Reddit mentions: The best canadian history books

This is a very broad topic, and difficult to encapsulate in a few lines, but I'll give it a go. I spent about eight years of my life dedicated to this pursuit. I got a degree in bio and worked as a field botanist for years. I tutored it, etc etc.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there, even within the confines of structured and scientific botany. Species aren't neat little packages that many would like to believe, there are hybrid complexes and recent, yet unstable, specialization events that lead to distinct morphologies but the ability to interbreed.

Practically, you want to discern species A from B so that you may harvest one for a particular purpose. Some groups of plants are easy to ID (e.g. Brassicaceae), and relatively safe to utilize, where others (e.g. Apiaceae) contain both extremely beneficial AND deadly toxic species.

Yet, to get to the level of comfort and mastery where you can discern a poisonous plant from a nutritional plant that differs only in the number of stamens or the position of the ovule, it takes years of dedication. Ask yourself how committed to this you are? The consequences of mis-identification can be severe.

Now, past the disclaimer.

To begin this pursuit, you must, odviously, start with the basics. That is learning plant groups. Start coarse and work your way into more fine distinctions. Begin with this text book. It is well written and gives you all of the primary info. It is well written and concise and one of the few text books you that is highly readable. Botany is laden with terminology, and this book is invaluable for that.

Next, you need a flora. Just a quick search (i live in a different biota) yields this website / information. This is a group that you can trust. If you live near, you may attend some of their field trips or lectures. This is the inner circle of botanists in your area and the ones that probably have the info you are looking into. But, most botanists are in it for intellectual masturbation, so keep the uses out of the discussion or you will be shunned (some are more accepting than others).

A couple of other books that are credible, exhaustive, and useful for your purposes are this and this. Lets face it, the indigenous cultures of this continent knew what they were doing long before we Europeanized the landscape. Also try this and this is the definitive guide for European transplants (many of which are naturalized and invasive but nonetheless useful to us).

Any questions, I'd be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

First Nation? Second Thoughts by Tom Flanagan is probably the most representative book on the conservative (small c) view of Indigenous issues; I know some people have a negative opinion towards Flanagan, but this work is great by most academic standards and I think it's a must read for anyone interested in Indigenous issues.

Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State by Alan Cairns. This was Cairns response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal's people. Again, I think it's a must read to learn more about the various perspectives about Indigenous issues.

Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom by Taiaiake Alfred. Alfred is probably the most "extreme" in terms of his vision for Indigenous peoples in Canada, but he's a must read.

Unjust Society by Harold Cardinal. This book provides the greatest insight into why the White Paper was met with opposition from Indigenous peoples and to Indigenous issues in general (it's a little older, but if you were to read one book out of all the ones I recommended this would be it)

Governing from the Centre: The Concentration of Power in Canadian Politics by Donald Savoie. I haven't read this one yet (I hope to soon) so I can't speak to how it is, but I've been told it's a great book. It basically looks at how the federal government has become increasingly centralized into the PMO

EDIT: If you go to university/college and have free access to academic journals you should look in those. There are so many interesting articles and are less time consuming than books. Here's a directory of open access journals, but keep in mind not all of these journals are of "top quality"

>Get rid of the charter or rights or create a charter of rights and responsibilities.

>Get rid of hyphenated Canadians. In or your out, choose.

>Solve the native problem, either return canada to them and leave, or they become the same as everyone else, no special rights.

>Canadian and Canadian Citizenship should be synonymous but isn't right now.

>Get rid of multi-culturalism as a vision, no nation has ever been successful like that, instead teach tolerance and to value different perspectives.

While I see your point here, I would disagree with you. In my mind and the minds of some of our greatest thinkers this fact has been our greatest strength. You mentioned "Become a truly bilingual country", but perhaps the fact that we hold bilinugalism so dear is that we realize that we are a State made of many Nations. Quebec and the Quebequois are one.

As to your hyphenation point, I'd argue we are all hyphenated, except for the Natives and it is a shame we don't give two shits about them. The fact that you can be a hypenated Canadian is the top reason (in my limited experience) why immigrates appreciate coming here. They understand that in Canada you can be Canadian and you can be Indian, Chinese etc. My partner is Vietnamese, born in Paris, and calls herself Canadian, French, and Vietnamese depending on the context. Infuriating when having an argument with her, yes, but that doesn't mean it's invalid.

As a final point, your idea that we should be a melting pot and not a mosaic is premised on flawed ideas of nationhood based on the European and US models. John Ralson Saul's recent book on this topic, A Fair Country clarified greatly my thoughts in this area. If you don't want to read it his lecture is online both from CBC Ideas and TVO Big Ideas and highly recommended.

Canada, since before first contact and after, has always been (in its ideals, granted) a conversation between parties. And I think that the fact that Europe and the US are having problems with their immigrant populations while we accept more immigrates that any other nation in the world speaks to the success we have made of our model.

The above does not white-wash the negative aspects. It is admittedly a normative claim.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

I'm saying this apolitically. I don't even live in Canada anymore, but he's the perfect fit. He absolutely loves hockey - he's a 'leader', he's been in office for almost 10 years (meaning he'll be done soon), and he is a diplomat.

Oh yeah, and he's a hockey historian: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Forgotten-Professional-Hockey/dp/1476716536

I have a feeling this would be a perfect job for him, and I actually think he'd do a great job running the NHL.

He supports bringing more teams to Canada too - and if anyone can do it, the former PM of Canada is the man.

Remember Condi Rice said her dream job is the Comish of the NFL?

For anyone interested in learning some things about bilingualism in Canada, I highly recommend the book Sorry, I Don't Speak French by Graham Fraser. A lot of very good information and arguments in there.

One of the things I remember most clearly is that to some degree, our institutes of higher education are a significant contributor. Most people probably don't know this, but knowing a second language used to be mandatory for attending university. They took that out just as the government started providing more funding for French language classes, removing a huge incentive for students to actually care about learning French.

And then at university, French is taught like it's any other foreign language, with no incentives to choose to continue it. Take my major, political science. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have your Poli Sci graduates know French? Wouldn't that be a big help for them in their future careers, especially if they want to join the civil service, or maybe do some journalism in Canada? And yet there were no french courses offered through the political science program, no credits given for taking french classes, nothing. Even graduate courses that purport to train you for the civil service rarely include French- How bizarre is that?

The main problem for bilingualism in Canada is how far away two of the most populous provinces (Alberta and BC) are from Quebec. If that geographic distance weren't there, it would be a lot easier to do things like encourage exchanges (of students and teachers). Because I really don't think you can learn French well without some degree of actual immersion in a French-speaking society. I took French immersion from Grade 1 to Grade 8, and continued taking classes for most of high school, and the first two years of university to boot. I still consider myself only decent at French, because I've never been anywhere that actually speaks the language for longer than a week.

Being an Ontarian myself, I'm not as familiar with East Coast artists but I love Hey Rosetta!, Great Big Sea, and Rick Mercer.

I'm honoured to say that I read a book at a young age that described the heroic sacrifice of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Their sacrifices to King and Country will never be forgotten in my books.

Here's an interesting book on the referendum that decided Newfoundland's place in Confederation: Don't Tell the Newfoundlanders: The True Story of Newfoundland's Confederation with Canada

It really depends on what type of climbing you enjoy: adventure, sport, mountaineering, etc.

Here are some of my favourites:

If you like alpinism and want to learn how pathetic and weak willed you are compared to Steve House, check out Beyond the Mountain. Great book. Dude has insane ethics that make me feel bad for clipping bolts.

If you're more into big wall climbing and how it fits in with life lessons, The Push by Tommy Caldwell is phenomenal. He really throws it all out there and gives you an insight as to just how hard he worked to free the Dawn Wall and all the lessons that came with it.

If you want a really well written account of one of climbing's most bizarre controversies, The Tower by Kelly Cordes was one of my favourites this year. It gives a back-and-forth history and insight into climbing Cerro Torre and really gives a glimpse into life in Patagonia and the history of climbing Torre.

If you're a big dreamer and history nut, The Bold and The Cold gives first hand stories of the first ascents of some of the biggest routes in Canada. From the Bugaboos to Robson, it's a fantastic read and really gets you longing to get out out there.

Eiger Dreams was a fantastic collection of unrelated short stories centering around climbing and mountaineer. Some big characters and bigger adventures that are well told by the same author (and climber!) that gave us Into the Wild.

And finally, I recommend The Calling by Barry Blanchard for no other reason than it's a really well written account of the life of a fading alpinist in the Canadian Rockies.

Hope this helps!



Bonus recommendation: not climbing related, but a really great read for anyone who loves the outdoors: The Names of the Stars is a fantastic book that follows the personal account of a retired Park Ranger who spents 5 months alone in the wilderness of Montana watching fish eggs. It's a boring premise but the author is so vivid with his descriptions and shows the connection between us and the wild. I read it in a day, it was that good.

I mostly picked up info from books when doing a Google Earth overlay showing Vancouver's original coastline, but lots of Wikipedia articles have been getting better recently. The Vancouver Archives have a lot of cool stuff, and just google searches for the history of specific items bring up articles of interest.

EDIT - I need to hunt around for a book on Vancouver's history that I had in the seventies, The Vancouver Book by Chuck Davis. It had some amazing stuff, like the tunnels in Chinatown that were used for illicit purposes, wartime stuff like where the searchlight and gun emplacements were (many still visible but few know what they are), a great story about a ship being shot and sunk (sorta) accidently by one of the gun crews.

Think I'll pick up this one too, it looks good.

That's a lot of questions!

When it comes to the justice system, we have one similar to most western nations. We have courts, lawyers, prisons, parole officers etc. But at the same time, there's a certain awareness that justice ultimately needs to be restorative, not retributive. In part this awareness comes from our First Nation communities: they teach us that crime is more than just an aberration to be punished, it's an indication of a fractured community that needs to be healed. I strongly suggest the book Returning to the Teachings on this subject.

So for example, this means that we imprison a much smaller percentage of our population than you do! And even our corrections department has as part of its organisational mission actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control..

So our goal is always that people will be drawn back into the 'social contract.' We don't want a large number of people excluded from that context.

And I think the same thing is true when it comes to immigration. As I was reminded at my citizenship hearing, we welcome refugees and immigrants, and we encourage immigrants to progress on the path to citizenship.

Now that said, we do have limits in place. We typically accept about 250,000 immigrants every year; and it's certainly easier to immigrate here if you have family ties in the country in the first place. But as I said, the goal is that every newcomer become an active, participatory member of Canadian society.

Just to make it easier to find - it's spelled "Pierre Berton", not "Burton". Also, "Hostages to Fortune" was written by Peter C. Newman, not Pierre Berton (more about Newman below).

Here's Berton's list of books.

Some great foundational stuff about Canada is as /u/MonotheistThrowaway describes, in the 1812 things. There's also other stuff by him that's excellent:

"The National Dream" and "The Last Spike", about the construction of the railroad across Canada.

"The Great Depression", which of course is about the Great Depression.

"Vimy", which is about the Canadians at Vimy Ridge in 1917. It's not especially "scholarly", but it's incredibly accessible and a riveting read.

"The Arctic Grail", which is about the many attempts to find the North-West Passage. See also the Stan Rogers song about this. It's a pretty key piece of Canadian history.

There is lots and lots more in his bibliography. If you go out of your mind and decide to read all of his work, you'll probably know more about Canadian history and identity that 95% of those born here.

Peter Newman wrote similarly great Canadian history. He did a three-volume piece about the Hudson Bay Company, in the books Company of Adventurers, Caesars of the Wilderness and Merchant Princes. There's a sort of a "condensed" version called "Empire of the Bay" that might be a quicker read.

If you ever get bored of reading but you still want to learn Canada's history, check out "Canada: A People's History", an incredible series done by CBC back in 2001. That's a link to a playlist with all episodes. I can't possibly recommend it enough.

Edit to add: Welcome to Canada, friend!

OMG I get to say it in this thread, and another thread taught me:
https://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-Town-Newfoundland/dp/0060559713

This is a WONDERFUL BOOK about the citizens of the town where the airport was... and how they took care of everyone. Someone lent teenage lovers a car to get away from the mess, others brought blankets, entertainment, etc. It's a heartwarming, WONDERFUL tale of love and kindness. I guess we could use that right about now.

Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger -- A through-the-eyes-of-Tony-La-Russa recounting of a pivotal three game series between the Cardinals and Cubs in August 2003.

The Last Boy by Jane Leavy -- Not only an exceptional (!) biography of Mickey Mantle, but also a wonderful look into what life was like at the time as both a fan and as a professional baseball player. Notable stories about the Yankees and its many players of that era, Willie Mays, Duke Snyder.

The Bullpen Gospels by Dirk Hayhurst -- A hilariously honest and at-times brutal telling of what life is like as a minor league, "non-prospect" pitcher.


Up, Up, and Away by Jonah Keri -- Because the Expos are amazing, and I love and miss them.

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.

Fellow Vancouver enthusiast and local of 8 years here, I can't recommend this book highly enough: The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver. I think it's somewhat rare these days, so good luck finding a copy at a reasonable price! It's an absolute treasure of a book, one of my all-time favourites. It's essentially the author's life's work - funny, poignant, exhaustively comprehensive and full of obscure human interest stories. I can also recommend Vancouver Special by Charles Demers, a local comedian and longtime Vancouver resident. Derek Hayes' historical atlases are quite good as well.

In my eyes "The day the world came to town" is the most HFY book that exists, mainly because it's true. There's no humans being better than everyone and generally being loudmouthed warmongers, but you still read with a smile on your face and think "I'm glad I'm human"

The book describtion:
"For the better part of a week, nearly every man, woman, and child in Gander and the surrounding smaller towns stopped what they were doing so they could help. They placed their lives on hold for a group of strangers and asked for nothing in return. They affirmed the basic goodness of man at a time when it was easy to doubt such humanity still existed."

amazon link

I saved this post so I could come back to it later when I was more rested. Lots of good suggestions. I thought it might be useful to share some of the nonsense that's in my bookshelves.

Almost Chimpanzee by Jon Cohen

The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris

Planet Ape by Desmond Morris

The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan

[Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadows_of_Forgotten_Ancestors_(book) by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

Paleofantasy by Marlene Zuk

How To Think Like a Neanderthal by Thomas Wynn and Frederick L. Coolidge

Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer

History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction by Jacalyn Duffin

The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity by Roy Porter

The Sea & Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine

The History of World Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to The Middle Ages Volume One and Volume Two by Hermann Schneider FYI this guy was a professor in Leipzig during WWII and a member of the Nazi party. Full text in link

Food in History by Reay Tannahill

The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images published by Taschen

Colonies in Space by T.A. Heppenheimer Full text in link

Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Improve and/or Ruin Everything by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

Some of those are still on my reading list, others are books I've carried with me for over a decade. I've also got many encyclopedias on extinct animals, dinosaurs, and living fauna. Some cryptozoological texts. And I'd also recommend religious texts. Interpreting something that dense can be hard without commentary but exploring non-Christian perspectives is very much "worth it" when it comes to worldbuilding so I've got a copy of Popul Vuh by Dennis Tedlock full text in link, but no pictures and I'm working on finding a good Bhagavad Gita.

Thanks so much for the reply! I'll definitely look into all of that.

One of the best times I've had discussing/learning about Vimy was a couple years ago at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. I was visiting at the time, and have since moved here so I'm planning on going back. Anyway, that's beside the point. We were wandering around the museum, and came upon the Vimy Ridge area and an older man who was a volunteer came and asked if we wanted to have him guide us through. I felt like I knew a fair bit about the battle already, having read books like Vimy and spending time in libraries etc, but we decided why not eh! Wow, best decision BY FAR. Not only the way he was able to tell the story, but all the info he had along with private letters and stories that have never been published. We ended up spending over an hour and a half JUST in the Vimy area talking about it, and learning and hearing many new stories. To this day I hope I could go back and find this particular volunteer to go through again. He had a wealth of knowledge on Passchendaele as well. He had photos from a trip he'd taken out there to show what it all looked like now, most interesting being looking at the area where Passchendaele took place from the same vantage point as the giant photo on the wall in the museum.

Anyway, I ramble, but thanks so much for the reply and info. Also if you've never been I highly recommend the War Museum. Hopefully I'll get back there and find that particular volunteer.

Here are some good sources:

Books
Medical Botany (https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Botany-Plants-Affecting-Health/dp/0471628824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494004860&sr=8-1&keywords=Medical+Botany)

Dewick’s Medicinal Natural Products (https://www.amazon.com/Medicinal-Natural-Products-Biosynthetic-Approach/dp/0470741678/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494004479&sr=1-1&keywords=medicinal+natural+products)

Biology of Plants (https://www.amazon.com/Raven-Biology-Plants-Ray-Evert/dp/1429219610/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494004531&sr=8-3&keywords=biology+of+plants)

Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phyotherapy (https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Pharmacognosy-Phytotherapy-Michael-Heinrich/dp/070203388X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494004776&sr=8-1&keywords=fundamentals+of+pharmacognosy+and+phytotherapy)

Eating on the Wild Side
(https://www.amazon.com/Eating-Wild-Side-Pharmacologic-Implications/dp/0816520674/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494006419&sr=1-1&keywords=eating+on+the+wild+side+nina+etkin)

The Origins of Human Diet and Medicine
(https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Human-Diet-Medicine-Chemical/dp/0816516871/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0816516871&pd_rd_r=ATDC8YB48N1H2TS7X84C&pd_rd_w=zYebJ&pd_rd_wg=zAAqF&psc=1&refRID=ATDC8YB48N1H2TS7X84C)

Florida Ethnobotany
(https://www.amazon.com/Florida-Ethnobotany-Daniel-F-Austin/dp/0849323320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494006266&sr=8-1&keywords=florida+ethnobotany)

Native American Ethnobotany
(https://www.amazon.com/Native-American-Ethnobotany-Daniel-Moerman/dp/0881924539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494006230&sr=8-1&keywords=native+american+ethnobotany)

African Ethnobotany in the Americas (https://www.amazon.com/African-Ethnobotany-Americas-Robert-Voeks/dp/1461408350/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494006185&sr=8-1&keywords=african+ethnobotany)

Traveling Cultures and Plants: The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Human Migrations
(https://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Cultures-Plants-Ethnopharmacy-Environmental-ebook/dp/B00EDY6AVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494006139&sr=8-1&keywords=traveling+cultures+and+plants)

Plants, People and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany
(https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Culture-Paperback-Michael-2005-12-23/dp/B01NH01YZP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494005994&sr=8-1&keywords=balick+and+cox)


Websites
Quave Research Group (http://etnobotanica.us/)
Emory Herbarium (https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/emoryherbarium/)
National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health ( https://nccih.nih.gov/)
National Center for Natural Products Research (https://pharmacy.olemiss.edu/ncnpr/)
Center for Natural Product Technologies at UIC (http://cenapt.pharm.uic.edu/)
Journal of Natural Products (http://pubs.acs.org/journal/jnprdf)
American Society of Pharmacognosy (http://www.pharmacognosy.us/)
Society for Economic Botany (http://www.econbot.org/)
Economic Botany (http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/plant+sciences/journal/12231)
US National Librar(y of Medicine’s PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed)
Tropicos (http://www.tropicos.org/)
International Plant Names Index (http://www.ipni.org)
WHO Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants (http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4928e/)
Convention on Biological Diversity (https://www.cbd.int/)
Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the USA (https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/)

Opinion of herbal healing books:
Herbal healing books run the full gamut from remedies based on anecdotal evidence to remedies that have been subjected to some level of scientific testing. As with anything else, you would be well advised to check the credibility of the sources used.

Anarchists tend to leave this pretty vague and open-ended, because it's difficult to create a blueprint that will work in all cases for all communities (which speaks to one of the reasons why anarchists don't like the state). Generally speaking, anarchists tend to roll with the principles behind Restorative Justice.

There are lots of examples of alternatives to learn from too, including indigenous societies (taking care not to fetishize them), past anarchist experiments, and other attempts to find a more humane path to justice.

AFAQ, for example, holds up juries as a good starting point:

> In terms of resolving disputes between people, it is likely that some form of arbitration system would develop. The parties involved could agree to hand their case to a third party (for example, a communal jury or a mutually agreed individual or set of individuals). There is the possibility that the parties cannot agree (or if the victim were dead). Then the issue could be raised at a communal assembly and a "court" appointed to look into the issue. These "courts" would be independent from the commune, their independence strengthened by popular election instead of executive appointment of judges, by protecting the jury system of selection of random citizens by lot...

Kristian Williams talks about alternatives to policing in his book Our Enemies in Blue (PDF). He adapted a few chapters from it for publication elsewhere, including:

• A Look At Feminist Forms Of Justice That Don't Involve The Police, which looks specifically at community response and prevention around assault, abuse, and rape
  
• Civil Rights with Guns, which looks at alternatives to police from the Black Freedom Movement
  

If any of you are interested, I'd suggest Jim DeFede's The Day the World Came to Town. It's a well written account of what went on in Gander, N.L. on Sept. 11 and the following days. Being an Atlantic Canadian, I was impressed by how he captured the whole thing without making Newfies sound like bumpkins. Good read, highly recommended.

I'd highly recommend the book, "The Day the World Came to Town." A great overview of the story, with many real accounts of the local residents who helped by taking complete strangers into their homes and their lives.

Traveled through Gander about 10 years ago and spent some time chatting with the local book shop owner, who turned me on to the read. 10/10 would read again. Seeing Gander with my own eyes.. it is tiny. The lengths they went to are pretty heartwarming.

Honestly, for one book that covers everything, this one is really good. For a comprehensive book that examines every major event in Canadian history, briefly mind you, it is a solid read. I am sorry for the link.

This one on Louis Riel is great if you are looking for something different to read, but still want to learn about Canadian history. I read it in a couple hours, it is a light read, great with a glass of wine on a snowy night.

Gander welcomed travelers in to their churches, schools, and homes. Some independent travelers went to Canadian Tire (like a small Wal Mart with more auto stuff) to buy tents and sleeping bags. The store would not take their money.

A friend of mine was the air traffic controller on for that event. He recalls doing a months worth of work in about 4 hours. And then the logistics of handling that many jets at his small airport. They were dragging them out in to farmers fields.

There is a book and documentary on that day:
https://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-Town-Newfoundland/dp/0060559713
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gander+newfoundland+9+11

I have spent three 9-11 anniversaries in Gander. It was special. Met people who came back to see people that became friends from that awful day. Really a special place.

This one, Divided Loyalties: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1984-2008 covers the issue in great detail, possibly a little too much detail for some.

This new book excerpted here seems to cover it as well. Although it's about Chretien, the author is not likely biased, as I he used to be a PC.

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/excerpt-now-we-know-jean-chretiens-secret-plan-had-he-lost-the-quebec-referendum

This sounds like the book I just read. I'm pretty sure it is. It's called The day the world came to town. Great read. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060559713?pc_redir=1410606683&robot_redir=1

Makes sense. Just leaves a huge hole in baseball history, at least that of my formative years and that of much of the Nats fan base. The Nats are basically creating a culture anew since baseball hasn't been in the district in decades. So rather than rely on the memory of general baseball fans in the district, they're starting fresh by trawling the past, which is both false (other teams' history for the Twins and Rangers) and ancient, as most Nats fans aren't old enough to remember when there was baseball in DC.

As far as how the whole thing went down, yeah, that makes total sense. Hopefully when Jonah Keri's new book on the Expos comes out, he can do an event at Nats Park.

/u/MTLNewStadium summarized it really well, but, if you are interested in learning more, Jonah Keri explained the situation in further detail in his great book.

John Ralston Saul is a good place to start: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0670068047/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

He is very good about pre-Canadian history. Realizes and strengthens the roles that First Nations played in early Canada while addressing the realities/atrocities of some of things we have done

My uncle was an air traffic controller in Gander who helped land a lot of those planes. If you're interested, there's a great book he recommended me called When the World Came to Town that covers a lot of interesting stories from the different passengers stranded there.

Thanks so much for hosting me, Reddit! As mentioned earlier, "Up, Up, & Away" comes out today and is available at bookstores near you, online (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307361357/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307361357&linkCode=as2&tag=jonahkericom-20), as an e-book (https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/up-up-and-away/id707326028?mt=11), and in various other places.

No BS, it's a superfun book, it has chunks of my soul in every page (someone suggested that makes the book a horcrux, which is pretty brilliant), and I think you'll really dig it.

If I missed your questions, hit me up on Twitter @jonahkeri. I'm usually pretty good about answering tweets, especially if you're willing to wait until after this crazy book launch week ends.

Oh and I'll be a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers on April 22, which is completely insane. Thinking about wearing a beanie propellor just to emphasize the out-of-my-league nerditry of the situation.

Thanks again! A bientot.

i have written many papers on indigenous issues and governance, but not particularly anarchism. i would be willing to share parts of them, sure!

if you are interested in anarcho-indigenism, taiaiake alfred is essential to the movement, and i found this handy website that gives a basic overview of the concept.

I would recommend Divided Loyalties, it goes through a lot of the inner workings of the party in its days from Turner to Dion: https://www.amazon.ca/Divided-Loyalties-Liberal-Canada-1984-2008/dp/1442610654

I've heard Big Red Machine by Stephen Clarkson is good as well. Those two books are mainly about the strategy the party has employed to win (and lose) elections but they do dip into policy inevitably.

Unsure of how academic you want to go, but "A History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction" (here) is authored by a practicing physician and professor of medicine at Queen's University in Canada.

It's a pretty entertaining and accessible read.

If you want a really good book on this Jonah Keri's new one is great.

Well, it depends - what sort of history are you interested in? A broad overview? Political history? The wars? Labour history? Gender?

Actually a really good book for non historians to get a feel for Canadian History is Will Ferguson's Canadian History for Dummmies. I used it while studying for my comprehensive exams... though clearly as an aid, not a real text or anything. It doesn't get everything right, but it's a good, light attempt at examining Canadian history in a somewhat critical way.

"Up, Up, and Away" by Jonah Keri is a history of/love letter to the Montreal Expos.

""Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s" by Jason Turnbow covers the Charlie Finley A's.

"Big Data Baseball" by Travis Sawchik is a Moneyball-style look at the early 2010's Pirates, data analysis in baseball, and the origins of today's shifting techniques and importance of pitch framing.

I haven't read this, but I have read other Wil Ferguson books, and they were excellent. I'm therefore assuming this is too: http://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-History-Dummies-Will-Ferguson/dp/0470836563/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268672449&sr=1-4

Note: I am not trying to imply you are a dummie.

Kinda late but I also highly recommend this book as well:

https://www.amazon.ca/Vimy-Pierre-Berton/dp/0385658427

There is a book! 😊

There are loads of good books. Problem is you have to read a lot of them to get it. Having to pick one, Michael Bliss isn't a terrible option for relatively easy reading on otherwise boring subject matter:

https://www.amazon.ca/Right-Honourable-Men-Updated-Reissue/dp/0006394841

Awesome man, everyone should learn these histories! Another really good book about the US relationship with indigenous peeps is "The Inconvenient Indian" by Thomas King http://www.amazon.ca/The-Inconvenient-Indian-Curious-Account/dp/0385664214

It reminded me of The Day the World Came to Town about when a small town in New Foundland took in passengers from 38 jetliners that couldn't get into the US after 9/11. Just that idea of people coming together and embodying love and compassion through tragedy. It's good.

The Bold and Cold is a good read: https://www.amazon.ca/Bold-Cold-History-Classic-Canadian/dp/1771601159

Yup, it is true. Go to Main and Terminal in Vancouver during the summer and every squeegee kid out there is speaking français toujours. It is the epicentre of squeegee activity in BC.

Edit: Charlie Demers has written about this if you're interested in finding out more.

I enjoyed Vancouver Special by Charles Demers

> In Vancouver Special, writer and performer Charles Demers examines the who, what, where, when, why, and how of Vancouver, shedding light on the various strategies and influences that have made the city what it is today (as well as what it should be). From a history of anti-Asian racism to a deconstruction of the city's urban sprawl; from an examination of local food trends to a survey of the city's politically radical past, Vancouver Special is a love letter to the city, taking a no-holds-barred look at Lotusland with verve, wit, and insight.

why surprised dude? law 101 is basically a non-issue now and in many ways can be credited with lowering the immediacy of the sovereignty movement (at least according to Graham Fraser ). Its reached political normalcy in Quebec. Because of it, something like 90% of anglos under 35 are bilingual. You are never going to repeal it, most people or politicians should move on and focus on more important/relevant issues effecting Montrealers/Quebecois.

It's based on a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-Town-Newfoundland/dp/0060559713/

There was an awesome book written about the events of this.... So awesome... there's a link to the book, I highly suggest reading it
http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-World-Came-Town/dp/0060559713

I have not read it, but Greg Malone's book is supposed to be good ...

https://www.amazon.ca/Dont-Tell-Newfoundlanders-Newfoundlands-Confederation/dp/0307401332

I'd recommend Pierre Berton's Vimy for a detailed yet engaging account of what the battle was like for the people involved, and what the victory meant for Canada as a nation.

Harper loves hockey. He wrote a book on hockey. Chill.
https://www.amazon.ca/Great-Game-Forgotten-Professional-Hockey/dp/1476716536

https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-History-Dummies-Will-Ferguson/dp/0470836563

Don't let the format throw you off, Will Ferguson is a fantastic writer.

Our past Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is a huge hockey fan and wrote a book about hockey.

https://www.amazon.ca/Great-Game-Forgotten-Professional-Hockey/dp/1476716536

I didn't hear a lot of hockey analogies out of him.

Here are five:

Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had

The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game

Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball

Baseball and Other Matters in 1941

Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos

Get the book "Dont Tell the Newfoundlanders". It discusses how Newfoundland was treated like a playing chip by the Brits and the crooked politics that took place in her joining Canada. It is extremely thorough. If you are a newfoundlander, your blood may boil while reading it.

https://www.amazon.ca/Dont-Tell-Newfoundlanders-Newfoundlands-Confederation/dp/0307401332

The day the world came. Halifax was similar but Halifax sees a lot of international flights to begin with. Gander was all just like "Hey buddy come on in for some tea"

I mean, Stephen Harper wrote a book titled A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

Here's a really enjoyable book about this incident: http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-World-Came-Town/dp/0060559713

There's a really good documentary about flights that got diverted to a small town in Canada. The townspeople all showed up with food, toiletries and supplies, and watched the news with the Americans. One couple on the flight were trying to get ahold of their FDNY son.

They... never did.

I think this is the movie: https://www.amazon.com/Day-World-Came-Town-Newfoundland/dp/0060559713 .

Can confirm, grandmother is from Newfoundland. Also, this book http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-World-Came-Town/dp/0060559713 tells a neat story.

Until there's a plan to put a team back in Montreal, it's just being a cocktease.

And for those of who were too young or too drunk or just apathetic when the Expos were around (I'm in the first and second groups), go read Up, Up, and Away by Johnah Keri. He released it last year, and it's a great history of a team that could have been great but got the shaft in a lot of ways.

Maybe the fact this one got made hindered Snoop's project -

Soul on Ice

Also there is a book called Black Ice which is interesting
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Ice-History-Maritimes-1895-1925/dp/1551096951

For anyone interested, my favourite book on Gander and 9/11

PM Harper is actually a big hockey fan, wrote a book on it too.

Harper was a big hockey fan, even wrote a history book about the early days of the game.

Here's the US version of the Amazon link

I read books about baseball during the offseason. Just picked up [The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America] (http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Baseball-Through-ONeils-America/dp/0060854049/ref=la_B001ILHF9Y_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415033761&sr=1-1) by Joe Posnanski and Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos by Jonah Keri from my library.

For what it's worth the Stephen Harper that wrote this book is the Stephen Harper that was prime minister when the book was published.

That never made me like him though.

Sounds like he should start by reading The Inconvenient Indian if he really knows that little about the issues with scrapping the Indian Act.

It depends on soil type and moisture levels. Most of of those are indeed old world plants, though most of them can thrive in arid climates with water and proper soil. There are also many native analogues (same genus different species), and that book is a good jumping off point for their qualities.

For more regional herbals, this guy got me started. Or if you want the encyclopedia, this is unrivaled. There are more. But all of these, including Grieves, tells different parts of the same story.

I remember seeing that book when it came out. I've never read it though.
Amazon Link to book

Read this.

http://www.amazon.ca/Fair-Country-John-Ralston-Saul/dp/0670068047

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060559713/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WYWTzb91XCEPH

There is a book called The Day the World Came to Town

There's a book called The Day The World Came To Town. that covers this.

The Day the World Came to Town

I cannot recommend Jonah Keri's book, Up, Up, and Away, enough. All about the history of the Expos. http://www.amazon.com/Up-Away-Business-Ill-fated-Unforgettable/dp/0307361357

I have no problem with the comments given so far. But I do think more needs to be done. Until non-aboriginal Canadians begin understand and care about how the aboriginals were marginalized - to the point of aboriginals being ashamed of their background - this problem will emerge again and again! We need to get the schools history curriculum changed. Non-aboriginals should be proud of their aboriginal heritage too. Not an easy task. Start by reading John Ralston Saul's "A Fair Country", lobbying your provincial MP and writing to the media.

I am utterly convinced that Canada's, and specifically Harper's recent politics of fear (after all, no politician prior to 2006 had ever used fear tactics) irrefutably proves that Harper is the 21st century version of Hitler. It is only a matter of time before innocent civilians are profiled and detained for simple matters of free thought and speech.

The parallels between Harper and Hitler are too strong to ignore.

Firstly, both politicians published their own manifestos for controlling the masses:

• Exhibit A
  
• Exhibit B
  
  Second, both politicians had majority control of their respective governments.
  
  
• Exhibit A
  
• Exhibit B. Note how Harper has yet to eliminate the opposition in his respective parliament, Trudeau is literally the only person who can save us from absolute tyranny.
  
  Finally, both leaders , nay, dictators forced oppressive legislation upon the masses, to cement their statuses as iron dictators of their nations.
  
  
• Exhibit A
  
• Exhibit B . Note how we are all considered terrorists under the CPC reign of fear/terror.
  
  Wake up sheeple. The end is nigh. #HeaveStephen2015

Canadian here. I know we’re not exactly on the other side of the world, but as a kid it felt like the United States WAS another world…

I grew up in eastern Canada (Newfoundland) and I was in grade 8 at the time. I remember sitting in science class after lunch and the teachers were taking a really long time to come back to class. Once our teacher finally made it back she explained what was going on, that planes were flying into buildings in the US and no one really knew why. We had so many questions and ended up talking about it the entire afternoon.

Until that day I grew up with the naive childish mentality that violence, guns, war, etc. only happened in Hollywood and history books, never in “real life”. But that afternoon I got my first glimpse outside of my safe little bubble I grew up in and the world suddenly felt a whole lot smaller. It was terrifying.

Fun fact:
Dozens of flights originally heading to the US were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland where people opened up their homes to provide for almost 7000 stranded passengers (nearly doubling the small town’s population overnight). Not the best picture, but [here’s] (http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1315431639983_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x) what the airport looked like. Residents literally gave up their own beds, clothes, and food to help, and there was even a book written about it after called [The Day The World Came To Town] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-World-Came-Town/dp/0060559713). Gander also received a piece of [steel] (http://www.macleans.ca/science/wire/article.jsp?content=n7610596) from the World Trade Center a few years back as a thank you from NY firefighters.

One thing I found useful was reading biographies or histories of soldier's lived lives in combat (e.g. Vimy, Forsaken Army). Anything that gets into first hand accounts of soldiers' experiences in battles. I find how their descriptions differ from a typical armchair author is they often portray the visceral experience of combat. The whump of an explosion kicking through the window and punching them in the chest with a force that picks them off their feet and dashes them into the far wall; the nip of bullets sending shards of wood raining down soldiers taking cover behind trunks of trees. I find including those elements adds a lot of gritty action.

The other thing that comes across is battle is chaotic and fluid. People just die, and at times it almost seems random. A sea of bullets are sailing across the battlefield, and whether a soldier lives or dies comes down to if they are standing in the wrong place in the wrong time. Advances flow into retreats. People are wounded, and they scream, and they scream, and they scream. Victory is not a straight line, and neither is defeat. Adding these elements I find creates a sense of danger, especially if you've established you are willing to kill off or punish your characters.