No comments about Parry of the Arctic (Exploring the Frozen North).

No comments about Never a Dull Moment.

1 comments about Duff Pattullo of British Columbia.

1. Of all the individuals that have served in the premeirship of British Columbia, it is Dufferin Pattullo that Fisher feels was the most significant. He places hime above the likes of WAC Bennett, John Oliver and Richard McBride. The book is a chronological account of Pattullo's life, starting with his early childhood, moving through to his time spent in the Yukon. Next, the entering of politics and Pattullo's appointment as the Minister of Lands where he helped to implement the South Okanagan Lands Project. The book continues with Pattullo's time as leader of the BC Liberal Party and beyond.

   In writing the book Fisher states that he set out to prove that the medium of the Biography could still be used in historical writing as a successful means of conveying the history of a region. As Fisher points out, Biography had once been the grand tradition of Canadian historical writing (see Creighton's biography of John A. MacDonald), but with the shift to a more "social" history in the 1960 s and early 1970s Biography fell out of fashion. This is because the emphasis that a biography placed on the individual, who was usually tended to be male, white and a politician, was not seen as representative of the larger society. The result was a shift to some of the more marginal aspects of society that had been ignored in past historical works. This is a trend that Fisher has argued against elsewhere (see the 100th issue of BC Studies). Pattullo is therefore meant to show that biography is still a useful method that can be used to highlight a regional history. To quote Fisher; "for this historian, the individual matters as much as the group. And some people are more important than others." (p. X).

   A final note about "Pattullo", in that Duff Pattullo came to view the Canadian federation differenty than most of his counterparts is indicative of the trend in BC historiography at the time. It is my understanding that in presenting his views to the Rowell-Sirios Commission Pattullo was very much influenced by the work of UBC historian Walter Sage. Sage was attempting to apply the concept of Turner's frontier thesis to Canada at this time and had come to see the country as possessed of five distinct regions. With each region having more in common with its neighbours to the south than with the other regions of Canada. Which, of course, ran completely contrary to the centralist bias that was prevelant at the time (again, see the work of Creighton).

No comments about Canada's Newspaper Legend: The Story of J. Douglas MacFarlane.

No comments about "Our Gallant Doctor": Enigma and Tragedy: Surgeon-Lieutenant George Hendry and HMCS Ottawa, 1942.

No comments about Paul Martin: A Political Biography.

No comments about The Prince and His Lady: The Love Story of the Duke of Kent and Madame de St Laurent.

No comments about Air Aces: The Lives and Times of Twelve Canadian Fighter Pilots.

No comments about "Our Mickey": The Story of Private James O'Rourke, VC.MM [*] (CEF), 1879-1957.: An article from: Labour/Le Travail.

No comments about Laura Secord: The Heroic Adventures of a Canadian Legend (Amazing Stories).