Tag Archives: books

History Slam Episode 127: Firewater

      1 Comment on History Slam Episode 127: Firewater

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/History-Slam-127.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Unless you stop to really think about it, it’s easy to overlook the number of times the subject of alcohol comes up. From after work drinks to wining and dining a date to rec sports being referred to as ‘beer leagues,’ alcohol has a hold on Canadian culture. The popular culture… Read more »

History Slam Episode 125: The Trans Generation

      1 Comment on History Slam Episode 125: The Trans Generation

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/History-Slam-125.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham During its convention earlier this month, the Ontario PC Party passed a resolution calling gender identity “a highly controversial, unscientific ‘liberal ideology’” and pledged to remove all references to gender identity theory from the provincial curriculum. Premier Doug Ford later backed away from the resolution, claiming that it would not become… Read more »

History Chat: A Conversation with Douglas Hunter

      No Comments on History Chat: A Conversation with Douglas Hunter

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Doug-Hunter-18-10-26-1-online-audio-converter.com_.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOn October 26, the History of Indigenous Peoples (HIP) Network sponsored the launch of two books by HIP member Douglas Hunter, which included a conversation with Douglas about writing for the public hosted by Boyd Cothran. The two books are: The Place of Stone: Dighton Rock and the Erasure of America’s Indigenous Past  Beardmore: The… Read more »

History Slam Episode 124: Live at the Cellar

      1 Comment on History Slam Episode 124: Live at the Cellar

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Slam-124-Vancouver-Jazz.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Marian Jago about her new book Live at the Cellar: Vancouver’s Iconic Jazz Scene in the 1950s and ’60s. We talk about Canada’s jazz scene, the co-operative structure of the Cellar, and the type of performers who played at the club. We also… Read more »

History Slam Episode 119: Pierre Trudeau, the Constant Liberal

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/History-Slam-Episode-119.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The 2015 election of Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party, along with the 50th anniversary of his father’s election as Liberal leader, has generated plenty of renewed interest in the life and career of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The popular conception of the elder Trudeau has been that he is very much… Read more »

Mudeater: An American Buffalo Hunter and the Surrender of Louis Riel

By John D. Pihach Robert Armstrong, celebrated as a Canadian hero in 1885, is largely forgotten today. That transition from national hero to obscure historical figure is challenged in Mudeater: An American Buffalo Hunter and the Surrender of Louis Riel, (University of Regina Press, 2017) which puts him in the spotlight for the second time. Born in Kansas in 1849, Armstrong spent… Read more »

Bookstores and Memory: Marking the Closure of the Toronto Women’s Bookstore

Last Friday, the Toronto Women’s Bookstore opened its doors for the last time. This is an occasion for the kind of celebration and mourning that has occurred in events held in Toronto and beyond. It is also a chance to think about alternative bookstores, change, and remembrance.

Historical Fiction as a Gateway Drug

      1 Comment on Historical Fiction as a Gateway Drug

By Jeffers Lennox I can trace my interest in the past to a single book: Jack Whyte’s The Skystone, a story set in the time of the legendary King Arthur.  First published in 1992, when I was 12, The Skystone had just about everything necessary to hook a young kid: historical imagination, magic, war, heroism, and enough “adult” subject matter… Read more »

Sharing History Through Used Books and the Internet

      2 Comments on Sharing History Through Used Books and the Internet

In honour of both the September crunch and ActiveHistory.ca‘s own expanding book review section — be sure to check out Mitch Primeau’s review of The Second Greatest Disappointment (1999) — I’ll be devoting this month’s post to some of my favourite used book websites. History tends to involve a few more books than other disciplines — okay, a lot more…. Read more »