I <3 Books

1984

This is the last book in a four part series (sort of) by Berton about the opening up of Western Canada. He talks about how he never realized there was a unified story to the entire westward migration until he began writing about it. He soon saw that there were four major episodes, each one feeding into the next, that really moved the entire process along. A few of them, such as the Liberal policy of filling up the western plains with Eastern European immigrants (which was seriously opposed), and the giving away of land on he condition that it be cultivated, were deliberate. Others, like the gold rush were a bit more spontaneous.

Writing an interesting book about a process as slow as this one can't be easy. Berton somehow manages to make it nearly gripping. As usual, he focuses on the human. The characters are as interesting as the story. I can't imagine where he digs up all the anecdotes and side stories. I once saw him speak, and he said everything in his books can be found elsewhere, the writer just has to work hard to find it all.

Perseverance, resiliency, stubbornness, and pride are all vital qualities for any of the settlers in the remote west. The prairie winters were described, in the pamphlets distributed throughout Europe, as "invigorating". Freezing to the point of being deadly would have been more accurate. As said about books here before, this one really is essential reading for any passing study of Canadian history. The story is a good one, full hard work and a determination to succeed. The qualities demonstrated by these families, while so much of the rest of the world was, as always back then, in turmoil, can only be a source of pride today.