Historical Atlas of Canada, Vol. 2: The Land Transformed, 1800-1891

J.L. Granatstein is a history professor at York University and co-author
of the Dictionary of Canadian Military History and Shadows of War, Faces
of Peace: Canada’s Peacekeepers.

Hard as it is to remember now, there once was a period of optimism in
Canadian academe and academic publishing. Big, expensive projects were
launched in full confidence that the money would keep on coming. The
three-volume Historical Atlas of Canada was one such project, and
happily it has completed its work even as the money has dried up. This
is a superb volume in a splendid series, a triumph of the
cartographer’s art, and all the more important for being soundly based
on impressive historical research. In 58 plates, the history and
development of 19th-century Canada is laid out with clear graphics.
Additional features, such as the look of domestic buildings, convey the
feel of the era, and there are even artistic representations and a small
chart of the important painters and photographs. In this case, the money
was well spent, and the Historical Atlas will long stand as a milestone
in Canadian scholarship.