Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism
George Grant's Lament for a Nation remains essential reading
for anyone interested in questions of Canadian identity,
sovereignty, and national unity.
Warns with unsurpassed clarity of the dangerous shoals surrounding
Canada
Canadians have relatively few binding national myths, but one of
the most pervasive and enduring is the conviction that the country
is doomed. In 1965 George Grant passionately defended Canadian
identity by asking fundamental questions about the meaning and
future of Canada's political existence. In Lament for a Nation
he argued that Canada - immense and under-populated, defined by a
shared border, history, and culture with the United States, and
torn by conflicting loyalties to Britain, Quebec, and America - had
ceased to exist as a sovereign state. Nonetheless, Lament for a
Nation became the seminal work in Canadian political thought and
Grant became known as the father of Canadian nationalism.
The fortieth anniversary edition introduces Lament for a Nation to
a new generation. A major introduction by Andrew Potter explores
Grant's arguments in the context of changes in ethnic
diversity, free trade, globalization and post-modernism. Potter
discusses the shifting uses of the terms "liberal" and
"conservative" and closes with a look at the current
state of Canadian nationalism.
George Grant's Lament for a Nation remains essential reading
for anyone interested in questions of Canadian identity,
sovereignty, and national unity.
Reviews:
"Lament for a Nation should be respected as a masterpiece of
political meditation ... In this study Professor Grant opened
Canadian public debate, with frankness and depth, to include the
most fundamental and perennial questions a nation must ask itself
about the full meaning of its own political existence. He
challenged us to reflect on the unique possibilities and limits
constituting our destiny as Canadians." Peter Emberley,
Professor of Political Science, Carleton University.
"Masterpiece is not a word to use lightly, but Lament for a
Nation merits it. In it Grant distilled his years of study of
theology and philosophy, together with his knowledge of history and
his acute attention to the daily passage of political events. The
former adult educator put it all into a book that was instantly
accessible to the broad reading public, but rewarded repeated
reading by academic philosophers." William Christian, author
of George Grant: A Biography
"the most popular book -- it got about 10 nominations - was Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism, the galvanizing 1965 work in which George Grant described a country being erased by continentalism." Globe and Mail "Lament for a Nation should be respected as a masterpiece of political meditation ... In this study Professor Grant opened Canadian public debate, with frankness and depth, to include the most fundamental and perennial questions a nation must ask itself about the full meaning of its own political existence. He challenged us to reflect on the unique possibilities and limits constituting our destiny as Canadians." Peter Emberley, Professor of Political Science, Carleton University "Masterpiece is not a word to use lightly, but Lament for a Nation merits it. In it Grant distilled his years of study of theology and philosophy, together with his knowledge of history and his acute attention to the daily passage of political events. The former adult educator put it all into a book that was instantly accessible to the broad reading public, but rewarded repeated reading by academic philosophers." William Christian, author of George Grant: A Biography ONE OF AMAZON'S 50 ESSENTIAL CANADIAN BOOKS
Grant, George. Potter, Andrew: Universite de Montreal
