A Business History of Alberta by Henry C. Klassen (review)

590 The Canadian Historical Review assimilated are not. Fundamentalism is recorded, but it is associated with rural village mores rather than with suburbia, where it in fact often thrives. Conservative rural folk who practise a proactive pacifism within the community are castigated as quiescent, and the Old Order types are left out of the large surveys that propel the study. In the end, the Mennonites themselves are not postmodern, only the society in which they live is. The very strength ofthe book seems to reside in places where Driedger grapples deeply with seemingly contradictory evidence. It is in the surprises that the book shines. The "disproportionate number of urban Prairie Mennonites, the women leaders who solicit greater support from males than from females, the media-friendly Mennonites who remain 'cool' about TV, the teenage rebels who vote Conservative, the Mennonite pacifists who are anti-abortion, the sectarian educators who pitch their schools primarily to outsiders - these would appear to be postmodern Mennonites. In the book, however, it is the committed Anabaptist who is privileged. Much of this book has appeared as articles during the past decade, ironically as evidence of the Mennonites' modernization. By placing these articles within the cover ofa single book and framing them in the queries of postmodernity, however, Driedger has set an agenda that scholars will have to face. As Canadian social historians move the locus of their study from the first half of the century, where modernity was born, to the latter half, where it began to unravel, they will find Driedger 's book a useful early reflection. ROYDEN LOEWEN University ofWinnipeg A Business History ofAlberta. HENRY c. KLASSEN. Calgary: University of Calgary Press 2000. Pp. xxii, 362, illus. $29.95 cloth, $19.95 paper Business institutions and practices in Alberta changed dramatically over the years. In explaining those changes, Henry Klassen focuses on two major themes: the evolution ofthe business firm and the development of business-government relations. He identifies four chronologically defined eras or stages in the development of business firms and their relationships with government. Fur trade practices and institutions dominated Alberta business activities before 1870. Beaver pelts and a limited number ofother natural resources were harvested for shipment to overseas markets in a manner consistent with prevailing mercantilist theories. A general description, Book Reviews 591 followed by short vignettes of individuals and practices at several local trading posts, illustrates how the system worked. The territorial period from 1870 to 1905 saw the establishment of numerous small, personally owned and managed businesses that offered a variety ofgoods and services to the homesteaders, settlers, and workers who migrated to the prairies in those years. The typical business was an all-purpose firm participating in a wide variety ofeconomic activities, but restricted to relatively small geographical areas. Specific examples of general merchants, and small processing and manufacturing firms specializing in activities such as harnesses and saddles, black smithing, brewing, private banking, and, of course, ranching and farming are provided to show how these small independent business firms operated. Government assistance involved the building of economic infrastructures , most notably transportation facilities, while federal tariff legislation protected Canadian manufacturers from American and international competition. Improved transportation facilities, particularly the new railways, made possible the development of a more integrated economy after 1905. Businesses were able to extend the scope of their activities, but also became more vulnerable to competitive pressures. Successful businessmen increased their volume and turnover rates. Many also replaced local generic goods with brand-name products. National manufacturers, railway companies, banks, and distribution companies became economicallydominant , and governments established numerous regulatory agencies to ensure fairness in the marketplace. The Board of Railway Commissioners was given regulatory powers over the railways. There were increasingly tight federal controls over the chartered banks, while the provincial government regulated local services such as telephones. Increased integration into the national economy, together with increased government regulation, characterizedAlberta business history from 1905 until the Second World War. During the Second World War, but particularly in the years after, Alberta businesses became much more segmented and specialized. Some large firms dominated key sectors ofthe provincial economy, but small businesses also survived, usually by filling a niche market not well served by...