A Dance Called America: The Scottish Highlands, the U. S. and Canada

Book Description

This is an account of what happened to the thousands of people who left the Scottish Highlands to make a new life in the United States and Canada. The book evaluates the impact of people from the Highlands on the New World. It is the story of how soldiers, explorers, fur traders, lumberjacks, guerilla fighters, railway builders, and pioneer settlers from the northern part of Scotland contributed to the United States and Canada.

Customer Reviews:

"Sauvages d'Ecosse" Marching To the Sound of the Bagpipes.......2007-06-25

Perchance I was daydreaming in my world and American history classes when this was covered, but I graduated not only from high school but also from university with absolutely no appreciation of the full impact that Scottish Highlanders made on both future North American nations in the 18th and 19th centuries. Moreover, I had no knowledge whatsoever of the plight of the Highlanders in their own country nor of their eviction from their crofts, or rented lands, by the landowners, a profit-driven action that led to the Highlanders' emigration to the New World in the first place. Hunter's account goes far to rectify these omissions in my understanding of this facet of history.

Among a few of the more intriguing facts to be encountered in this book are that the Highlanders, following their defeat by the English, largely joined the armies of their conquerors and were soon deployed in defense of English interests. Meanwhile, back in Scotland, they were being dispossessed of their livelihoods by landowners who saw greater profit in large-scale sheep ranching than in the rents of their former tenants. The latter action led to migration of displaced Scots to New World colonies, where they remained loyal Tories even as their fellow New World neighbors decided to rebel and form a new nation independent of the English. As it became clear that they were on the losing side, many moved north to join those who had settled on the lands of what would later become Canada.

Some of those Highlanders who had gone directly to the northlands had done so as soldiers for the English and had defeated the French who had already claimed Quebec as their own (though a longer view of history shows us that French influence remained predominant in Quebec!).

In addition to their vast influence and ownership in the major fur trading companies, the Highlanders, or at least their immediate descendants, may be held responsible for the confederation of the provinces into what would become the Canadian nation, the building of the first transcontinental Canadian railroad, and even the advent of the sport of ice hockey! Along the way to their lasting contributions, however, the Highlanders found the same deprivation, starvation, disease, and death that awaited many other immigrants of two and three centuries ago, all of which Hunter's book carefully details.

I have but one criticism of this fine historical expose, that it does not include a glossary or footnotes with phonetic renderings of the Scottish terms and place names that one meets in the text. I have no idea whether my mental "pronunciation" even approximates something that a Scot would recognize! Also, I wish I had discovered the book when it was first released in hardcover, for a work this enduring and this significant deserves a better presentation that a soft-cover edition. I see that earlier reviewers have recommended the book for readers with an interest in the Scots; I should like to go further and extend that recommendation to readers with an interest in the early history of North America, both the U.S. and Canada, as well as an interest in the hardships endured by early immigrants to the New World, and perhaps those who find pleasure in being surprised by running across seldom-known facts that still impact contemporary life. To be happily surprised and entertained while being instructed is sometimes a difficult condition to achieve, but A DANCE CALLED AMERICA should enable everyone to achieve that condition!

How and Why did all those Scots get to North America?.......2002-02-12

Everyone has heard about the potato famines that drove the many Irish immigrants to North America, but what about their celtic sisters and brothers in Scotland? Was it the clearances or was it the disasterous battle at Culloden in 1745? Hunter's book looks not only at the myriad of issues that emptied the highlands, but also at how the Scotts got to North American and what happened to them when they got there. Hunter explains not only the economic factors in Scotland, but also the brutal conditions that many Scots endured during their passage to Canada and the United States. He looks at the political issues in Scotland, England, Canada and the United State. He examines how they survived and why what they did often depended on when and where they landed. Early emmigrants tended to have money whereas those coming later had next to nothing. Hunter tells you about the businesses that they started, the communities that they built and the leadership that they provide even today to new continent. A Dance Called America opens your eyes to a group of people rarely considered when examining the settlement of North America. While anyone interested in history will enjoy this book, those of Scottish descent will find it particularly interesting

A book that I can't forget.......2001-12-27

Some books like some movies stay with you. I learned so much about what happened in Scotland from Hunter's very interesting accounts. This book has made the kind of impression that compells me to reread it and loan it to others. It's a keeper in my bookcase now for reference. Now I am in the process of visiting those places both in Scotland and in America where these displaced peoples were sent.

An excellent book on the Scots coming to North America.......2001-06-11

James Hunter has written a great book on Scottish immigration to North America. He strikes a very good balance between Scottish events that determined why people emmigrated, and the different experiences of these gaelic pioneers.

Different periods of emmigration and settlements of Scottish immigrants are covered. The research is very detailed but thankfully doesn't result in statistics which will bore you. Rather Hunter concentrates on the actual experiences of notable settlers and explorers. It's a descriptive account that brings the period alive. I found the description of the quarantine station at Grosse Ile and Cholera Bay to be particularly moving.

This book is more than a chronicle of the hardships, challenges and frustrations that these early settlers had to endure. It reminds us of their achievements and significant contributions. You can appreciate them that much more knowing of their suffererings in a tough, new land.

I'd be giving this book five stars, but I would have liked some maps and I found the chapter on Craigellachie to wander a little bit. But this is still a wonderful book. If you're interested in Scotland or have any Scottish ancestors, add this book to your collection.

An outstanding book on a crucial period of Scottish history.......1997-10-28

Anyone who is a Scot or has a Scottish background will be fascinated by this book. Meticulously researched, it describes the harrowing lives of the many Scots folks who emigrated to the US and Canada during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Book Description

Two pioneer women, as different as can be. Two secrets skillfully buried, but not forgotten. Two journeys to embrace the Bittersweet Bliss of the Canadian frontier.

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Island - The Complete Stories by Alistair MacLeod
Finest writing I've read in ages
A Bittersweet Look Back Home
An English Assignment Gone Well...
Amazing!

Island: The Complete Stories
Alistair Macleod
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375713042
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Amazon.com

"Once there was a family with a Highland name who lived beside the sea." So begins "As Birds Bring Forth the Sun," a 1985 entry from Island. The story continues, "And the man had a dog of which he was very fond." And there you have the basic elements of an Alistair MacLeod story: dog, family, and sea. The author--whose 2000 novel No Great Mischief won him a measure of long-overdue acclaim--shuffles these elements into a surprisingly infinite variety of configurations, always with the same precise, confident, quiet language.

His big theme is the abandonment of the rural. Though his characters live in the fishing communities of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the seaside isn't a place where they dwell contentedly. In half the stories, young men and boys feel a pull toward academe and the center of the country. In the other half, academically successful middle-aged men return to the wild eastern coast of Canada to try to reclaim the life they left behind. Both dilemmas are impossible to resolve--no one can be both a city mouse and a country mouse--and MacLeod wisely doesn't offer easy solutions.

What makes the writing sing, though, is the specificity of his descriptions of rural life. He tells you exactly how things work: "The sheep move in and out of their lean-to shelter, restlessly stamping their feet or huddling together in tightly packed groups. A conspiracy of wool against the cold." The people here are ultimately defined by the physical world, and MacLeod has a farmer's visceral feel for geography. As he writes in "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood": "Even farther out, somewhere beyond Cape Spear lies Dublin and the Irish coast; far away but still the nearest land, and closer now than is Toronto or Detroit, to say nothing of North America's more western cities; seeming almost hazily visible now in imagination's mist." This is regional fiction in the best sense: it belongs to one perfectly evoked place. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

The sixteen exquisitely crafted stories in Island prove Alistair MacLeod to be a master. Quietly, precisely,
He has created a body of work that is among the greatest to appear in English in the last fifty years.

A book-besotted patriarch releases his only son from the obligations of the sea. A father provokes his young son to violence when he reluctantly sells the family horse. A passionate girl who grows up on a nearly deserted island turns into an ever-wistful woman when her one true love is felled by a logging accident. A dying young man listens to his grandmother play the old Gaelic songs on her ancient violin as they both fend off the inevitable. The events that propel MacLeod's stories convince us of the importance of tradition, the beauty of the landscape, and the necessity of memory.

Customer Reviews:

Island - The Complete Stories by Alistair MacLeod.......2007-02-28

It is a rare treat to read sentimental material authored by a man who writes so poignantly. Without analyzing each "vignette" contained in this compiled work of MacLeod's, it is enough to say that each created a vivid picture of the life and times MacLeod was writing about. If you aren't homesick for any town you've come from, then you are after you read these stories.

Finest writing I've read in ages.......2007-02-22

This collection is, without doubt, the most beautifully written prose I've had the privilege to read in a very long time. MacLeod's writing is both subtle and harrowing, harking back to a more literate age, and filled with such simple, in-the-bone truths that it brings tears -- real tears, not cheap tears -- to my eyes. I can't recommend this book highly enough -- this is a writer whose work is imbued with the integrity and polish that is so sadly lacking in so much of today's literature. MacLeod has obviously taken his time writing these stories, and each one is a gem. He made me care deeply about the characters, their lives, and their losses. Read this book at once!

A Bittersweet Look Back Home.......2004-03-27

I read this book over two years ago and parts of it continue to haunt me. It tells of life in Cape Breton in the province, I believe, of Nova Scotia. It is written by a man who grew up there. This is a part of the nearby world that I have always wanted to visit. I may yet get to do that but I'm not sure whether MacLeod's book has made me more anxious or less anxious to do so. His Breton is a place where life is not at all like the pretty postcard that many of us imagine. In his collection of short stories and sketches, we come away with an appreciation of the hard times and sturdy people but we don't necessarily want them moving next door. There are a number of stories and scenes that really bring people to life in a very down to earth manner. The story of the loneliness of the girl in the title story was overwelming. I recall a number of references to sex that were made throughout the book in a sort of agrarian manner; taking the cow to be "serviced" by the neighbor's bull was almost as emotional as some of the human intercourses. Things had their purpose and occassionally there was a purpose for fun but much of the imagry I took away from this book was that of a very stoic people. I gave it a rating of "5" because I rounded up this time from a 4.5. This book definitely will have an impact on its' reader. Not a joyful or inspiring impact but an impact nonetheless,

An English Assignment Gone Well..........2004-01-28

When I first picked up my copy of Island I had two thoughts. Wow this cover is pretty, and Wow this book is (relatively) big, at least to read in a week or so. However once I started reading the first few lines of "The Boat" (a story I'd coincidentally read the year before and didn't even realize till the end) I found myself liking MacLeod's simple yet descriptive style. Written in a way such that a reader can picture the story being told out loud, much like traditional maritimes tales are done through oral speakings, these 16 stories each encapsulate the reader leaving you wanting to know what will happen to the characters within the story and beyond.

Many of the stories are written from the perspective of an older male looking back on a particular snapshot of atime period in their youth, usually a moment of clarity in coming of age (although sometimes its only just starting, as some stories are set with main characters as young as 8 or 9. There are variations of lessons of love, death, learning from your parents, upholding traditions, starting afresh, surviving in extreme conditions, and just general lessons of life.

I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, and while they are not my fave genre of writing, these particular stories, although sometimes overly simplistic and almost annoying in terms of some stylistic aspects, will engage a reader to continue reading each story from start to finish. A triumph in Alistair MacLeod's life is that his collected works can create a whole that is quite powerful.

Amazing!.......2002-07-12

I went looking for a book to read; one that was smart, but not pretentious in its prose. One that would hold my interest, but that I wouldn't spend the rest of the summer reading. On a wim, I grabbed this book. And found exactly what I was looking for.
Alistair MacLeod writes with astounding sight and insight. It's difficult to describe a writer this good. He writes simply, but beautifully. He tells us just what we need to know, but often through new ways of looking at things. You're kind of riding along for a while, and then one simple sentence will knock you for a loop because it rings so true. In The Return, a story of a man who has married, moved to Vancouver and not been back to Cape Breton to visit his mother, father and brothers in nearly a decade, MacLeod perfectly shows us the anger, hurt and pain experienced by all. Even the son who is narrating the story understands the underlying tension in the house. "It is morning now and I awake to the argument of the English sparrows outside my window and the fingers of the sun upon my floor." A sentence perfectly put in the story at a time when the tension is felt, but not quite understood to what level it may rise. Everything about Cape Breton is tension in this story, even the birds.
Quite often in this book, the sentences that nail you are because of the build up. It reminds me of the movie the Wonder Boys with Michael Douglas (not in scenario or character or theme, but in prose), where it builds, and you aren't quite sure where it is all going, but you are intrigued, and then Christina Ricci says, "Do you remember how you always tell us that a writer has to make choices? It's just that you haven't made any choices." And even though she is discussing his novel, you know it means so much more than that.
That is how Alistair MacLeod writes. His sentences are simple, but they mean oh so much more than that.

Seasons of Bliss: A Novel (Saskatchewan Saga, 4)

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Seasons of Bliss: A Novel (Saskatchewan Saga, 4)
Ruth Glover
Manufacturer: Revell
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ASIN: 0800757920

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Young Tierney surprisingly meets her old boyfriend from Scotland, Robbie. Now the two must see if their love can overcome the obstacles of life in the wilds of Canada.

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Fast Sailing And Copper-bottomed: Aberdeen Sailing Ships And the Emigrant Scots They Carried to Canada, 1774-1855

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Fast Sailing And Copper-bottomed: Aberdeen Sailing Ships And the Emigrant Scots They Carried to Canada, 1774-1855
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Scots in the North American West, 1790-1917

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America and the Old West come to life.

Scots in the North American West, 1790-1917
Ferenc Morton Szasz
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Although Scots have never been an exceptionally large immigrant group in North America, their presence in the West proved significant in a variety of arenas. In this unique and engaging new book, Ferenc Morton Szasz outlines the many contributions Scots have made to the development of the region.

Scots trappers dominated the fur trade, often proving more loyal to clan than to trading company or nation. Relying on centuries of experience raising livestock for British markets, Scottish investors and managers became highly visible in the post-Civil War western cattle industry with thriving outfits such as the Swan Land and Cattle Company in Wyoming. They introduced new breeds to western ranching, such as the Aberdeen Angus, that remain popular today. Similarly, Scots herders dominated the western sheep industry, running herds of over 100,000 animals. Andrew Little's sheep ranch in Idaho was so famous that a letter addressed simply "Andy Little, USA" found its intended recipient. This book illuminates the many Scottish explorers, adventurers, artists, photographers, and writers who helped forge what is perhaps America's greatest cultural export--the myth of the West.

Customer Reviews:

America and the Old West come to life........2002-07-17

This book provided an interesting insight into the Scottish influence in the west, told sometimes in storybook fashion, but still informative and entertaining. Author also provides good references and other suggested readings that are helpful. I would highly recommend this reading especially for those who want to explore Scottish heritage outside of Scotland.

Metagama: A Journey from Lewis to the New World

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Metagama: A Journey from Lewis to the New World
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ASIN: 1841581348

Book Description

In 1923 the first of three Canadian liners arrived in Stornoway. Their mission, with the connivance of government officials, was to remove landless islanders, many of which were war veterans, rather than give them a plot of land. This is a very human story and the author interweaves the stories of those who emigrated to a new life with that of the island they left behind.

James Mackay: a man to cherish 1761-1822

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James Mackay: A Man To Cherish 1761-1822

James Mackay: a man to cherish 1761-1822
Helen Ogden Widener
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

James Mackay a man to cherish 1761-1822 is a Historical Narrative about a young boy who left his home in the far North of Scotland when he was about 15 or 16 years of age. The story of James Mackay's life is told by his widow, Isabella Long Mackay, to their grandson, John Barker during the summer of 1859. James was born in a long-house croft during the time Scotland was still reeling from the loss of its Sovereignty. He was a Canadian Fur Trader, Explorer and Map Maker. He was the Discoverer of the Yellowstone River. He was the Author of the Missouri River Map used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Customer Reviews:

James Mackay: A Man To Cherish 1761-1822.......2006-03-26

An excellant historical novel with details of a man who left home as a teenager and mapped Canada and the upper Missouri during his life as a fur trapper. His maps were later used by Lewis and Clark and are now in the Smithsonian.

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