History and Biography in Harbin

Harbin: A Cross-Cultural Biography offers an intimate portrait of early-twentieth-century Harbin, a city in Manchuria where Russian colonialists, and later refugees from the Revolution, met with Chinese migrants. In this post, author Mark Gamsa gives us a behind-the-scenes look into how his book came to life and tells us the personal story of Baron Roger Budberg, a physician who, being neither Russian nor Chinese, nevertheless stood at the very centre of the cross-cultural divide in Harbin. 

“Seen but Not Seen”

Donald B. Smith, professor emeritus of history at the University of Calgary, is one of Canada’s most renowned historians, having written extensively on Aboriginal Canada, Quebec, and the history of Calgary and Southern Alberta. His final book to be published in a distinguished career, Seen but Not Seen explores the history of Indigenous marginalization and why non-Indigenous Canadians failed to recognize Indigenous societies and cultures as worthy of respect. In this post, Smith discusses what we can expect from his final book which covers fresh ground in the history of settler-Indigenous relations.

Rethinking Filostrato’s Wisdom

The Decameron, now nearly seven hundred years old, has seen something of a resurgence in recent years that testifies to the enduring power of Boccaccio’s masterpiece to speak to new audiences and to find compelling relevance even at a great distance from its immediate medieval context. In this post, Michael Sherberg, editor of The Decameron Fourth Day in Perspective, offers his perspectives on one of the greatest works of Italian literature.

Commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we commemorate the tragedy that occurred during the Second World War and honour the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazism. We continue to publish groundbreaking scholarship on the Holocaust and in this post, we share some of our recent publications with you on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

An Excerpt from J.L. Granatstein’s New Book: “Canada at War”

War can subject nations and their peoples to immense strain, and the dangers both tear societies apart and transform attitudes at a great pace. J.L. Granatstein’s new book Canada at War examines the impact of both world wars on Canada and Canadians by examining conscription, foreign policy, and politics, with William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, acting as the book’s central figure. In this post, we share an excerpt from chapter sixteen of the book.