Canadian History - more than just facts for dummies

Kirsten Ferguson

If the words "Canadian history" provide ugly flashbacks of listening to your junior high social studies teacher droning on and on about dead guys in funny costumes, you're not alone.
Thanks to the hit CBC series, Canada: A People's History and several new books published on the subject this year, Canadian history has become hip for the first time in, well, history.
Canadian History For Dummies by Will Ferguson is the most light-hearted and accessible of these new books. For Dummies writers have always attempted to explain their subject matter, whether it be computers or cooking, in a humourous, straightforward way. This book is no exception.
People already familiar with the Canada: A People's History series shouldn't have much difficulty reading this book. Both are arranged chronologically "from John A. to Jean, eh," beginning with descriptions of various Native cultures prior to European contact and ending in the present day.
The book is filled with fascinating descriptions of the people, conflicts, and drama surrounding our history, and many obscure facts even Canadian history experts may not have known.
For instance, everyone who managed to stay awake during junior high social studies may know about the historic 1864 Charlottetown conference. But how many people know the main reason why it was held there was because it was the only way the P.E.I. delegates, who were reluctant to join Confederation, would show up?
Other interesting facts involve Canada's first separatist movement (which originated in Nova Scotia, not Quebec), the close results of the 1949 referendum which permitted Newfoundland to enter Confederation, and a list of alternate names the Fathers of Confederation proposed for our new nation. Just think, we could all be Tuponians or, better yet, Superiors, instead of Canadians.
Of course, it's impossible to fit 20,000 years of history into 450 pages, so many events were condensed into only half a page while others weren't mentioned at all. But the book does include a detailed list of websites for people interested in learning more about a particular event or subject.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the origins of Canada or anyone who still thinks our history is boring. Canadian History For Dummies does a wonderful job of proving them wrong.