And No Birds Sang a narrative by Farley Mowat published by McLelland and Stewart Limited, 1979. He writes of his experiences from his enlistment in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (the Hasty Pees) in 1940 to the brutal fighting at San Leonardo, Italy in December 1943. What struck me most is the change from the wide-eyed anticipation he felt as a young soldier embarking on a great adventure to the paralysing terror he felt as a battle-weary veteran bombarded in the miserably cold, wet muck of a deadly battlefield; how "the worm," as he named the overwhelming sense of panic he came to feel, took control of his senses and those of his comrades. "I wonder now...were my tears for Alex and Al and all the others who had gone and who were yet to go? Or was I weeping for myself...and those who would remain?"
Reflections of a Siamese Twin: Canada at the end of the twentieth century by John Ralston Saul, paperback ed. published 1998 by Penguin Books. In my mind, this is the one history book that should be required reading for all Canadians. Saul puts to rest the notion of two founding peoples. Instead, he presents what he describes as a triangular reality. I can't do justice to the concept and think it better to have him describe it in his own words: "[Canada is a]n experienced country, even an old country, with long established, stable patterns. Its strength--you might even say what makes it interesting--is its complexity; its refusal of the conforming monolithic nineteenth-century nation-state model. That complexity has been constructed upon three deeply rooted pillars, three experiences--the aboriginal, the francophone and the anglophone. No matter how much each may deny the others at various times, each of their existences is dependent on the other two. This is what I mean by 'positive solitudes' as opposed to a negative state of isolation. Each of their independent beings has been interwoven with the other two over 450 years of continuous existence on the northern margins of the continent." When I look at the hypothesis in the context of the politics of 2011, none of our current political bosses get it. I long for the visionary who can demonstrate real leadership and motivate Canadians to believe in who we are. I will be reading this book again within the near future.
A Fair Country: telling truths about Canada by John Ralston Saul, published in 2008 by Penguin Books International. I see this as a sequel his "Reflections of a Siamese Twin." The message in this book is that Canada is, in reality, a Métis country and that our future as a nation lies our understanding who we really are and realizing that potential. In his words, "We are a prople of aboriginal inspiration organized around a concept of peace, fairness and good government. That is what lies at the heart if our story; at the heart of Canadian mythology, whether francophone or anglophone. If we can embrace a language that expresses that story, we will feel a great release. We will discover a remarkable power to act and to do so in such a way that we will feel we are true to ouerselves." Our political class does a great disservice to Canadians when they compare us to our southern neighbour and institute policies and programs designed to turn us into a feeble imitation of a militarized country that, itself is modelled on its 18th-century colonial masters. This is the second of the two books that I'm going to re-read. I need a solid dose of optimism at this point in my life.
The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre, published in 2009 by Random House Canada. The novel is situated mostly in eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, in my native Diocese of Antigonish. MacIntyre grew up in Port Hood, about a 45-minute drive from where I grew up. The novel addresses the issue of paedophilia committed by Catholic priests and how the Diocese used to deal with it ... by transferring offenders elsewhere. Having been an altar boy for a priest who was later convicted of paedophilia, the novel strikes close to home. Paedophilia is an issue that must be dealt with by the Catholic Church in an uncompromising manner. Offenders must be charged and tried to the full extent of the law, without exception. We and the Catholic Church owe it to our innocent children and grandchildren.
Champlain's Dream by David Hackett Fischer, published in 2008 by Alfred A Knopf Canada. I knew of Champlain as an explorer and more particularly when it comes to my family history, as the cartographer who accompanied Sieur de Monts in 1604 on the first attempt to establish a European colony north of the Floridas. What I did not know was his philosophy, how he viewed the people he met the 27 times he crossed the Atlantic. Champlain was not a conquerer. To him, the natives of North America were men and women who deserved respect. As noted on the inside flap of the dust jacket, Champlain was "... a remarkable man: a leader who dreamed of humanity and peace in a world riven by violence; a man of his own time who nevertheless strove to build a settlement in Canada that would be founded on harmony and respect."
Urban Meltdown: cities, climate change and politics as usual by Clive Doucet. Pub 2007 by New Society Publishers. Clive has been involved in urban issues since his university days. Between 1997 and 2010, he was a councillor for the City of Ottawa. Clive knows municipal politics, especially in Ottawa. In his book, he points out that explosive urban growth is accelerating global warming. He identifies three critical issues: (1) economic growth has no built-in environmental accountability, (2) political attitudes on progress and growth have to change, and (3) new governance is needed at all levels. The system is stacked against the environment. Just in time inventoring, the break-up of urban neighbourhoods, the proliferation of shopping centres, transportation systems, warehousing, artificially low energy prices, are among the elements that contribute to the enormous problems faced by our cities. As noted on the back cover, "This is an important book for anyone who care about thinking differently, acting differently, and making a real difference."
The Book of Negroes a novel by Lawrence Hill. Paperback ed. pub. 2007 by HarperCollins. I bought this book thinking that it provided the actual detailed information in the real "Book of Negroes," a British military ledger that holds the names of and information on over 3000 Black Loyalists who fought with the British against the American rebels and were given passage to Nova Scotia. I was pleasantly surprised to find a finely detailed novel that follows the main character, Aminata Diallo, from 1745 when the eleven-year-old girl was abducted from her village in West Africa, through her forced march to the coast, her months-long voyage across the Atlantic, her life as a slave in the Carolinas, her strength of character, her acquisition of literacy and, finally, her freedom. The detail, as the Globe and Mail put it, is "necessary for imagining the real beyond the traces left by history."
The Shock Doctrine : the rise of disaster capitalism by Naomi Klein, paperback ed pub 2008 by Vintage Canada. I watched the events of the first decade of the 21st century in a state of total confusion. How could the optimism that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s when I grew up, the dream we had of making the world a better place for all people; how could my world be transmogrified into a world characterized by unfettered corporate control, insatiable greed, the demonization of honest workers, and the dismantling of social programs designed to help the more unfortunate among us? At my very core I believe that government is, among other things, the manifestation of our responsibilities as a society to help our fellow citizens - a view that is totally compatible with the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes. Milton Friedman, an economist from the University of Chicago, stood at the opposite end of the social responsibility spectrum. He taught a rigid, ruthless, ideological economic theory which holds that corporations must be completely free to exploit the world and its resources as they see fit, that the only role of government is to get out of the way and that the benefits of "free" market-driven corporatism will trickle down to the masses. Government regulations have to be rendered ineffective, social programs dismantled, social spending cut to the bare minimum, government responsibilities privatized, income taxes reduced or eliminated, and a completely "free" market set up. Individuals have to compete for their place in the marketplace. Friedman further postulated that the only way to implement his economic regime was to shock entire populations so severely that, in a state of complete disorientation, they will accept the total loss of their democratic rights - the loss of control over their national destinies. The cause of the shock does not matter, be it a war, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or an economic or monetary crisis. All that matters to Friedmanites is that the shock be severe, that the population be stunned into pliability and that governments sieze the opportunity to implement Chicago School economic theories before people have a chance to understand what is happening. Beginning in 1973, Friedman and his acolytes wormed their way into positions of influence from whence they instructed governments all over the world on how to dismantle government safeguards, privatize government assets and turn the business of governing over to private industry. Klien shows how Chicago-trained economists directed the implementation of Friedmanism during periods of severe crisis in Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, El Salvador, Poland, England, Ronald Reagan's America, Bolivia, China, South Africa, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Iraq, post Sept/11 America, countries hit by the Dec, 2004 tsunami, and New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These intrusions have all led to large losses of life, property, wealth and/or security for ordinary citizens. But there may be light at the end of the Friedmanite tunnel. Some people are recovering from the shocks they suffered or that were inflicted on them and are taking back control of their economies and governments particularly in South America. Yesterday, on February 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt gave in to the demands of Egyptian citizens and resigned from his Presidency. Will a crisis be foisted on the people of Egypt so that the Friedmanites can continue down their path of destruction? or has the path to freedom and self-determination finally been opened for Egyptians? I'm anxious to see how it all turns out.
The Slave Ship : a human history by Marcus Rediker, paperback ed. pub. 2008 by Penguin Books. Rediker conducted extensive research to find detailed descriptions of conditions aborad the slave ships in the words of the merchants who built and owned the slave ships; of the captains, officers and seamen who crewed them; of the slaves who experienced the horrors of being wrenched from their families and communities, of being forced to march endless miles to the shore, of being sold to the slave traders, of enduring the stifling conditions and cruelty prevalent aboard slavers, and of being sold again to plantation owners if they survived the passage; and of the abolitionists who worked to put an end to slavery. The main motive behind slavery was, of course, the pure pursuit of profit through unfettered capitalism. There was money to be made in transporting slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas. Cargo had to be purchased, efficiently stowed, fed, exercised, and groomed to present the goods at destination in as fine a condition as possible. There was much money to be made in the plantations of the Americas by using slave labour to produce various products such as sugar, rum, molasses and cotton for eager markets. There was so much money to be made that slavery largely financed the rise of the British Empire and of the United States in the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution. This book puts the lie to a belief expressed to me by a retired US Airforce Colonel that the United States is the only country with the moral authority to achieve economic superiority. Rediker concludes his book with a note of hope. He describes a tender scene where enslaved African people are the only ones with the compassion to care for diseased and dying European seaman who were languishing on the wharves in Caribbean ports. The sailers were judged to have no residual economic value and there was no profit in returning them to their home ports so the sick and dying the were unceremoniously dumped on Caribbean wharves, with virtually nothing but the rags on their backs and no means of caring for themselves. Rediker notes that the slaves showed "the most generous and inclusive conception of humanity" that he had found in his research. "These good deeds, taken by people who themselves had little enough food, shelter, health, and space for ritual and burial, seemd to suggest the possibility of a different future. With their inspiration and our hard work, it may still be possible. The long violent passage of the slave ship might finally come to an end, and the 'most magnificent drama' might become magnificent in an entirely new way."
