The priceless gift of books
Here is my list of recommended books from 2016:
Charlotte Gray, one of Canada’s bestknown writers of non-fiction, has produced another gem.
The Promise of Canada: 150 Years People and Ideas that have Shaped our Country is the one volume I would hope most Canadians read this year. Beginning with George-Etienne Cartier and finishing up with Preston Manning, she provides insights into the soul of our country.
Three particular chapters stood out for me. Her writing about artist Emily Carr was entrancing. Most commentary on art is vapid gibberish; hers is insightful, probing and thoughtful. Similarly her chapter about Justice Bertha Wilson brings to life a truly remarkable woman who forged a trail in law that broke many a glass ceiling. The chapter on Elijah Harper provides a cogent explanation of the case aboriginals have for fundamental reforms to provide redress for how we have treated them the past.
If I had to pick one book to give friends and family this Christmas, this is it.
The Cambridge History of the Second World War is a three-volume opus of more than 1,200 pages that covers all aspects of the period 1939-45. What makes it so outstanding is the range of topics, each written by a scholar who specializes in the relevant field.
Actual events and battles are covered in the first chapter and the other topics range from logistics, to planning, to diplomacy by all the belligerents, the treatment of prisoners of war, domestic war materials production, slave labour, the death camps, resistance, and changes in the social structure of major nations.
And both the European and Asian theatres are well-covered in all aspects. Several essays in the third volume consider the war’s consequences on the nations involved including the devolution of the British Empire.
The history received an exceptionally favour-able review in the Times Literary Supplement and justly so.
Given the expense ($450 USD) you had best get it from a library. UBCO has a copy.
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan is focused on the region between the Caspian Sea and China. Beginning in 5,000 BC, it provides a different viewpoint on the development of the world. It is particularly illuminating about the richness of Muslim culture and the rise of the Mongol advance into the western regions including a large part of Europe.
The extensive bibliography provides a long list for further reading.
In most history books, Benjamin Franklin is given short shrift.
As Carla Mulford documents in Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire, he played an important role in the three decades leading up to the revolution of 1776. Franklin tried unsuccessfully to convince the aristocracy in Britain that their policies were wrongheaded and fomenting rebellion. This well-written book shows Franklin’s passion to build a strong and vibrant British North America closely aligned with the home country and how the powers that held sway in the U.K. were motivated into protecting their own selfish interests. Their actions were perhaps the greatest blunder ever made by a government.
The added benefit of this volume is that Mulford demonstrates just how diverse were the interests and talents exhibited by Franklin; chemistry, political theory, public affairs, astronomy, agriculture and statistics among others. Truly a renaissance man and a fascinating and illuminating read. I learned a great deal from this book.
Donna Leon, an American writer living in Venice has produced another carefully-crafted mystery centred on her delightful character, Commissario Guido Brunetti. Falling in Love picks up the story of a famous opera singer who was introduced in one of the first novels in the series.
The plot is full of twists and turns played out against the background of the Commissario’s cynical view of bureaucracy and politics in Italy. Another good read, either for a winter’s night or on a beach somewhere warm and sunny.
David Bond is an author and retired bank economist.