Who Killed Canadian History? [Hardcover]

J. L. Granatstein (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Canada; 1st edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002557592
• ISBN-13: 978-0002557597
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,049,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Canadian Historiographical debate continues!, June 23, 2000

By 

Gutter-ball "gutter-ball" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Killed Canadian History? (Hardcover)

Professor Granatstien has presented readers with a very interesting book with "Who Killed Canadian History?". It has generated a great deal of debate within history cirlces - both good and bad.

The book itself is a quick read, coming in at a very short 149 pages. the main thrust of Grantstien's argument is that the pursuit of social history in Canada (which encompasses many fields such as Native and feminist histories) has swung too far. The result is that few people emerging out of the public chool system know much about thier national history. In fact, Grantstien claims that we are losing our history. The book is a polemic in this regard. Grantstien casts a wide net of blame in what he percieves to be the decline of historical knowledge in Canada.

Of course, this all begs the question as to whose "history" Dr. Grantstien is referring to? By no means is Canadian history dead. Critics of Granatstien and others like him such as Michael Bliss, believe that the history these people are advocating is that of a bygone era. Before the revolution in "social" history of the laet 1960s and early 1970s history tended to be based on the actions of the proverbial dead, white, male, politician (see Donald Creighton). The history that Grantstien advocates is usually cast in this light. The implication being that this history will once again marginalize the stories of women, natives, minorities, etc...

I personally do not believe that is what the debate is about. Grantstien is unfairly cast as some unsensitive brute who wants to turn the clock back to when the writing of history was much easier. When in reality he is simple percieving the historiographical trend as similar to a pendulum. If indeed social history was marginalized in the past, than "traditional" history (that which focuses on politics, the individual, etc...) has been marginalized in the current context. What he seeks is a happy middle ground, one in which both "social" and "traditional" history recieve the same amount of attention.

If you are interested in this book, then you should also look up some of the reactions it has generated among other historians. The Canadian Historical Review is where the debate seems to be most intense. An article by A.B. McKillop sumarizes the argument that "social" historians have against Granatstien, while an article by Bryan Palmer in the Dec. 1999 issue presents a very interesting third point of view that is quite different from both that of Grantstien and McKillop (I personally think the Palmer article is the better, even if he harbours some resentment over the marginalization of Marxist theory from the "cutting edge" of the discipline). If you wish to read something by supporters of the Grantstien thesis you can check-out an article by Robin Fisher in the 100th issue of BC Studies in 1994. Michael Bliss has also put out some material on this issue as well.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The State of Canadian History Today!, February 4, 2000

By 

Greg Harnish - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Killed Canadian History? (Hardcover)

A very impressive book! Prof Granatstein has done a marvelous job presenting the changes the presentation of Canadian History has undergone in the past 30 years. I was particularly impressed with his treatment of various "schools of thought" which have come to dominate - ie post-structuralist, feminist, social/marxist, etc... He recognizes that these schools have made valuable contributions to the study of Canada's History, but points to some of their major shortcomings - chiefly their inability to provide a cohesive narrative for our last 300 years. While these interpretations can be extremely enlightening, they lose their effect when the reader has no foundation or "story" to compare them against - a foundation that used to be provided in the elementary and high school years. The only regret I had after reading the book was that it was so short - it would have been nice to see Granatstein develop and back-up his thesis in greater depth. But it's still a must read for all Canadians!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who Killed Canadian History?, January 11, 2000

By 

CJ Mcrae (Ottawa, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Killed Canadian History? (Hardcover)

I read this book and thought why is this not required reading for every Canadian High School student. It explains why we seem to have no sense of who we are and try to please every group in our society , in detriment to our identity as a nation. Looking at history in politically correct terms does not give anyone a sense of who we are and where we are going. It proves you can not change history using todays politically acceptable language and have any substance in the text. Loved this thought provoking book! Wake up CANADA before we lose our total identity!