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REVIEWS 453 Several pieces will be of interestto the specialist. The bestessays are by historical geographers -John Jackson on theevolvinghumangeography of theNiagaraPeninsula andAndrewBurghardton thedevelopment of road andwaternetworks across thecolony to •85o.Politics after •837arecovered by such authorities asCraig,Careless, andSwainson, summarizing theirfindings for a generalaudience. Jane Errington'sanalysis of the years•8•5 to •83o (rather curiouslytitled 'Upper Canadain the •82o's')is the bestgeneral synthesis of politics andsocial development I haveseen for thatperiod.Much weaker articles ontheRebellion of •837andthedevelopment fromtheFrench periodto •8•5 sufferbycomparison. Essays touchonanumberofotherfacets ofearlyOntario's development including education, sport,religion,art,literature,themilitary,andarchitecture .HelmutKallmann's summary of musical development isausefuladdition toalittle-studied area,whileJohnWebster GrantonreligionandJudson Purdy oneducation arecompetent summaries. Toomany other pieces, however, consist of catalogues, chronological recitations, andamiablegeneralizations. If oneabandons the perspective of the specialist for that of the general readercuriousaboutthe presentstateof knowledge on preoConfederation Ontario,thereisstillmuchthatismissing. A verygeneralessay onagriculture givesno hint of the growingstrengthof rural studies.Urban historyis unrepresented. Thereisnothingonethnicity, working-class history, or native studies after the Frenchperiod.Articleson the Talbot Settlementand the Canada Company stand forimmigration, whileageneral piece onmanufacturing coversbusiness historyand entrepreneurship.A few piecesseemtoo narrowfor thegeneralthemes of thebook,notablythoseongoldatEldorado andoil at Petrolia.Severalstudies overlap(bothCareless and Swainson treat Confederation era politics, for instance) andtheeffectismoreof repetition thanenrichment.There are someregionalstudies, but notenoughto givea representative sampling. Thereisnosummary oftheessays noranyattempt to drawoutthegeneralsignificance of theirthemes for theshaping of Ontario. My generalreactionto the bookisoneof frustration.It hassomegood invididualessays and itsaimsare admirable.The Mikas,itscompilers, were sincerely attempting something moreenduringthana fastbuck,coffee-table opus, buttheyneeded astronger editorialaimandmorecarefulconsideration of their aims to achieve it. BRYCE WILSO• Public Archives ofCanada Toronto: ThePlaceofMeeting, AnIllustrated History. FREDERICK H. ARMSTRONG. Toronto:OntarioHistoricalSociety andWindsorPublications •983. Pp. 304 $29.95 Original Toronto. LVCY BOOTH M^RTY•. Sutton West,Ont.:Paget Press •983.Pp. •2o,illus.$25.oo Municipal jubileesin Canadahavetraditionallybeena boonto the business of history. Civicgovernments oftencommission some sortofofficialhistory, and 454 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW privateenterpriseinevitablyclimbson the festivalbandwagon. The present books,publishedin Toronto'sSesquicentennial year, belongamongthe privatecontributions to the festivities. LucyBoothMartyn's work,adirectbutdiminutive descendant ofJohnRoss Robertson's Landmarks ofToronto, isintendedtoprovidethereaderwithaview ofthecityatthetimeofitsincorporation in 1834.Thereisashort introductory essay, but the bulk of the bookcomprises thirty Robertson-like journalistic vignettes describing landmarks of thecolonial townsuchasFortYork,John Doel'sBrewery,and the BritishCoffeeHouse.Sucha volumemightprove useful;thisonewillnot.Mostof theinformationisreadilyavailable elsewhere andtheunsophisticated natureof thedescriptive materialwillprovefrustratingtohistorians interested intheperiod.No doubtit ismeantonlytoentertain sesquicentennial celebrators. F.H. Armstrong's volume,although'sanctioned' bytheOntarioHistorical Society, waswrittenfor a UnitedStates publisher whichhascommissioned a series of suchbookson North Americancities.It attemptsto combinethe coffee-table formatwithscholarly writing.Inevitably, thecoffee-table element looms largerthanthescholarly one,andtomymindthebookdoes notquite deliverthe 'penetratinginsightand compellingnarrative'promisedon the dust-cover. Yet it cannot be dismissed. AsJ.M.SCareless observes in the foreword,Armstrong'packs a wealthof knowledge intothe pages... it isa bright,interesting historythroughout... a popular, broadertreatment.' Thisisparticularly trueof Armstrong's treatment ofthenineteenth century. Hisinterest andknowledge ofthisperiod,though, produce animbalance of coverage for thereader.Of thefourteen chapters, ten of them bring the storyup to 19Ol. The twentieth-century narrative, perforce,is disappointing. This is especially frustratingin light of the phenomenal development andexpansion of municipalservices aftertheturn of thecentury. The bookiscommendable for RogerHall'sskilfulselection of thevisual material.In general,the volumeisbeautifullydesigned and laid out. Hall's sophisticated approachand understanding of the use .ofhistorical visual materials goes beyond simple illustration. Hiscaptions ar•'•,analytical and containa pointof view. Apart from the section 'Partnersin Progress,' whichcomprises puffsof companies whopaidtobethere,Place ofMeeting isasingle-volume history with unquestionable referencevalue.Armstrong's essay, a well-writtenepisodic chronicle, combined with Hall'spictureessay, then, will undoubtedly be a marketable success. VICTOR L.RUSSELL CityofToronto Archives ...

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