bout de papier, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2007) — Spring/Summer 2007 // Printemps/Été 2007, p. 26
A SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH
COLUMBIA, by Ed Whitcomb, From Sea
to Sea Enterprises, Ottawa, 2006, 71 pp.,
$7.95.
A SHORT HISTORY OF ALBERTA by
Ed Whitcomb, From Sea to Sea Enterprises,
Ottawa, 2005, 66 pp., $7.95.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SASKAT-
CHEWAN, by Ed Whitcomb, From Sea to
Sea Enterprises, Ottawa, 2005, 66 pp.,
$7.95.
A SHORT HISTORY OF MANITOBA, by
Ed Whitcomb, Canada’s Wings, Ottawa,
1982, 64 pp., $7.95.
Ed Whitcomb, a longtime Political- Economic Officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, at present on secondment to the International Assessment Staff at the Privy Council Office, is slowly working his way across Canada, one book at a time.
Ed was trained as a historian and, when not working as an Intelligence Analyst or writing history books, dabbles in Canadian music. He is also producing a series of short, crisp, and very focused histories of the Canadian provinces. In fact, for anyone flying from Ottawa to one of the Western provinces, the only provinces for which books have so far been completed, there will be just enough time to read one of these brief histories during the flight to a Western destination.
The books follow a formula which divides the provincial histories into chapter chunks of about 10-20 years, each covering the dominant political theme of that period. For example, “The Era of the Cattlemen, 1880-1896” (Alberta) or “Confederation, 1855-1871” (British Columbia).
In spite of their brevity, these are not “popular” or “pop” histories. Approaching their subject matter from a political historical perspective, these short books are written for the reader who is interested in a critical, but concise, outline of the evolution of each of the provinces covered. A great deal is left out and much of the critical analysis often found in serious histories has been excluded for the sake of space.
Nevertheless, this is serious history for the reader who seeks a brief introduction to a provincial history but wants only an outline of the critical political developments and a familiarization with the core events which shaped the evolution of a province.
The books are not based on original archival research and no insightful historical revelations are included. However, extensive research has clearly gone into the books and the stories they tell have drawn on the acknowledged best of the existing academic literature on each of the provinces.
What these books do well is draw on quality research by others, extracting the fundamentals of the political evolution of each of the provinces, and through careful analysis of the larger provincial stories, paint rather fulsome portraits of each province for the discerning reader who seeks a penetrating introduction to each subject without committing the time required of the serious historian seeking full understanding of the political dynamics of Canada’s provinces.
These books are not for everyone. While drawing on the skills of a professional historian, they are also packaged by a writer exposed daily to the demands of a bureaucratic readership which requires insight, understanding, and brevity.
These books will never make it as academic texts. But they do meet the requirements of the needs of the educated reader who demands a quick and professional introduction to a subject without a necessity to work through 300 pages of text.
Increasingly, there is probably a niche market for books such as these. They are cheap, quick to read, but prepared for the discerning and sophisticated reader.
Indeed, the proof is in the pudding. These short books, four in total of which one was published this year and two last year, have sold upwards of 10,000 copies. By Canadian standards that makes them bestsellers!
The books are also available from From Sea to Sea Enterprises, 2130 Dutton Crescent, Ottawa, ON, KIJ 6K4 or at www fromseatosea com
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2007) — Spring/Summer 2007 // Printemps/Été 2007, p. 26. Read the rest of this issue →
