- Paperback: 220 pages
- Publisher: Douglas & Mcintyre Ltd (1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1550546007
- ISBN-13: 978-1550546002
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 16 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 444,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed the book, having read Will Ferguson's Hokaido Highway Blues, I was keen to read more from him. He has a witty and highly-readable style much like Bill Bryson.
Non-Canadian readers may need to be familiar with certain aspects of Canadian life to understand all the political references but I don't think it should deter non-Canadians who are interested in Canada - an interest is enough to enjoy the book, you don't have to be an 'insider' to enjoy it. My only gripe is that Ferguson spends too much of the book on Quebec, not much, for example is mentioned of Western Canada, Vancouver, and I would have liked to have read more about the small towns and countryside away from the Ontario/Quebec connurbations. Even so, not much was said about Toronto either. Comparisons with America were funny and Canada's standing in the world was covered in detail.
I would recommend the book to anyone who has enjoyed Ferguson's other books, and to anyone interested in a tongue-in-cheek look at aspects of Canadian cultural and political life.
Non-Canadian readers may need to be familiar with certain aspects of Canadian life to understand all the political references but I don't think it should deter non-Canadians who are interested in Canada - an interest is enough to enjoy the book, you don't have to be an 'insider' to enjoy it. My only gripe is that Ferguson spends too much of the book on Quebec, not much, for example is mentioned of Western Canada, Vancouver, and I would have liked to have read more about the small towns and countryside away from the Ontario/Quebec connurbations. Even so, not much was said about Toronto either. Comparisons with America were funny and Canada's standing in the world was covered in detail.
I would recommend the book to anyone who has enjoyed Ferguson's other books, and to anyone interested in a tongue-in-cheek look at aspects of Canadian cultural and political life.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A great read if you want a brief but querky look at Canadian politics and social structures. If this guy does not already have a Masters in political science I'm sure it won't be long before some Canadian univerity gives him an honourary one.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
42 of 45 people found the following review helpful
a deeper look at canadians
27 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback
There's something very refreshing about the way Will Ferguson looks at Canadians. Here is a writer who isn't afraid to tackle both sides of our national character -- to acknowledge the bad along with the good. Like any other country in the world, we've got plenty of black spots on our record ... and we're terribly bad at admitting that they exist.
Ferguson raises a number of questions about our national fixations and delusions. Why do we think we're so nice, and why are we so proud of it? Why are we so obsessed with how much land we've got? Why do we persist in claiming that "Superman is Canadian!"? And when are we going to stop constantly comparing ourselves to the United States?
If you are Canadian, or if you know a lot of Canadians, odds are that you will find yourself, over and over again, shaking your head, laughing out loud, and saying to yourself, "that's so true!" The frank, honest humour in Ferguson's writing makes the terrible truth about ourselves surprisingly easy to accept.
Despite the title, it's quite clear that Ferguson is, in his own way, very patriotic. This book is not all about saying "Canadians suck." We have it in us to be a great people, and there are plenty of things we really SHOULD be proud of. Ferguson doesn't hesitate to point these things out. We are one of the few countries in the world to be born without a bloody revolution. We are the founders of peacekeeping and the home of multiculturalism. So why is it that we always point to the fact that we're not American when we want to demonstrate how great we are?
"Canada is Canada," says Ferguson. "You can't understand it. Don't try." But try he does, and succeeds better than any other writer I've read.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
A funny, wise work of genius
14 May 2000
Format:Paperback
This was given to me by a Canadian, and I'm eternally in her debt as a result, because this is one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. Ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to non-schmaltzy poignance, this is Will Ferguson at his best: dismantling myth piece by piece to give us a better view of what really lies at Canada's heart.
A Canadian himself, Will decries Canadian 'niceness', skewers Canadian attitudes towards America, despairs at the country's politics, and (in my favourite section) takes a merciless and hilarious look at Canadian popular culture. He doesn't hate Canadians - he loves them, and it shows.
Beautifully written, insightful, touching, and entertaining, this book should be read by everyone interested in what nationhood really means.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Why I Agree With Will Ferguson
16 Nov 2002
Format:Paperback
It's about time somebody asked the right questions, poking holes in all of the delusions that Canadians base their identity upon. If you define your identity as a Canadian by negation (I am not American, I am not British, I am not that cold, I don't live in an igloo) then this book may offend you deeply.
The author is not entirely insensitive. In fact, he's probably more proudly Canadian for the right reasons than any of us. It is our delusions that he attacks and, as is evident in our beer commercials, our delusions are held onto fiercely.
Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, just not your Christians."
Ferguson seems to say, "I love Canada, but I hate Canadians."
Are we worthy of the beautiful country we live in?
Are we as "nice" as we think we are?
Hockey, The Royal Family, Beer, Guns, keeping the Americans out, the French in, and making the Natives disappear. All of the nastier sides of Canadianism, Ferguson brings to the surface and forces us to face the demons of past and present.
Definately worth the read.
If you get a chance, check out Ferguson's article in a recent Maclean's. Camping with his son in the great Canadian wilderness.
The author is not entirely insensitive. In fact, he's probably more proudly Canadian for the right reasons than any of us. It is our delusions that he attacks and, as is evident in our beer commercials, our delusions are held onto fiercely.
Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, just not your Christians."
Ferguson seems to say, "I love Canada, but I hate Canadians."
Are we worthy of the beautiful country we live in?
Are we as "nice" as we think we are?
Hockey, The Royal Family, Beer, Guns, keeping the Americans out, the French in, and making the Natives disappear. All of the nastier sides of Canadianism, Ferguson brings to the surface and forces us to face the demons of past and present.
Definately worth the read.
If you get a chance, check out Ferguson's article in a recent Maclean's. Camping with his son in the great Canadian wilderness.
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