Exploring a politically and culturally charged issue, this volume argues that Canadians will lose their country if they continue to tacitly endorse the separatist myth that Canada is not good enough for Quebec. Explaining how the Quebec Liberals and the Parti Québécois have played good cop/bad cop over the past 30 years—extorting endless concessions from Canada in the process—the book urges readers to challenge the separatists on their "right" to unilaterally break up the country. It also urges the federal government to issue a reality check to all Quebecois citizens, outlining the real costs of separation. This critique of the Canadian political scene may be sobering, but the book's conclusion is optimistic: Canada will survive—and thrive—not because of its politicians, but in spite of them.

In this startlingly original vision of Canada, renowned thinker John Ralston Saul argues that Canada is a Métis nation, heavily influenced and shaped by Aboriginal ideas: Egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group, and a penchant for negotiation over violence are all Aboriginal values that Canada absorbed. An obstacle to our progress, Saul argues, is that Canada has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial non-intellectual business elite that doesn't believe in Canada. It is critical that we recognize these aspects of the country in order to rethink its future.

What does it mean to be a Canadian? What great ideas have changed our country? An award-winning writer casts her eye over our nation’s history, highlighting some of our most important stories. From the acclaimed historian Charlotte Gray comes a richly rewarding book about what it means to be Canadian. Readers already know Gray as an award-winning biographer, a writer who has brilliantly captured significant individuals and dramatic moments in our history. Now, in The Promise of Canada, she weaves together masterful portraits of nine influential Canadians, creating a unique history of our country. What do these people—from George-Étienne Cartier and Emily Carr to Tommy Douglas, Margaret Atwood, and Elijah Harper—have in common? Each, according to Charlotte Gray, has left an indelible mark on Canada. Deliberately avoiding a top-down approach to history, Gray has chosen Canadians—some well-known, others less so—whose ideas, she argues, have become part of our collective conversation about who we are as a people. She also highlights many other Canadians from all walks of life who have added to the ongoing debate, showing how our country has reinvented itself in every generation since Confederation, while at the same time holding to certain central beliefs. Beautifully illustrated with evocative black-and-white historical images and colorful artistic visions, and written in an engaging style, The Promise of Canada is a fresh, thoughtful, and inspiring view of our historical journey. Opening doors into our past, present, and future with this masterful work, Charlotte Gray makes Canada’s history come alive and challenges us to envision the country we want to live in.

No two nations in the world are as integrated, economically and socially, as are the United States and Canada. We share geography, values and the largest unprotected border in the world. Regardless of this close friendship, our two countries are on a slow-motion collision course—with each other and with the rest of the world. While we wrestle with internal political gridlock and fiscal challenges and clash over border problems, the economies of the larger world change and flourish. Emerging economies sailed through the meltdown of 2008. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that by 2018, China's economy will be bigger than that of the United States; when combined with India, Japan and the four Asian Tigers—South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong--China's economy will be bigger than that of the G8 (minus Japan). Rather than continuing on this road to mutual decline, our two nations should chart a new course. Bestselling author Diane Francis proposes a simple and obvious solution: What if the United States and Canada merged into one country? The most audacious initiative since the Louisiana Purchase would solve the biggest problems each country expects to face: the U.S.'s national security threats and declining living standards; and Canada's difficulty controlling and developing its huge land mass stemming from a lack of capital, workers, technology and military might. Merger of the Century builds both a strong political argument and a compelling business case, treating our two countries not only as sovereign entities but as merging companies. We stand on the cusp of a new world order. Together, by marshalling resources and combining efforts, Canada and America have a greater chance of succeeding. As separate nations, the future is in much greater doubt indeed.

"The book might almost be entitled Canadians in the Attic. Canada is the United States' forgotten twin, the country that resembles the United States more than any other, and that shares a history with America that goes back to the seventeenth century, and that includes the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the anti-slavery movement, to name only a few. Canada is in a way a measure of, a barometer of, American exceptionalism. What happens in Canada is often a reflection of what has happened in the United States, but by the same token, what happens in Canada is often a sign of what could happen in its American neighbor. While the two countries have distinct political systems, and particular histories, ideologically they are closer together than standard Canadian histories suggest. (Canadians are left out of standard American histories.) Arguably, Canada is the part of North America where the New Deal came to fruition in the 1960s, when it was frustrated in the United States. But no American political idea fails to penetrate Canada, and in the 2000s many Canadians, including the current Canadian government, seek to imitate or replicate the hard-right turn in American politics. From whatever direction, the Canadian experience illuminates American experience-- and vice-versa"--

A “fascinating” journey to little-known and contested lands around the globe, from Tibet to the Isle of Man to Elgaland-Vargaland (Geographical Magazine). What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of fifty states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested lands like Crimea and Tibet to lesser-known territories such as Africa’s last colony and a European republic that enjoyed independence for a single day, Middleton presents fascinating stories of shifting borders, visionary leaders, and “forgotten” peoples. “Engrossing . . . You’ll not find Middle-earth, Atlantis or Lilliput inside, but you will find something just as intriguing . . . sure to prompt discussions about what makes a country a ‘real country.’” —Seattle Times

150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation. In Canada’s Odyssey, renowned scholar Peter H. Russell provides an expansive, accessible account of Canadian history from the pre-Confederation period to the present day. By focusing on what he calls the "three pillars" of English Canada, French Canada, and Aboriginal Canada, Russell advances an important view of our country as one founded on and informed by "incomplete conquests". It is the very incompleteness of these conquests that have made Canada what it is today, not just a multicultural society but a multinational one. Featuring the scope and vivid characterizations of an epic novel, Canada’s Odyssey is a magisterial work by an astute observer of Canadian politics and history, a perfect book to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.