columnist Terry Glavinwrites about thisand quotes, in part, historian and blogger Christopher Dummitt. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on February-13-13 11:37 AM
 Canada at War: A Graphic History of Word War Two, is an intriguing graphic novel from writer Paul Keery with illustrations by Michael Wyatt. I picked it up while browsing in Chapters last week...and then I set it back down. I couldn't help but wonder how much they had to leave out of the war in a medium that is decidedly light on text. Could the brisk movement of pictorial-focused panels possibly capture the spirit of the war? Apparently not, according to Tim Cook's |
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