Immagine dell'autore.

J. Edward Chamberlin

Autore di Oscar Wilde's London

12 opere 286 membri 4 recensioni

Sull'Autore

J. Edward Chamberlin is University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto.
Fonte dell'immagine: Yvonne Mozee

Opere di J. Edward Chamberlin

Etichette

Informazioni generali

Data di nascita
1943
Sesso
male
Nazionalità
Canada
Luogo di nascita
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Luogo di residenza
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Istruzione
University of Toronto, PhD, English
Organizzazioni
Royal Society of Canada

Utenti

Recensioni

This is a non fiction book so I will admit upfront that I did not read it straight through. I picked it up and read it here and there in between other books. Since moving to Montana I have found an interest in learning more about the history of the Western migration and the truth of how it happened. Some I have learned by reading historical fiction that has lead me to further research online and some I have learned with interesting books like this.

If I know little about American history, I know next to nothing about Canada’s history. The Banker and the Blackfoot offers a peak into a tiny piece of the shared history of the two countries. Trading was a vital part of growth throughout the West and the various forts that dotted the landscape were the conduits for that trade and information.

This book is more a tale of Canada than the US but it is still a cross border story involving the Blackfoot tribe. I am not going to do a better job recounting the subject matter than the official synopsis so I will just refer you back to it. Fort McCleod was not familiar to me which of course rolls back to my abysmal track record on Canadian history. Fort Benton on the American side is in Montana and while I have not visited I’ve driven by – these two installations form the pivot points of the book.

The people populating the tale are quite an intriguing bunch; sometimes as they say, truth is stranger than fiction. It was a rough and wild time and so therefore there are some rough and wild folk who populated the area. But there were also plain, hardworking people. As we all know with the hindsight that comes from looking back, there were a lot of people who were out to just make a lot of money and who set out to steal what they could from the people of the First Nations.

This story does offer a small slice of time when people of different colors and cultures actually managed to get along. It didn’t last but there was glimmer of possibility. And of hope.

I found myself a little confused in the beginning (I did read the first 4 chapters all at once) until I figured out who was who but once I did it was much easier to maintain interest. It was a very interesting period in the West’s history, not to mention a contentious one. Neither country – the US or Canada – treated the Native Americans/First Peoples with any kind of respect. In fact, as we all know they were treated as badly as a people could be treated.

The Banker and the Blackfoot is an interesting look into a pivotal period in the history of the North American West. Full of the kind of characters you would expect from the time it shows that some tried to do what was right even when most were out for themselves.
… (altro)
 
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BooksCooksLooks | 1 altra recensione | May 16, 2019 |
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Banker and the Blackfoot: An Untold Story of Friendship, Trust, and Broken Promises in the Old West by J. Edward Chamberlin is a non-fiction book about the author’s grandfather, John Cowdry who befriended the legendary Blackfoot warrior Crop Eared Wolf. Mr. Chamberlin is professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and has written several non-fiction books.

I enjoy reading good history books which tell a good story, however I have yet to read a history book about Canada, I cannot say that anymore. The Banker and the Blackfoot: An Untold Story of Friendship, Trust, and Broken Promises in the Old West by J. Edward Chamberlin takes place at what is now Fort Macleod, a town in the southwest corner of the province of Alberta, Canada.

The author goes on to tell about the history of the West and the relationships between the Mounties (police), the Natives, and the settlers. Even though the Canadians did not have the issues that the US struggled with, they still managed to break their promises to the First Nation.

This is a well written history book, with a nice personal touch. The author tells about his family and what his relatives at the time went through, how they lived, worked, and played. I thought the author was trying to stay as objective as possible when it came to the historical nature of the promises the Canadian government made to the First Nation and never kept. This, despite the fact, that they knew the First Nation were interested in friendship.

I enjoyed the author’s reflection on the town’s people, not just his grandfather. The town was filled with colorful folks including Francis Dickens (the son of…) and Harry Longabaugh who later joined Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch under the nickname Sundance Kid.

I found this book to be a fascinating window into a harsh era to a place I’ve yet to learn about.
… (altro)
 
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ZoharLaor | 1 altra recensione | Dec 13, 2018 |
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect of this book about islands, but the title caught my eye and I have long been intrigued and fascinated by islands and human attitudes towards them, so I downloaded it. It's a mixture of travel writing, botany, geology, literature, spirituality and metaphysics - yet somehow I was left feeling that it had skirted too generally over the surface of most of these areas, and produced a whole that felt rather insubstantial. Quite a lot of the book consists of descriptive lists of flora or fauna on various islands, or relatively brief examples of islands that the author fits into one category or another to demonstrate a point he is trying to make. I would have preferred a more in depth focus on a relatively small number of islands of different types, giving a proper feel for the ebb and flow of human and other life on those islands. From a purely selfish point of view, I would have liked to see some coverage of my favourite islands, the Scillies, scarcely mentioned in this book, and St Kilda, only covered in a paragraph or so. So, all in all, some interesting ideas and quite poetic in places, but a bit disappointing.… (altro)
 
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john257hopper | May 29, 2014 |
A thorough examination of West Indian poetry, that is the poetry of the Anglophone Caribbean. Focused, not surprisingly, on the literature of the period since 1930. 1930, of course, is the year that Derek Walcott, from whose poem "Sainte Lucie" the title is taken, was born. This is an important work for Caribbean studies.
 
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Fledgist | Jan 14, 2010 |

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Statistiche

Opere
12
Utenti
286
Popolarità
#81,618
Voto
½ 3.7
Recensioni
4
ISBN
34
Lingue
2

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