About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
A passionate call for Canadians to take stock and reengage with our country and its values before we falter as a nation.
Canadians have come to embrace their country as a "postmodern state"-a nation that downplays its history and makes few demands on its citizens, allowing them to find their allegiances where they may -- in their region, their ethnic heritage or the language they speak. The notion of a national identity, with shared responsibilities and a common purpose, is considered out of date, even a disadvantage in a borderless world of transnational economies, resurgent regions and global immigration.
In this timely and provocative book, Rudyard Griffiths argues that this vision of Canada is an intellectual and practical dead end. Without a strong national identity and robust civic values, the country will be hard pressed to meet the daunting challenges that lie ahead: the social costs of an aging population, the unavoidable effects of global warming and the fallout of a dysfunctional immigration system.
What's needed is a rediscovery of the founding principles that made Canada the nation it is today, core values that can form a civic creed for our own times. In a passionate call to revitalize our shared citizenship, Griffiths reminds us of who we are, what we've accomplished and why a loyalty beyond the local and personal is essential for our nation's survival.
Awards
- , Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing
Editorial Reviews
"Who We Are's diagnosis of the postnational predicament is compelling, refreshing and highly relevant...While Who We Are doesn't present all the answers, it does us an enormous service by opening up the debate. Taking on myths might seem very un-Canadian, but in writing this book, Griffiths distinguishes himself as one of the very best Canadians of his generation."
— Globe & Mail
"Who We Are: A Citizen's Manifesto isn't only about who we are but also about who, in Griffiths opinion, we ought to be."
— National Post
"Who We Are is a bold and sometimes provocative book: while rejecting crude nationalism, Griffiths insists that multicultural Canada in a complicated, often volatile world is best served by a more robust idea of citizenship and a stronger allegiance to its traditions and institutions...it is...the starting point of a conversation that we can only ignore at our peril."
— The Walrus
"[Griffiths] book melds logical clarity with truly excellent prose."
— Inside Queen's Park
"In his new book Who We Are...Rudyard Griffiths challenges Canadians to rediscover the founding principals of Canadian nationhood and revitalize our sense of citizenship."
— Financial Post
"A genuine cri de coeur...for a new and better Canada written by one of the brightest stars of the rising generation."
— J.L. Granatstein
"A must-read for every Canadian concerned about where we are headed as a nation."
— Rick Mercer
"In this provocative work, Griffiths argues that at this critical juncture Canadians need to rediscover our country's founding principles -- robust civic values and social solidarity -- so that we can create a movement of passionate citizenship, one which will keep us accountable not just to our neighbourhoods and cities, but to our country."
— Argyle Magazine
"An eloquent and hard-headed argument for reinventing a shared vision of what it means to be Canadian."
— Margaret Wente
