The University of Winnipeg: A History of the Founding Colleges by A.G. Bedford (review)

428 LETTERS IN CANADA A.G. Bedford, The University of Winnipeg: A History of the Founding Colleges. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press 1975, xii, 479, illus., $15.00 This substantial and estimable volume is at once a history and, in a way, a celebration of United College, Winnipeg, and its antecedents, Manitoba and Wesley colleges. Its author disclaims any intention of writing 'a university history of the usual sort, with emphasis upon administrative and policy developments, academic curricula, and the growth of faculties and student numbers/ though such subjects are by no means absent from its pages. He has tried to concentrate instead 'upon the human relationships which ... have played so strong a part in building the rich tradition of scholarship and fellowship that distinguishes the institution ...' As he points out, the college was always poverty-stricken and its survival he attributes to 'the unwavering dedication of a remarkable teaching faculty and the persistent loyalty and love of ... graduates and friends.' With painstaking care, and in places with an excess of trivial detail, Professor Bedford traces the chequered careers of the two early church colleges and of the product of their eventual merger in 1938. It is a remarkable story, a significant part of the wider history of Manitoba, and as such it ought to be of interest even to many who have had no direct association with the institution. However, it is evidently directed in the main to those who have, as perhaps all university histories must be. This probably accounts for the references to so many individuals and the descriptions of so many minor events, most of which are unlikely to engage the attention of outsiders. For example, the author identifies a number of the more prominent students from time to time and refers to _ their activities and achievements, a practice not without danger, incidentally , since anyone who was there could think of some who are not mentioned but deserve to be equally with some who are. This sort of thing is not of general interest and wading through the names becomes just a bit tedious, even to a former student of the college, as does the tone of praise in which the doings of all these people are recounted. The quality, though possibly not the sale, of the book would have been improved if much of this material had been omitted. Members of the academic community generally will doubtless find Professor Bedford's treatment of the notorious Crowe affair the most interesting part of the book. While obviously sympathetic to the college administration rather than to its opponents, he is by no means uncritical of certain actions taken by the board of regents and is a lot less critical of Mr Crowe himself than of some of those, in the college and elsewhere, who took up his cause. This treatment of the case should be read along with Donald Savage's very different one in the December 1975 issue of CAUT Bulletin because it brings out aspects of the matter which many HUMANITIES 429 may have overlooked or forgotten, and presents a point of view that has not been fashionable in academe. For Professor Bedford the writing of this volume, while an arduous task, has clearly been a labour of love. His fidelity to the institution he serves, no mean virtue, is writ large on every page. He has done a service to all those who have affection for United College and, as he correctly observes, that includes almost everyone who even attended classes there. More than that, he has substantially enlarged our knowledge of the history of higher education in Manitoba. (ROGER GRAHAM) Brian Cherney, Harry Somers. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press 1975, 224, illus., $15.00; Keith MacMillan and John Beckwith, editors, Contemporary Canadian Composers. Toronto: Oxford University Press 1975, $14.95; Peter Such, Soundprints. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin 1972, $4.50; R. Murray Schafer, The Composer in the Classroom. Toronto: Berandol 1965, $3.00; - Ear Cleaning. Toronto: Berandol1967, $3.00; - The New Soundscape. Toronto: Berandol 1969, $3.00; - When Words Sing. Toronto: Berandol1970, $3.00 To judge from these books, the musicians in Canada to be reckoned with are composers...