Canada Books

Perhaps the most stiking feature about Don. D. Marshall's book is its positive optimism in the absence of idealism. As the title suggests, the bleak apocalyptic picture so commonly forcasted of the Caribbean future, is not presented. Instead OPTION is the key part of the narrative of his argument. The precise aim of his argument was to not only identify the problems of Caribbean economy but also to present economic-political prescriptions that go beyond the rhetoric of common literature. Theoretically, the argument presents itself within the more eclectic framework of neo-structuralism. This theoretical framework is influenced by traditioal theories based on the Marxist type historical materialism found in world systems theory and dependency schools. However the emphasis is not on how the Structure affects the world's actors (primarily the state) but how the actors do and can indeed effect change on and exploit the structure. As he defines it neo-structuralism encompasses structuralist economics and concepts of conjuncture and geopolitics.(1998, p.9) This inturn informs his interpretation of the global challenges of today, to which some have attached the term Globalization. Central to the issue of response to global challenges, is the role of the State. Contrasting with Strange's(1996) argument about the decline of the role and autonomy of the state, Marshall's emphasis is that state role is underscored by the global challenges not minimized by it. However the concept of the state as traditionallly understood within populist or welfare typologies must be transformed. This echoes Ian Clark's (1999)work. Much like Marshall he recognises that states are not merely products of the global structure but they also create the structure by their own actions.

'. . . globalization becomes a phase in the continuing historical adaptation of the state, and not. . . its impending demise.'

Converging on the point of state transformation vis-a-vis the new global challenges, Clark (1999, p.103) says that state transformation involves the imperatives of change in state identity and that this change is linked to the evolving and unfolding of broader systemic changes. Marshall's historical illustrations in Chapter 2 elucidate the inadequacy of the concept and function of Caribbean states' role which contribute to the 'structural weakness of the Caribbean sub-region', which help perpetuate patterns of peripheralization. It is true that exogenous factors present difficulties in development but the role of the state is crucial to overcome these hurdles impeding advancement. Paraphrasing from Serbin, the Caribbean is a product of deliberate political acts but to rise successfully, the region must acquire a substance that trancends the origins of its birth.(Serbin, 1998, p. 10 quoting Giacalone 19956, p.5) The other aspect of the theoretical framework defined by Marshall was the importance of conjuncture and geopolitics. Structural opportunites arise at sensitive moments in history (conjuncture) and this in addition to the existence of the developmental state explain ascent. Empirically this was illustrated with his example of the ascent of Malaysia. Chapter 5 presented an interesting proposal of NAFTA/FTAA as an example of the link between structural opportunity and the developmental state. Mexico with a similar economic history to Caribbean states (IMF and World Bank interludes for example) and similar challenges of liberalization, provided a basis for Marshall to further deploy his argument. Despite the problems of debt and the exogenos pressures of liberalization, Mexico was able to secure for itself through politically and economicallly strategic negotiations and geopolitcal initiatives via the NAFTA/FTAA aggreement, the space for its paticualr sectors and industries. The point here for the Caribbean, is that an export-oriented economy driven by market forces but guided by a developmental state can be the answer to Caribbean ascent. Cognisance of the other limitations that impede Caribbean global competitiveness,like limited bureaucratic capactiites, is important. Marshall suggests that regional integration is essential to counter this. Unlike the rhetoric of functional integration perspectives that present integration as the cure-all prescription for Caribbean economic pathology, for Marsahll integration is only a tool to correct the structural weaknesses of the Caribbean region. As he pointed out, the national option and self-determination have desolved into archaisms. The requirements of global competitiveness - a vigourous entrepreneurial class and the capacity to negotiate an intensive neo-liberal course of action - are not possibly attainable by the indidvidual economies. It is the congruency of industrial and development policies that integration offers, that can allow the Caribbean to harness the structural opportunity that is to be found within NAFTA/FTAA. Marshall outlined extensively the technicalities of political and institutional reform and industrial policies that must occur in Chapter 6. Despite the clarity of his argument and the inclusion of sound empirical evidence, his argument fails to incorporate an in depth analysis of the kind of social transformation that his prescriptions entail. Considering the inextricable linkage of the social with the political, Marshall's casually borrowed prescription (p. 193) from Sir Arthur Lewis, recommending education campaigns and effective public relations to transform attitudes, seems altogether too flippantly dismissive of the weight of the social as an impedement to Caribbean ascent. The fragmenting power of the heterogenous social character of the Caribbean region aptly described by Serbin (1998, p. 108)must be dealt with in any discussion of the road to ascent and global competitiveness of the Caribbean. The logic of an export-oriented economy entails the attraction of foreign direct investment, of which Marshall is supportive. The dangers of increasing unchecked capital flows in an economy are ilustrated grimly by crises like the East Asian crisis of 1997. To guard against such vulneralbiltiies, Marshall advocates the 'disciplining' of capital. The feasibility of this for the Caribbean developmental state was not however convincingly argued by his vague allusions to the imposition of high taxation.(p.198) However, the surprisingly easy narrative of this book, general clarity and ingenuity of its theoretical progression and its sound empirical grounding make this book not only refreshing but useful for policy makers and all concerned abut the future of the Caribbean political economy.

Notes See Ian Clark (1999), Globalization and International Relations Theory, p. 91

References Clark, I. (1999), Globalization and International Realtions Theory, New York: Oxford University Press. Serbin, A. (1998), Sunset Over the Islands, London: Macmillan Educated Ltd. Strange, S. (1996), The Retreat of the State, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

I have just read Marshall's book explaining the source of the development crisis facing the Anglophone Caribbean. It is a text rich in analytical insight and valuable nuggets of empirical information. We learn here of the stymied role merchant capital in these parts, helped none by populist-driven politicians.

I was particularly excited about the theoretical framework in the book as it sought to go past global-centric and state-centric models for explaining underdevelopment in the Caribbean. Neostructuralism, as he explains, seeks to look at development opportunities that arise at historical moments and the catalytic role state and culture can play in producing successful development outcomes. Of course the record of the Caribbean has been about missed opportunities and he spends some time in Chapter 2 addressing these. More could have been said about the structure/agency debate and the kinds of institutional changes needed to improve Caribbean competitiveness, although both his opening chapter and Chapter 6 raise related issues. The Chapter on the Free Trade Area of the Americas was especially sharp about the importance of bargaining. The evidence brought to bear explaining how Mexico and Canada came to steer the NAFTA formation process in ways the US never imagined, make for interesting reading. It certainly exposes the lie which holds that countries of the South are always disadvantaged in North-South trade deals.

The final chapter features a discussion on the need to `reconstitute state power at the regional level'. It usefully combines earlier debates on the role of the state, synthesises old arguments about the problems shackling Caribbean integration, and open eyes as to the myriad possibilities that can flow provided politics is brought back to the centre of the integration process.

Where the book crosses over to a wider global audience is in its novel treatment of the globalisation phenomenon and the connection made between offshore banking and merchant capital. Pity these two strands were not brought together in his Chapter 3 on global restructuring. We are nonetheless reminded of world historical constants of boom and bust, core-periphery antinomies, inter-state/firm rivalry, and movement in the political economy of the world system. To wit, despite the myriad changes as it relates to computer technology, we should be reminded that the system's logic has not been fundamentally altered. We are back to the role capital plays and has played in human history for many centuries, millennia even (yes Frank and Gill's 1993/4 breakthrough work on world system history is read into his work as well!).

As a graduate student working in the field of Latin American studies, I find this book refreshing in its decomposition of the state, its nuanced reading of the role of capital domestically, and in its critique of neoliberal globalisation discourse. My only wish is that Macmillan Publishing & St. Martin's Press rush to get it in paperback.

Frontenac: The Courtier Governor is the absorbing and deftly researched biography of Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac (1622-1698), who was appointed governor general of New France in 1672. Though Louis de Buade was popularly credited with making a daunting and ruthless impression on the Iroquois, defying the military power of colonial Britain, and promoting the imperial expansion of France, his biographer W. J. Eccles (Professor of History, University of Toronto) deftly dissects these myths and steadfastly delves into a more sordid picture of the true Frontenac: a man out of his time who strived to hold on to power and status through corruption, favors at court, and the illicit drive for commerce in the West. A closely researched reexamination and interpretation of primary sources, Frontenac is seminal contribution to a colonial era portrait, and a welcome addition to Canadian and North American history and biography collections.

This is THE book on the fur trade, Canadian colonial government,
the Iroquois Wars, and Frontenac himself. It is not a biography of Frontenac, but an engaging history of French Canada. Highly recommended to me by an expert on the subject.

Dr. Hansen as compiled a complete guide to the carpenter ants of the US and Canada including keys, description of species, habitats, behavior, and other interesting facts. I recommend this publication to all who are involved with the identification and management recommendations of urban pests.

wanted to get information on carpenter ants as they have made many communities around my place...they're everywhere! this book is actually more than i asked for, a lot of information. slightly text bookish, but it is thorough and appears to cover all aspects of the carpenter ant. maybe i will make friends with the hundreds, thousands...millions of my "neighbors". need to read further. p.s. many different types of carpenter ants, and pictures very helpful.

I love this book! it is fun and lovely and really quite cuttie wootie~

I thought that Cassie Loves Beethoven was good because she could talk and play the piano.Then when she here's Beethoven's music her whole life changes.So then she goe's to a concert and she decides she need's to play an instrument,she tries almost every instrument but nothing seem's to work.Then Hallie and David's dad Myles made Cassie a 40 foot long piano.Then Cassie became very famous,then got mad at a newspaper review and got in a fight.From then on she just played for fun and with no audience.

If you want to read a book to give you just the right amount of Celine detail, you should read this book. Fans probably know most of the info in this book, but you can always know more. The pics are obviously beautiful and the author has a good point in writing...

I loved this book! It was amazing how Celine went from being part of a poor family in Quebec to being where she is today. It was a great story to read and seemed really well-researched. I'd recommend that any Celine fan buy this book!

Precised.Vivid pictures of Celine's best moments as an amazing artist.One of the best compilation,light and sleek.I highly recommend especialy for Celine fans.

I think that this book did an amazing job portraying the life of Celine Dion. The journey that you travel is full of detail, and any celine fan would enjoy this connection to Celine's past!

Collaboratively compiled, organized and edited by academicians Lorry Felske (Department of Canadian Studies, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary) and Beverly Rasporich, (Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary), Challenging Frontiers: The Canadian West is a compilation of essays by knowledgeable multidisciplinary contributors on identifying and critiquing the impact of the frontier on Canadian culture and society. These erudite essays are as informed and informative as they are thoughtful and thought- provoking. Offering an impressive and diverse body of seminal scholarship, Challenging Frontiers is highly commended reading for anyone with an interest in the development of the Canadian western frontier.

Collaboratively compiled, organized and edited by academicians Lorry Felske (Department of Canadian Studies, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary) and Beverly Rasporich, (Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary), Challenging Frontiers: The Canadian West is a compilation of essays by knowledgeable multidisciplinary contributors on identifying and critiquing the impact of the frontier on Canadian culture and society. These erudite essays are as informed and informative as they are thoughtful and thought- provoking. Offering an impressive and diverse body of seminal scholarship, Challenging Frontiers is highly commended reading for anyone with an interest in the development of the Canadian western frontier.

Creep's time travelling adventures may be too harrowing for younger readers; in the past he is subjected to apalling child labor (slavery) and physical abuse. However, this is an important subject for older kids. The book is intriguing and suspenseful, and will keep you reading so you will learn some general history in a uniquely concrete, real way. I couldn't put the book down; but I felt the end did not explain everything to my satisfaction, the novel's only drawback.

This book is what led me to become interested in the Victorian period. You can't put it down. Younger children will be put off by the unfamiliar English, but older children who have a little more historical background and patience with language will like it. I think this is a brilliant depiction of the horrors of the Industrial Revolution, where child labour was so brutal and so prevalent. Stylistically, it's lyrical and has what we don't often see: the "kind of" happy ending. It really makes you think about our own society and where we have come from. Books like these are important because children can feel a link to kids in the past, and therefore come to a better understanding of the past. Yes, it's gruesome (children get beaten and disfigured), but that's historical truth for you. This is the perfect antidote for the books (and teachers) that insist on never rocking the boat. A thoughtful child of about 11-14 will enjoy this book.

A touching story about a little girl who loves her old country, yet has new hopes and dreams for her new country. Must have for Asian-Americans and anyone who knows the pain of leaving their own country for another.

Joe Chang wonderfully illustrates Madeleine Thien's The Chinese Violin, a gentle ethnic story of Lin Lin and her father, who immigrate to canada from China with a treasured traditional Chinese violin in hand. The violin brings good luck, until one day it's broken. Can they still adjust to life in their new country without it?

I found the book to be very informative. No matter which area of the United States you'll be travelling in, there are suggestions for fun things for the whole family to enjoy. It's really packed with information. I'm taking it along with me on my drive to Florida.

This book is exactly what it says it is: a great companion guide for Christian/family travel. It is intended to be used alongside a traditional guide, like Frommer's, etc. It is very fast and easy to use, with information arranged by region, state, and then city. Well worth the small investment if you're concerned about keeping your vacation spots fun for the whole family.