Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER An exciting story, passionately told and rich in detail, this major biography is the second volume of the bestselling, award-winning John A: The Man Who Made Us, by well-known journalist and highly respected author Richard Gwyn. John A. Macdonald, Canada's first and most important prime minister, is the man who made Confederation happen, who built this country over the next quarter century, and who shaped what it is today. From Confederation Day in 1867, where this volume picks up, Macdonald finessed a reluctant union of four provinces in central and eastern Canada into a strong nation, despite indifference from Britain and annexationist sentiment in the United States. But it wasn't easy. The wily Macdonald faced constant crises throughout these years, from Louis Riel's two rebellions through to the Pacific Scandal that almost undid his government and his quest to find the spine of the nation: the railroad that would link east to west. Gwyn paints a superb portrait of Canada and its leaders through these formative years and also delves deep to show us Macdonald the man, as he marries for the second time, deals with the birth of a disabled child, and the assassination of his close friend Darcy McGee, and wrestles with whether Riel should hang. Indelibly, Gwyn shows us Macdonald's love of this country and his ability to joust with forces who would have been just as happy to see the end of Canada before it had really begun, creating a must-read for all Canadians. |
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
16 | |
27 | |
A Triumph A Tragedy | 48 |
S Who Speaks for Canada? | 65 |
Good Times and Hard Times | 74 |
Manifest Destiny versus Manifest Destiny | 86 |
The People Change Their Minds | 295 |
A Considerable Man A Considerable Empire | 311 |
Build It and They Will Come | 327 |
The Best of Times | 341 |
A Dream Baulked | 360 |
The Worst of Times | 383 |
Gods Messenger | 396 |
The One White Than Whom There Is No Higher | 414 |
Champions of Two Nations | 99 |
Building the Future Ruining the Present | 118 |
IO Rage and Recovery | 129 |
First the NorthWest Then the West | 141 |
Bragging Rights | 156 |
Railway First Election Next | 176 |
Gristle into Bone | 189 |
The Blunder | 205 |
Decline | 221 |
Fall | 244 |
A Second Act | 259 |
Bismarcks Twin | 276 |
A Defiant Doomed Gesture | 434 |
Wickedly Maliciously and Traitorously | 457 |
Knocking Off the Queens Bonnet | 475 |
Youll Never Die | 497 |
The Wheels of His Mind | 513 |
The Second Bell | 534 |
Loyalty versus the Dollar | 553 |
A Last Bow from the Stage | 573 |
Acknowledgments | 595 |
Picture Credits | 653 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal Agnes Alexander Allan American amnesty Batoche became become began Big Bear border Britain British Columbia buffalo cabinet Canada Canadian History Canadian Pacific Cartier Charles Tupper colonial Confederation Conservative Dominion Dufferin Earnscliffe Edward Blake election father federal free trade French George George-Étienne Cartier governor House Hugh John Hugh John Macdonald Imperial Indians JCPC John Macdonald Joseph Pope Kingston Lady Macdonald land later Laurier leader letter Liberal Lisgar London Louis Riel Mackenzie Manitoba McClelland & Stewart McDougall Métis Montreal Mounted Police Mowat National Policy never North North-West Nova Scotia once Ontario Ottawa Pacific Railway Pacific Scandal Parliament party Pope Poundmaker prairies premier prime minister provinces Quebec rebellion Red River Regina Riel's Ritchot Sir John Smith soon speech Stephen tariff tion told took Toronto Press treaty union United University of Toronto vote Washington West Winnipeg wrote