So, You Want to Be Canadian: All About the Most Fascinating People in the World and the Magical Place We Call Home

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

This amusing guide to what it is to be Canadian was written by a
nostalgic Canadian ex-pat and his enthusiastic American wife, who
“wants to be Canadian so much that she married her co-author.” From
their home in San Francisco, they explore the premise that “EVERYBODY
wants to be Canadian!” They guide the reader through Canada’s
geography, its provinces and territories, while providing snippets of
its history and politics.

The “Canadian Timeline” chapter traces “Great Moments of a Great
Country,” from 40,000 BC to August 1, 2004: from the time “first
settlers arrive from Asia via Beringia, the land bridge connecting
Siberia to Alaska” to the day So, You Want to Be Canadian is published
“to international acclaim.”

There are chapters on how to dress like a Canadian, speak like a
Canadian, even how to apologize like a Canadian. All are illustrated
with entertaining line drawings. “Famous Canadian Hotties: Gals and
Guys” include celebrities Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Kim Cattrall,
Matthew Perry, Kiefer Sutherland, and Michael J. Fox. Canadians Peter
Jennings (recently Americanized), John Roberts, and Arthur Kent are
among Canada’s newshound exports.

Canadian food specialties mentioned are poutine, butter tarts, Nanaimo
bars, and beaver tails. For gourmets, there is a recipe for Moose
Stroganoff. Drinks run the gamut from beer to rye whisky, ice wine, and
screech. Sports are headed by hockey, followed by curling and
basketball, the invention of James Naismith of Ontario.

This tongue-in-cheek evaluation of Canada and Canadians is a fun read.