A Short History of Quebec [Paperback]

John A. Dickinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

This fully revised edition of A Short History of Quebec includes expanded coverage of Quebec's political history, consideration of recent historiographical interpretations, updated tables and bibliography, a chronology, and new illustrations. In a new chapter on contemporary Quebec, the book examines the 1995 referendum, discusses the ideological shifts and societal changes in Quebec under the Bouchard government, and considers Quebec's place in North America in the wake of NAFTA. A Short History of Quebec offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of the province from the pre-contact native period to the death of Pierre Trudeau in 2001. The authors provide an insightful perspective on the history of Quebec, focusing on the social, economic, and political development of the region and its peoples. Engagingly written, this expanded and updated third edition is an ideal starting place to learn about Quebec.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the earlier editions of A Short History of Quebec: "The best book currently available in English on the history of Quebec." Julian Gwyn, Ottawa Citizen "Up-to-date, comprehensive ... and innovative ... It will serve as a model for those writing other Canadian texts and stand the test of time." J.I. Little, Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française "This book should be read by anyone who would like to have a general and very good introduction to Quebec history." Eric Darier, British Journal of Canadian Studies

About the Author

John A. Dickinson teaches Quebec history at the Université de Montréal. <br><br>Brian Young teaches Quebec history at McGill University.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press; 3 edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773524509
• ISBN-13: 978-0773524507
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,699,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not definitive either., December 20, 2008

By 

this_justin (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Short History of Quebec (Paperback)

This is a relatively well-written, thoroughly competent overview of Quebec history from a predominantly socio-economic perspective. As another review notes, there are shades of Marxism; unlike this other reviewer I understand that Marx was an originary figure in socio-economic history and so ANY book written with an economic basis will show the influence of the author of Das Kapital, and to me that's not necessarily a bad thing. These writers don't ignore the role of the Catholic church, the Seigneurial system, or artistic production in Quebec history; they start from the position that all these institutions are given structure by economic relationships, a fairly widely accepted historiographical position. If they're a little dry and schematic about it, well, introductory historical texts have a tendency to be a little dry and schematic.

My slight beef with this tome is that it generally presupposes a familiarity with Canadian history that readers looking for an introductory text on Quebec might not have. For example, the October Crisis is mentioned early in a chapter and never especially well explained. This surely has something to do with the writers' determination to resist a "great men and events" method of historiography and to explicate a narrative of change based on socio-economic conditions, but it can leave the U.S. educated reader scratching his or her head or running off to wikipedia to get up to speed. Combined with the tendency of this kind of introductory history to read as an thick blur of names, dates, and locales, the constant need to look outside the text makes for a book that, while not especially challenging in its terminology or style, can nevertheless be difficult to get through.

Commendable as the best general history of Quebec I've seen that's addressed to an English audience, Dickinson and Young's work nevertheless leaves the field wide open for other writers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than advertised, August 25, 2006

By 

G. E. Mantel "RCM-Maki" (Mesabi Iron Range) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Short History of Quebec, Third Edition (Hardcover)

It's called "A Short History" but it's a big thick book with a lot more detail than I bargained for.

A little bit dry at times but generally very readable and informative.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview, November 9, 2006

By 

William Olmstead (Banning, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Short History of Quebec (Paperback)

Good history on this facinating region of North America. As an American, it made me want to visit this region.