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 “There
may be no better guide than Grant MacEwan to the broad strokes and
telling details of western Canadian history ... a writer of superb
prose that is always robust, direct, clear, unadorned, and often
spiced with wry twists of gentle humour.”
— Legacy magazine, Spring 2003
“Shedden's A Century of Grant MacEwan should
re-ignite the flame to inspire readers to delve into book stores
to get their hands on some of MacEwan's works .... The book is
an easy, great read .... Thanks to Lee Shedden and Brindle & Glass
for [re-]introducing readers ... to the works of one of the truly
great Canadian authors”
— Ponoka News
“[E]specially for those who have never
before read his down-to-earth stories, this book will be a real
treat.”
—Alberta History Magazine
"These selections
offer excellent insight into some of his greatest interests .
. . his sense of humour and optimism become quite apparent. .
. . Dr. MacEwan's down-to earth style of writing makes these
historical stories come alive with personable characters and
engaging situations."
—Intercamp
August 12, 2002 would have marked the 100th
birthday of one of Western Canada's most beloved, exemplary, idiosyncratic
and admired citizens, the Hon. J.W. Grant MacEwan. A Century
of Grant MacEwan: Selected Writings is published to mark the
centenary of the author's birth, and showcases the writing achievements
of this remarkable man. From his first foray into historical writing,
The Sodbusters (1948), to Watershed: Reflections on
Water (2000), this collection offers a fascinating selection
drawn from the nearly fifty books that won him a place in hearts
and on bookshelves across the Canadian West.
From perilous Chilcotin–Klondike cattle drives to the creation
of a short-lived republic within the boundaries of Manitoba, A Century
of Grant MacEwan is MacEwan at his finest, preserving little-known
or neglected nuggets of the past for future generations to read and remember.
Through his writing, MacEwan shows us our history.
"If Grant MacEwan had loved Western
Canada less, if his curiosity had spanned less time and fewer topics,
if he had lacked a passion for passing history on—if all
of that, how much less we would know about our past and ourselves?
This book is a great reminder of what a treasure the West had in
Dr. MacEwan."
—Giller prize nominee Fred
Stenson
"MacEwan helped shatter the colonial
state of mind of Western Canadians who had assumed that nothing
worthwhile could originate in their own land, that all heroes
were foreigners, that nobody worth writing about—let alone
reading about—had dwelt in their midst."
—Western Producer publisher Rusty Macdonald
"MacEwan has spent an endless amount
of time tracing the histories of Canadians whose lives deserve
to be better known. The literature of Western Canada has been
enriched both by Grant MacEwan's efforts and by his unerring
ability to depict his characters as human beings."
—Sundre Round-Up
"Grant MacEwan is the leading popular
historian of Western Canada….no Western Canadian writer
has done more to bring to life the popular history of the region
for the ordinary reader"
—Prairie Forum
"If any one writer can take the credit for saving Western
Canadian history from the dusty shelves of academics or even
total neglect, it is Grant MacEwan."
—Red Deer Advocate
"Western Canada's highly acclaimed and most widely read
popular historian."
—Calgary Herald
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