Toronto Since 1918: An Illustrated History

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

This is the companion volume to Toronto to 1918 (reviewed in CBRA 1984, item 4007). Here urban geographer Lemon traces the changes in twentieth century Toronto, changes that turned the English majority into a minority and Toronto into a Roman Catholic city. The biggest non-change is the story of how Toronto coped with growth and survived all of the disruptions that characterize American cities.

There are many illustrations and photographs (about 140 of them, some seen for the first time in book form) as well as eleven original maps. Perhaps Lemon’s finest writing and most interesting account is reserved for the beginnings of social welfare in Toronto and the city’s concern for its children. An excellent book, crisply written, if perhaps not as stylish in its delivery as Careless was in the earlier title.