Best canadian historical biographies according to redditors

We found 81 Reddit comments discussing the best canadian historical biographies. We ranked the 57 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

Next page

Top Reddit comments about Canadian Historical Biographies:

u/coffeepaint · 17 pointsr/worldnews

That beavers help the eco-system is not news - Eric Collier wrote about re-introducing beavers to Meldrum Creek in BC, Canada in the 1930s.

u/bleecake · 7 pointsr/TheTerror

Michael Palin wrote an excellent book called Erebus that was released last year. I can personally recommend.

Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771644419/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DxToDb368MVE7

u/skipster73 · 6 pointsr/OakIsland

Guess what I just found on the interwebs:

https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Oak-Island-Randall-Sullivan/dp/0802126936

At least one person is going to come out of this farce richer than he started. Still, the guy annoys me and I wouldn't give him a dime even if I found the Templar gold.

u/ThePeperine · 6 pointsr/The_Donald

Fun fact

the native men are usually depicted not carrying very much because of their master knowledge of wilderness skills

but in reality it was due to the fact that the women had to carry everything and did most of the work!

u/field_retro · 6 pointsr/OakIsland

So .... this book?

u/dmcg12 · 6 pointsr/neoliberal

If you want to read a book there's a lengthy biography from John English (who I know) in two volumes called Citizen of the World (before becoming PM) and Just Watch Me (after 1968 when he becomes PM). Just a note that it's a friendly author, he was a Liberal MP under PET (for Pierre Elliot Trudeau), which provides a unique perspective as well. He still wrote a stellar biography if you look outside liberal circles like media reviews. You can also google Pierre's memoirs.

Wikipedia also gives an overview but you won't really get the full picture. You can find some good stuff in the CBC archives (God love the CBC archives). You can see some of his famous political moments and see the man himself speak. While you're at it, watch Justin's eulogy for PET in 2000, it's the moment he really made a name for himself nationally.


There's a cbc miniseries called Trudeau you might be able to torrent or google (maybe it's on the CBC website somewhere) which is a bit more dramatized. You can find documentaries elsewhere too, like this one from CTV that focuses less on politics (the politics is super important to why he's such a big deal however).

u/POTUS2idiotic2indict · 6 pointsr/ontario

It will be.

Nope, it's uniquely Doug and Rob Ford. https://www.amazon.ca/Crazy-Town-Rob-Ford-Story/dp/067006811X

It's not me it's literally every journalist that covered city hall.

Ford is psychotic!


There's no peace in North Korea yet and Trump just ripped up a nuclear disarmament treaty??? There's also no surplus... there's a MASSIVE deficit due to his tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

Seriously what planet do you live on?

u/artisanalpotato · 4 pointsr/CanadaPolitics

Just read one of his many biographies (I suggest Citizen of the World, J. English). Putting his life into context matters.

It matters that this was his context growing up, but then he expanded his horizons by studying abroad and incorporating liberalism into his moral philosophy. He's not the only one to make the jump from 'corporatism' (dictionary definition, has nothing to do with corporations) to social liberalism in that era. But he is one of the very, very few to be able to make the case for liberal values inclusive of both French (not just Québec), and English values.

u/dkl415 · 4 pointsr/NoStupidQuestions

I recommend Crazy Town, which I feel does a good job explaining why Ford has a dedicate core of diehard supporters.

But to answer your question, no.

u/smithee2001 · 4 pointsr/VictoriaBC

Have you read The Curve of Time?

If I had 6 weeks off, I would go to some of the places mentioned. Not all of them are on the island though.

u/TheIndianUser · 3 pointsr/CanadaPolitics

Right Honourable Men by Michael Bliss


Canada's Prime Ministers by Ramsay Cook

Citizen of the World (Biography of Trudeau I) by John English: Volume 1 and Volume 2

Shadow of Heaven (Pearson) by John English

The first two are board history's and include selections from other biographies about the Prime Ministers; they're a good starting point for boarder history and to find more targeted biographies.

Also, if you're interested, I have a bunch of academic journal articles on both Trudeau and Pearson mostly on the decriminalization of homosexuality, the birth of equal marriage in Canada, debate about the Charter, Peacekeeping, the Flag Debate, and the Bill of Rights. Let me know and I can share those with you through google drive.

u/greywind · 3 pointsr/RedDeer

Check out Johnnie Bachusky's work. He just did a lecture in January on some of the ghost towns in Central Alberta and has been photographing them for the past 25 years.

Ghost Town Stories of Alberta

u/coolneatwhatever · 3 pointsr/canoeing

R.M. Patterson's Dangerous River.

Man what a great book.

u/BeyondAddiction · 2 pointsr/alberta

I recommend this one if you like anecdotal historical stories about the province :)

Edit: This is another site

u/theowsla · 2 pointsr/UnresolvedMysteries
u/dougbtv · 2 pointsr/Adirondacks

Everyone else's are great, but, I'm here to bring you the best! :D

Non-fiction, which meet "the adirondack vibe":

The Dangerous River -- amazing paddling tale, very exciting.

Adirondack French Louie -- the ultimate Adirondack hermit, all else I can say is Ba da holee feeeesh! (not a mystery/thriller, but, very much has the vibe)

Fiction:

The Martian -- although tainted by the movie, if you haven't seen the movie, read the book. It's an amazing adventure tale and while out adventuring in the Adirondacks, just amplifies the adventure, I think.

(edit: formatting)

u/Pake1000 · 2 pointsr/worldnews

Read this book: http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/152/Rumrunning-and-the-Roaring-Twenties

And this: http://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Lakes-Bootlegging-Smuggling-Prohibition/dp/1882376919

The mafia bought most of their supply from Canada, and then "bootlegged" it. There is a reason the mafia is often discussed when it comes to bootlegging/rum-running and not the production of alcohol itself.

Besides, as I mentioned to someone else: This is about the impact of decriminalization on Latin countries. This is not about whether the US decriminalized.

u/BrokenGroup · 2 pointsr/DIY

This is so freakin awesome! My SO and I are in the process of building an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) behind our existing house. At almost 700 sq ft it's not a tiny house but we're still constantly looking at blogs and websites for inspiration to do more with less space. Our architect specializes in tiny house so he has tons of great ideas.


You also live in one of my favorite places in the world. I LOVE the the west coast of BC and have been there probably 20 separate times. Last year me and 4 friends spent a week in the Broken Group kayaking. A few years ago my SO spent 10 days kayaking around Desolation Sound. A couple years ago I hikes the West Coat Trail solo. It was awesome but incredibly crowded. Each night camping was like being in a tent city, but I loved doing that trip solo... I had never done something like that before and it's great to have all that time to be introspective. I did a half marathon in Ucluelet last summer which was really fun. Someday I want to do a ski trip to Smithers but it's so isolated!


If you haven't read it already I think a great book to enjoy in your cabin is Adventures in Solitude. It actually inspired me to do the kayak trip in Desolation Sound. I also really liked The Curve of Time and it's follow up.

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Solitude-Potluck-Stories-Desolation/dp/1550175149

http://www.amazon.com/The-Curve-Time-Wylie-Blanchet/dp/1770500375/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51OssaRaVLL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=159YR41XBFN2KZW85M6K


Thanks so much for sharing! I get all fired up when I see these and someday I'd like to spend 6 months a year in a cabin like yours and 6 months a year in a tiny cabin near the bottom of a ski lift!

u/GogglesPisano · 2 pointsr/OakIsland

I took the time to read the Oak Island book (I didn't buy it, just borrowed it from the library) and the main thing I concluded from it is that after countless attempts over 150 years to find treasure, the island has had more holes in it than swiss cheese. Robert Dunfield alone practically strip-mined half the island down to 100 feet or more. There is virtually no original context left, much of the island was basically put through a giant blender. Because of this, the ground is littered with the buried remains of previous excavations, and the depth at which things are found has very little meaning.

Personally, I agree with you - the treasure never existed, just a local legend that spun out of control by either desperate wishful thinking or dishonest scams to get people to invest money.

u/marnas86 · 2 pointsr/toronto

Just read the Robyn Doolittle book, Crazy Town. Gives you a great idea of what an asshole DoFo is, even to his younger brother. https://www.amazon.ca/Crazy-Town-Rob-Ford-Story/dp/067006811X

u/amazon-converter-bot · 1 pointr/FreeEBOOKS

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

u/CrankcaseHobbit · 1 pointr/korea

My paper? Its not published, but I'm assuming you might be talking about the source of the story? Well, I just checked and you're in luck, because I lost a few of my 1st year papers. Not too lucky though, because it came front an old printed book.

Ten Lost Years: 1929-1939: Memories of Canadians who Survived the Depression by Broadfoot, Barry. https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Lost-Years-1929-1939-Depression/dp/0771016522

Not sure of the specific stories within that book that made me realize old-time family dynamic, I read a lot of that book out of interest, but I was specifically writing on a communist organized strike/protest of unemployed men living in rural work camps in 1935 called the 'On-to-Ottawa-Trek'.

u/Solid_s0ap · 1 pointr/CanadianForces

Ghostkeepers is written by a soldier who served in Sarajevo, offers a good point of view from the pointy end.

u/Rowsdowered · 1 pointr/socialism

Ginger's The Bending Cross, Foner's volumes of History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Dubofsky's We Shall Be All, and--for primary documents--Kornbluh's Rebel Voices.

All these books cover the period from the rise of the American democratic socialist movement to its fall by 1920. They also present similar rise/fall narratives regarding the Wobbly movement in the United States. From my reading of these texts, I developed some skepticism regarding democratic mobilization for Socialist ends.

u/jimintoronto · 1 pointr/history

"Ten Lost Years '...

The depression in Canada, as told by the people who lived through it. Personal interviews with a promise of no names for the people being interviewed.

link. https://www.amazon.ca/Ten-Lost-Years-1929-1939-Depression/dp/0771016522

Jim B.

u/[deleted] · 1 pointr/canada

> the Ottawa Citizen most certainly covered the story

Not initially they didn't. And when they finally did ...

In 2002, [Ottawa Citizen] publisher Russell Mills was dismissed following the publication of a story critical of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and an editorial calling for Chrétien's resignation. link

> Can your source the pages from her memoirs? See if it is as you say then she's admitting to a rather grotesque and possibly illegal if not unethical breach of ethics.

Read her book or Conrad Black's book or google because it was well publicized. Chretien went full guns on Conrad Black, including cancelling all federal government advertising in the National Post. And you can see, above, what he had happen at the Ottawa Citizen.

> As for Conrad Black, he got his lordship after renouncing his citizenship and I don't think Chreitien wrote those laws so I'm not sure if you actually know what you are talking about.

Conrad Black was prevented from receiving his Lordship by Jean Chretien because Jean pulled a long forgotten, seldom used little law out of the annals of legal history to ensure he couldn't get it as a Canadian citizen. In short, Chretien hated Black because of the stories Black published against him and this was his petty revenge. link

Sounds to me like you need to learn more about the Chretien years. Chretien made Richard Nixon look like a choir boy. Start here: Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal

u/brasscaribou · 1 pointr/leafs

I got Tales from the Toronto Maple Leafs Locker Room in a book exchange one year. It was a pretty solid read.

u/badsanta2018 · -2 pointsr/canada

No, you don't have it at all.

I dislike Jean Chretien very much. He is the most corrupt politician and the biggest liar in the history of Canada. (See Paul Tuns "Jean Chretien: Legacy Of Scandals" for an eye-opening read.)

But he was an author of Charter Of Rights and his 2012 clarification of the purpose of the notwithstanding clause is clear and logical. That it ensures the people are supreme over appointed judges.

What's also clear is that Chretien is now taking a hypocritical stance in saying the Ford shouldn't be using the tool that the Charter equipped him with despite already telling us in 2012 that this is exactly what the notwithstanding clause was intended for.

Chretien is first and foremost a good Liberal solider and will always side with the Liberal Party, and against the conservative, on any cause regardless if it contradicts his long-held logical clarifications.