The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, by Yves Engler
September 4, 2009 - 6:08pm
The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, by Yves Engler. Fernwood Publishing, 2009.
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Review by Suzanne Weiss
Review by Dave Mabell
Review by Dave Markland
Vancouver book launch webcast
redeye podcast interview with Yves Engler
Citizenshift podcast interview with Yves Engler
Yes, I have it and it's excellent. Dispels and demolishes the nonsensical myth of benign Canadian foreign policy
What do you make of the criticisms by Weiss and Markland?
(I haven't seen the book yet).
I hope, M. Spector, that you've acquired a copy by now. For someone my age, who thought he knew a lot about Canada and the World its a real eye-opener, just on Ghana and the Congo, for example. Will it ever be reviewed by the G&M ? Markland doesn't think so. I didn't like the opinions in the article by Weiss (Socialist Voice) for several reasons. She is intent on finding omissions and criticized the lack of a call to action. Engler is more anti-imperialist than 'socialist' and comes down hard on "Responsibilty to Protect" in Haiti and elsewhere. R2P is beloved by many left-of-centre activists.
Engler's book has made it to the Montreal Gazette's Saturday Book Section on the 14th of November. The review isn't too damaging and will increase the readership.
Canadian mining firms face abuse allegations.
Yes, you live in an imperialist country.
I found this book rather dissapointing. Many conjectures and hypothesis passes off as fact, with little more then enthusiasm to back up the claims. To bad, I realy wanted a book such as this to be good.
Also the part about the gunboat attacking El Salvador's Atlantic coast was amusing.
Did you miss the extensive pages and pages of footnotes after each chapter? How about the 16 or 17 pages in the bibliography?
What's that? Cat got your tongue?
I don't have the book at hand and was months ago I looked through it. Read about 1/4 and looked through the footnotes and bibliography. Read mostly about area I know well (Latin America) and areas I know poorly (Africa).
Regarding Latin America I thought it was fairly accurate -notable exception the editing error I mentioned in my 1st post. Though I do recall quite a few moment of wtf (regarding argument style, not facts).
In some ways I thought the book was to easy on Canada, and in other ways I thought he was just searching for anything, no matter how trivial, to add one more bean to his bag. At points it didn't come through as genuine.
So, my memory is, the extensive footnotes and bibliography were largly to secondary or tertiary sources, not primary. Some of the claims were merely backed from other peoples opinions. (wich were backed by opinion.......) Now this doesn't make the claims wrong -though to me it makes them dangerous to repeat.
Maybe I was looking more for (stylisticaly) an academic work over a populist one. I doubt I will pick up this book again.
Maybe you should make up your mind instead of fishing for weaknesses. In any case, here are the opinions of a few academics.
You may have heard of them.
And then there is ...
Finally, there is ...
Next you'll be telling us that the book is "too academic". ha ha.
ah the old apeal to authority falicy.
I was not fishing for weakness. I realy wanted to like this book. I picked it up many times when I had it. Each time it left an aftertaste that just wasn't good.
edit in:perhaps people should read a tad bit more critical rather then fishing for strenghts.
There aren't enough books like this. In all your remarks, chankeen, you've very successfully circambulated around that important truth.
First it was the lack of proper references. After I debunked that claim, you thought that "maybe" it wasn't academic enough. So then I provided 3 rather well known academics (well, 2 of 3, anyway, i don't know about Blum) with glowing remarks. But you're still not happy.Apparently providing 3 such references is an appeal to authority. ha ha. I've got to remember that trick.
The fact that you've contorted yourself into criticizing "searching for strengths" is laughable. That's what a proper book review SHOULD DO.
If the subject of Canadian imperialism leaves you cold, then be upfront and say so. Never mind the b/s.
I agree there are not enough books in this area. Why do you think I would want to like it?
About references, after you brought up the footnotes and bibliography -I stated that I remembered those as being from secondary and tertiary sources. You countered by bringing in outside opinion to justify your argument rather then evidence from the book itself showing that the claims are indeed well backed up. That is an apeal to authority.
Maybe the burden of proof is on me, but I don't have the book at hand. I don't mind being proven wrong...isn't that what debate is about? I would then admit my dislike of this book is entirely due to style.
My comment of searching for strengths -I'll translate it, all to often people read something that fits well into thier belief system and find things that resemble strengths. I used that term to counter your term because I allowed the snarky attitude to infect me.
And no, the cat has not got my togue, the book is not to accademic and the subject of Canadian imperialism only leaves me cold due to the shudders I get thinking of the perpetual horrors.
We agree, then, that there are not enough books on Canadian imperialism/foreign policy like this one. Yves Engler has, therefore, set a kind of benchmark for others to emulate or surpass.
Here, Engler notes the very same thing himself:
Hear, hear. Engler had 219 chapter notes for 26/27 pages on the middle east. He's done his homework. And that's bound to be important when an author is addressing some deeply held myths about Canada ... and is bound to be the subject of politically motivated criticism.
I look forward to many more books by Engler.