Canada’s Odyssey

A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests

by Peter H. Russell

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Pub Date Jun 27 2017 | Archive Date May 26 2017

University of Toronto Press | UTP

History

Description

150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation.

In Canada’s Odyssey, renowned scholar Peter H. Russell provides an expansive, accessible account of Canadian history from the pre-Confederation period to the present day. By focusing on what he calls the “three pillars” of English Canada, French Canada, and Aboriginal Canada, Russell advances an important view of our country as one founded on and informed by “incomplete conquests”. It is the very incompleteness of these conquests that have made Canada what it is today, not just a multicultural society but a multinational one.

Featuring the scope and vivid characterizations of an epic novel, Canada’s Odyssey is a magisterial work by an astute observer of Canadian politics and history, a perfect book to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Peter H. Russell is a professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto

150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding...

Advance Praise

“Lucid and lively, Canada’s Odyssey is both a joy to read and also a provocative story about a country that has been and continues to be an unfinished project. The tone is friendly, the prose is free of jargon — but Professor Russell’s hand is firm on the tiller. This is Big History: the distillation of fifty years of scholarship written for a contemporary popular audience. "

Charlotte Gray, C.M., adjunct professor at Carleton University and author of The Promise of Canada: 150 Years — People And Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country.”

“Canada’s Odyssey is a remarkable achievement. Peter H. Russell weaves together his robust knowledge of Canadian history and government in an accessible and inviting read. Canada’s Odyssey is ideal for those scholars, students, and general readers who long to be better informed about our country.”

Kent McNeil, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

“Russell's book provides a seminal and deep insight into Canada's political identity. His magisterial political analysis of how and why ‘compromise’ usurped 'conquest' makes this must read book a new and compelling take on the evolution of our nation"

The Hon. Hugh Segal, OC, O.Ont, Master, Massey College