Greg Marchildon speaks with Asa McKercher about his book, Building a Special Relationship: Canada-US Relations in the Eisenhower Era, 1953–61.
Building a Special Relationship explores a lesser-known period in U.S.-Canada relations during the 1950s, when officials from both countries developed a strong culture of bilateral cooperation amid the escalating tensions of the Cold War.

Asa McKercher is an associate professor at St. Francis Xavier University, a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre, and a fellow at Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy. He is editor-in-chief of International Journal and the author of several books, including Canada and the World since 1867 and Camelot and Canada: Canadian-American Relations in the Kennedy Era.

Michael D. Stevenson is a history professor at Lakehead University. He authored Canada’s Greatest Wartime Muddle: National Selective Service and the Mobilization of Human Resources during WWII and edited the 1957–58 volumes of Documents on Canadian External Relations.

Image Credit: UBC Press

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Building a Special Relationship: Canada-US Relations in the Eisenhower Era, 1953–61

Larry Ostola speaks with Don Weekes about his book, Picturing the Game: An Illustrated Story of Hockey.

Hockey has a long, surprising connection to editorial cartooning and sports illustration—one as storied as the game itself. While writers and photographers have captured the action on the ice, cartoonists have offered a rawer, more mischievous take on the sport.

Picturing the Game dives into this satirical world, highlighting the rough drafts of hockey history by artists like Bruce MacKinnon, Aislin, Serge Chapleau, Susan Dewar, Brian Gable, and more. Through sharp wit and keen observation, they not only make us laugh but often expose deeper truths—especially about those running the show.

The collection begins with anonymous early artists who sketched the game’s first moments and spectators. Their work evolved into the illustrations of Arthur Racey and Lou Skuce, whose cartoons thrived when newspapers dominated public opinion and the printed word held great authority. These dailies helped elevate hockey to its place as Canada’s national sport.

Later, artists like Franklin Arbuckle, Duncan Macpherson, and Len Norris brought even more depth, using allegory, irreverence, and cultural commentary to give their work lasting power.

Weekes brings together these visionary cartoonists whose sharp lines and sharper minds made satire an essential lens on hockey. Their work, both groundbreaking and quintessentially Canadian, left a lasting imprint on sports journalism—and the game itself.

Don Weekes is an award-winning television producer and the author of numerous hockey books. He lives in Montreal and shoots left.

Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press 

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Picturing the Game: An Illustrated Story of Hockey

Larry Ostola speaks with Andrew Burtch about his book, Canada and the Korean War: Histories and Legacies of a Cold War Conflict.
The Korean War was the first major conflict of the Cold War and Canada’s most significant military engagement after the two world wars. Canada and the Korean War brings together leading scholars to examine key battles and themes of this pivotal yet often overlooked conflict.
Before 1950, Canada had little interest in Korea, but the war’s threat to postwar stability compelled its involvement. Between 1950 and 1953, over 30,000 Canadian military personnel served in Korea, and “peacetime” defence spending reached record levels. Fighting alongside U.S., local, and Commonwealth forces, Canadians faced a resourceful enemy across land, sea, and air. The eventual armistice left Korea divided and tensions unresolved.
This timely collection blends Canadian and international perspectives, highlighting the war’s impact on Canada’s military and its evolving relationship with Korea. It also explores how the war has been remembered over time.
Essential reading for scholars of military history, the Cold War, and Canadian foreign policy, this volume will also appeal to veterans, their families, and general readers interested in Canada’s military past.
Andrew Burtch is the Canadian War Museum’s historian for the post-1945 period and an adjunct research professor in the Department of History at Carleton University. 
Tim Cook, CM, FRSC, is the chief historian and director of research at the Canadian War Museum. 

Image Credit: UBC Press 

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Canada and the Korean War: Histories and Legacies of a Cold War Conflict

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Wayne Sumner about his book, Prairie Justice: The Hanging of Mike Hack.

Prairie Justice explores the 1928 murder of George Edey in Saskatchewan and the swift conviction and execution of Mike Hack, a deaf and mentally disabled farmhand. Denied clemency, Hack was hanged in 1929 at the age of twenty-seven. Author Wayne Sumner traces the case from investigation to execution, drawing on personal family ties to the story. Through this gripping account, the book sheds light on broader issues in Canada's criminal justice system, including unfitness to stand trial, the insanity defence, ineffective legal representation, and the risk of wrongful convictions—ultimately exposing how justice can fail the poor and marginalized.

Wayne Sumner is a university professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.

Image Credit: University of Toronto Press  

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Prairie Justice: The Hanging of Mike Hack

Larry Ostola speaks with Nick Etheridge and Phil Calvert about their book, Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973.

Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973 is a collection of essays written by former Canadian diplomats who served on international commissions in Indochina. These individuals were initially deployed to oversee the implementation of the 1954 Geneva Accords (through the International Commission for Supervision and Control, or ICSC) and later, in 1973, to monitor compliance with the Paris Peace Agreement (under the International Commission of Control and Supervision, or ICCS). Over the course of two decades, young Canadians were posted to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—regions in which Canada had previously played a minimal role. The chapters that follow reflect their personal memories and experiences during these diplomatic missions.

Read the full book here: https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/capi/assets/docs/books/supervising-a-peace-that-never-was.pdf

Nick Etheridge joined External Affairs in 1967 and held postings in Australia, Vietnam, and Europe, including roles in the CSCE. He served as Canada’s representative in Cambodia (1993), Chargé d’Affaires in the Baltic States (1993–95), and High Commissioner to Bangladesh (1996–99). He retired in 2002 as Director of the Defence Relations Division.

Phil Calvert joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982 and served in Beijing during three postings. He held key roles in trade negotiations, including as Deputy Chief Negotiator for China’s WTO accession, and was Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos from 2011 to 2016. He retired in 2016.

Image Credit: University of Victoria - CAPI Publications  

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Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973

Larry Ostola speaks with Tim Falconer about his book, Windfall: Viola MacMillan and Her Notorious Mining Scandal.

Viola MacMillan was a trailblazing prospector and mining executive who rose to prominence in a male-dominated industry. In 1964, after decades of success, she became the central figure in a major stock scandal. Shares in her company, Windfall Oil and Mines, soared on unverified rumors of a big find. MacMillan remained silent as the price climbed—until the company admitted it had nothing. The crash devastated small investors and led to a royal commission and reforms in Canadian financial regulation. Though convicted and jailed, MacMillan was later awarded the Order of Canada.

Tim Falconer is the author of Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey, both named to The Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Image Credit: ECW Press  

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Windfall: Viola MacMillan and Her Notorious Mining Scandal

Larry Ostola speaks with William E. Moreau about his book, The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 1.

Between 1784 and 1812, David Thompson explored and traded across much of western North America, from Athabasca to the Missouri and from Lake Superior to the Columbia River's mouth. In his later years, he recounted these experiences in his autobiographical work Travels. More than just a personal narrative, Travels blends geographic exploration with intellectual reflection, offering insights into the land and Indigenous peoples he encountered.

This distinguished work combines scientific observation with vivid storytelling, capturing Thompson’s curiosity and deep sense of wonder. It stands as a foundational text in Canadian literature and history.

The boxed set referenced includes the two companion volumes of Travels published in 2009 and 2015. It features a new transcription of Thompson’s complete manuscript, critical annotations, historical and textual introductions, biographical appendices, and maps—both historical and modern. With an updated edition and a new preface by geographer John Warkentin, it remains the definitive scholarly reference for Thompson’s legacy and continues to introduce his work to new generations.

William E. Moreau is a teacher with the Toronto District School Board and a sessional lecturer with the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

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The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 1

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Eric Andrew-Gee about his book, The Mind Mappers.

This powerful dual biography tells the true story of two neurosurgeons—Wilder Penfield and the lesser-known William Cone—whose partnership revolutionized brain science in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, when brain surgery was still highly risky, the two men joined forces, united by a fascination with the mind’s inner workings. Together, they founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, which quickly became a world-renowned center for neurological research.

Penfield gained fame for developing the Montreal procedure to treat epilepsy, a breakthrough that revealed key brain functions related to speech, memory, and consciousness. Cone, meanwhile, worked tirelessly in the operating room and at patients’ bedsides, quietly enabling Penfield’s success. Though their achievements were shared, Cone’s contributions went largely unrecognized.

Over time, the strain between them grew. Penfield pursued scientific glory, while Cone remained grounded in patient care. Their friendship deteriorated, ending abruptly with Cone’s sudden death at age sixty-two.

Eric Andrew-Gee explores the founding of The Neuro and the complex bond between two men at the heart of modern neuroscience. The book restores Cone to his rightful place in history, illuminating the human cost of scientific progress.

Eric Andrew-Gee is the Quebec correspondent for The Globe and Mail, based in Montreal, and a former staff reporter for the Toronto Star. He is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards. His work has appeared in magazines including The Walrus, Toronto Life and The New Republic. This is his first book.

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The Mind Mappers

Greg Marchildon speaks with Shannon Stunden Bower about her book, Transforming the Prairies: Agricultural Rehabilitation and Modern Canada.

Created in 1935, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a Canadian federal agency active for over 70 years, often praised as a model of effective environmental management. Transforming the Prairies challenges this view, highlighting the mixed results of its agricultural rehabilitation efforts in Canada and abroad.

Historian Shannon Stunden Bower critiques the PFRA’s initiatives, revealing their unintended ecological and social consequences. For instance, while promoting strip farming for soil conservation, the agency inadvertently increased crop vulnerability to pests like the sawfly. In Ghana, PFRA-led irrigation projects heightened the risk of illness among locals. In Canada, infrastructure development ignored the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples. Stunden Bower argues that the PFRA, as a high modernist agency, often reinforced colonial and racist systems while producing uneven environmental outcomes.

This book urges a rethinking of the PFRA’s legacy, both to deepen our understanding of Canadian and environmental history and to inform more just and sustainable environmental policies today. It is especially relevant to scholars and students of Canadian, environmental, and agricultural history, as well as those interested in the modern state and the Prairie West. Policymakers and Prairie residents familiar with the PFRA will also find it insightful.

Shannon Stunden Bower is an associate professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta. She is the author of Wet Prairie: People, Land, and Water in Agricultural Manitoba, which won the Canadian Historical Association Clio Prize for the Prairies and the Manitoba Day Award from the Association for Manitoba Archives. She has also published articles in journals such as Environmental History and Agricultural History.

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Transforming the Prairies: Agricultural Rehabilitation and Modern Canada

Greg Marchildon speaks with Daniel Macfarlane about his book, The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History.

The Lives of Lake Ontario by Daniel Macfarlane explores the deep and complex relationship between Lake Ontario and the peoples and nations along its shores. For centuries, the lake has shaped the development of surrounding societies, supporting agriculture, energy production, and urban growth. Macfarlane traces how Indigenous nations, settlers, and modern Canadian and American societies have interacted with the lake, often exploiting it through dams, canals, industrial activity, pollution, and overuse of resources. This transboundary water body has acted as both a connector and divider between Canada and the United States, ultimately becoming home to Canada’s largest urban area.

However, intensive human activity led to serious ecological damage, pushing communities to turn away from the lake. In response, binational efforts like the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements emerged in the late 20th century, resulting in some environmental improvements. Despite these efforts, Lake Ontario remains the most degraded of the Great Lakes. The impacts of urbanization, invasive species, and climate change continue to challenge its recovery.
Macfarlane’s account highlights both the lake’s resilience and its vulnerability, urging renewed attention to its environmental health. The book serves as a compelling case study of human-nature interactions and the ongoing struggle to balance development with ecological preservation.

Daniel Macfarlane is associate professor in the School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University and the author of Natural Allies: Environment, Energy, and the History of US-Canada Relations.

Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press

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The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History

Greg Marchildon speaks with Micah True about his book, The Jesuit Relations.

The Jesuit Relations were annual reports written between 1632 and 1673 by Jesuit missionaries in what is now Eastern Canada. Traditionally viewed as firsthand missionary narratives, Micah True’s work challenges this notion by revealing that the texts were shaped by many contributors—including Indigenous people, settlers, nuns, and editors in France. He explores the influence of historical context, such as Jesuit writing traditions and the Paris book trade, on their creation. True also examines how different editions since the 19th century have altered the interpretation of these texts. His analysis offers a more nuanced understanding of the Jesuit Relations and their role in shaping the history of New France and Indigenous-European encounters.

Micah True is professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta.

Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press

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The Jesuit Relations

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Building a Special Relationship: Canada-US Relations in the Eisenhower Era, 1953–61

Witness to Yesterday

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