The Globe and Mail published its 100 notable books of 2017 without including a single work of Canadian history. Which is a pretty fair indicator of the state of the field., I think. There is a lot of work being published, but as far as history books being bestsellers, newsmakers, and thought-changers ... it's not easy to document, as CanLit and CanHist return to underground preoccupations.
I hope to sort out my own list of notable histories of 2017 before the year is over. As a first step, I did a quick review of books noted or discussed here during the year so far -- excluding "Prize Watch" lists, including some non-Canadian titles of interest and some barely historical works too.
(For details on any of these, use the Search box at top left to go to the relevant post)
January,
Chamberlin, The Banker and the Blackfoot
Browder, Red Notice
Smith, A Dissenting Voice
Missio, Vision Greater than Themselves
February
Merasty, Education of Augie Merasty
Stonechild, The Knowledge Seeker
March
Truth and Reconciliation Report
Potter, Should We Change the Way we Vote?
Smardz-Frost, Steal Away Home
April
Vipond, Making a Global City
Thompson, Blood in the Water
May
Carter, Imperial Plots
Ray, Aboriginal Rights Claims and Taking it to the Judge
Coates, Idle No More
Shapiro, What is Hip?
June
National Geographic Guides to Canadian Parks and Historic Sites
McDonald, Miss Confederation
Fahmy, The Marriott Cell
Freeman, Dare to be Great
Smith, The Unbroken Machine
Turning Parliament Inside Out
Dewar, The Handover
July
Russell, Constitutional Odyssey
Cuthbertson, Halifax Explosion
Heaman, Tax, Order and Good Government
Tillotson, Give and Take
August
Mount, Arrival
September
Wright, Sick Kids
Ens and Sawchuk, From New Peoples to New Nations
October
Boyer, Forcing Choice
Sutherland No Evil Design
Hall, From Treaties to Reserves
Graves, Always Ready: History of the Royal Regiment
November,
Beer, House of the Dead
Dutil and Mackenzie, Embattled Nation
Backhouse, Claire L'Heureux Dubé
Molinaro, An Exceptional Law
More than forty titles. (Fair warning, this blog often "notes" books I have not read, and I do not claim to have read all of these!) We will have more to say in December, but for the moment I note: quite a few titles on indigenous matters, definitely a reflection not only of my own interests but what the profession is doing. And we took note of only about seven books by women historians, it seems, not so representative at all....
