For the Love of History

From the book cover:
For the Love of History awakens a past full of scandal, political turbulence, and high drama: the corruption and vice of 1930s Winnipeg; the intrigue behind Canada's first political murder; the national passions inflamed by Trudeau's stand against the FLQ. From the legacy of civil engineering in this country to the perils and rewards of dramatizing history for a prime-time television audience, this is a collection of diverse stories and perspectives. What unites these authors is, in the tradition of Pierre Berton, their ability to make history captivating and vital. For the Love of History brilliantly illuminates our past.
----------------------
Dr. Cook's Strange Odyssey is the story of Dr. Frederick Cook and Robert Peary, and their competing claims to being the first man to reach the North Pole. Both men's claims have come under criticism. Pierre Berton examines the chain of events and possible reasons for each man making the claim and whether there is any truth to either claim.

Quote from the Author:
"The non-fiction writer can and should use some of the novelist's techniques - scene setting, character development, narrative drive - but at the same time he is hampered by one dictum: he cannot make anything up. Yet that is where the fun and excitement lie - in digging out the facts, as a private eye digs out clues, and stitching them together in a way that intrigues, educates, and stimulates the reader." - Pierre Berton
-------------

There was no Street like Annabelle Street is the story of Winnipeg's struggle with prostitution in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Quote from the Author:
"If we are to generate in our children an appreciation of their Canadian heritage, we first have to acquaint them with the history of their own country. Only then can they avoid the mistakes made by previous generations." - James H. Gray
--------------

The Two Solitudes is about the different ways historical events are remembered depending on whether you're a Francophone, Anglophone or Native. Special attention is given to the events of 1837-38.

Quote from the Author:
"In tribute to Pierre Berton, who on occasion studied the vast differences between the two solitudes." -Jacques Lacoursiére, FRSC
--------------

The Heritage Minute and How They Grew is about the creation of the one minute Canadian history movies that have become a part of Canadian culture.

Quote from the Author:
"In the midst of all the maps and professors, it is easy to forget, sometimes, that the first historical question is simple, "Mother, where did I come from?" Keep widening the circles as the answers come in and you're doing history." - Patrick Watson
--------------

Selections from Today in History is a compilation of 10 historical events as re-told in the 1980s onwards. Everything from George Washington's triumph over British forces in January 1777 to Canada's struggle to become one of the founding members of the League of Nations and Canada's first and only political murder is covered.

Quote from the Author:
"History isn't dates and battles and acts of Parliament. That's boredom. History is the first night anyone recited 'Casey at the Bat' onstage. Or the day a pompous governor of Ottawa read a proclamation in a blizzard on the empty prairie because his Metis subjects wouldn't show up to greet him. Or the day Jonas Salk announced he'd found a vaccine to prevent polio and thousands of kids wouldn't have to face life sentences in wheelchairs. Boredom goes in one ear and out the other. History spears you in the heart." - Bob Johnstone
---------------

The Magnificent River Rats is the story of "the unsung and uncouth" early fur-trade voyageurs. These are the men who would portage great distances bringing goods to the trading posts. They were one level above indentured workers. They made very little money and were encourage to go into debt at the company stores.

Quote from the author:
"History is memory refined, and this country is only half a dozen memories old...." - Peter C. Newman
----------------

Opening Pandora's Box is the story of Canada's three founding nations: the English, the French and the Natives, and their relationship throughout history as revealed in the documentary Canada: A People's History.

Quote from the author:
"The river that runs through Canadian history is a current of refuge and hope" - Mark Starowicz
-----------------

A Herculean Task is about the role civil engineers played in World War II  in constructing airfields and infrastructure to support the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). The Canadian Government signed a agreement to build 58 training airfields on December 17, 1939, by 1943 a total of 88 airfields had been built.
-----------------

Willie's Tug of Love (1894-1898) is about Canada's tenth Prime Minister during the years he attended university in Chicago and Boston. Through letters between William Lyon Mackenzie King, his family members and his love interests, this story explores some of the defining moments that may have contributed to MacKenzie King's aloofness.

Quote from the author:
"Our past has shaped us, as individuals and as citizens. There will never be one story that fits all of us, but the rich tapestry of our shared history allows us to enjoy the perspective and passions of the men and women who walked this land before us. Written history can offer drama, tension, interpretation - and the elements, in fact, of a great mystery novel. But history is real." - Charlotte Gray
-----------------

Changing Positions: Reflections on Pierre Trudeau and the October Crisis is about opinions Canadians had on Trudeau's handling of the crisis during the crisis and after the crisis. The author explores his own changed views and possible reasons for the flip flopping by the Canadian public, and explains why he changed his mind about Trudeau's handling of the crisis.

Quote from the author:
I genuinely believe that history tells us where we have been and points to our future. The past is never totally clear - a good thing, for if it was, history would be no fun at all. Of course, we always get out imagined future absolutely right!" - J.L. Granatstein

4/5