Saskatchewan's Own: People Who Made a Difference

Michael Payne is head of the Research and Publications Program at the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development, and
the co-author of A Narrative History of Fort Dunvegan.

Collections of short biographies of distinguished individuals have
become one of the most common types of non-fiction writing, and Western
Canada has produced at least one master of this popular genre: Grant
MacEwan. It is probably fitting, then, that MacEwan himself is one of
the biographees in this book.

Readers could find fuller, and often more critical, biographical
treatments of most of those Clemence profiles, but many will be happy
with exactly the kind of short, brisk, journalistic biographies he
offers. Each biography is about three to five pages long, which ensures
that the reader never gets bogged down in unnecessary detail.

Clemence features a cross-section of Saskatchewan characters, including
some who are little known (Corky Jones, Marion Gilroy, Йdouard
Beaupré, Gladys Arnold) and some that are well known (Louis Riel, John
Diefenbaker, Big Bear, Tommy Douglas). His list of subjects ranges
broadly across the fields of politics, education, sports, the arts,
business, and community service. Best of all, Clemence is an engaging
writer who often manages to inject some personal connection into his
biographical sketches.