Review: Canada: Canada 1896–1921
| Author | R. Taylor Cole |
| Published date | 01 June 1975 |
| Date | 01 June 1975 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070207503000227 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS/CANADA
365
CANADA
CANADA
1896-19i1
A
Nation
Transformed
Robert
Craig Brown
and
Ramsay
Cook
Toronto:
McClelland
&
Stewart,
1974,
xiv,
412pp,
$12.50
This
account
of
the
'great
transformation' in
Canada,
covering
the
period
from
the
election of
Sir
Wilfrid
Laurier
in
1896
to
the
resignation
of
Sir
Robert
Borden in
1921,
is
a
well-written
and
im-
pressive
addition
to
the
Canadian
Centenary
Series.
There
are
a
number
of
features
of
the
book which
deserve
mention.
The
two
authors
have
been
successful
in
fusing
their
contributions
into
a
care-
fully
integrated
and
unified
work;
the
extensive
use
of
source
ma-
terials
(manuscript
collections,
public
archives
-
exclusively
Canadian
with the
exception
of
the
Goldwin Smith
collection
at
Cornell
Uni-
versity
-
government
records,
and
unpublished
dissertations)
has
allowed
for
both
a
re-telling
and
some
reinterpretation; and
judi-
ciously
selected
pictures
depict
significant
episodes
and
add
to
the
physical
attractiveness
of
the
volume.
A
basic
emphasis
has
been
placed
on
leaders
and
leadership
during
the
twenty-five
years;
indeed,
the
history
of
the
period
has
been
largely
told
through
the
records
and
eyes
of
the
major
actors
Laurier
and
Borden,
emergent
figures
such
as
Meighen
and
King,
key
per-
sonalities
such
as
Clifford Sifton
and
Bourassa,
astute
diplomats
such
as
Bryce,
entrepreneurial
swashbucklers
such
as
MacKenzie
and
Mann
'who
proved
their
ability
to
compete
with
the
best
and
the
worst
in
the
age
of
the great
barbecue'
(p
15o).
One
of
the
best accounts
in-
volving
some
reinterpretation
is
that
of
the
evolving
pattern
of
relationships with
Britain and
the
United
States.
The
evolution
of
the
Canadian
position
in
the
Empire-Commonwealth
receives
un-
usually
sound
analysis
throughout,
and
especially
in
chapter
14,
'The
Continent
and
the
Empire-Commonwealth.'
There
is
adequate and
balanced
attention
given
to
French-speaking
Canada.
Despite
the
many
evidences
of
discord
on
the
domestic
and
foreign
fronts,
the
emergence of
competing
pressure
groups
and
social
philosophies,
and
even
the
existence
of
divergent nationalisms,
the
authors
have
in
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