Goodbye to one of Canada's greatest journalists, explorers and historians. I have read many of his books, from The Mysterious North to The Last Spike, and I am never left without an absolute sense of awe for the depth of his knowledge and his conviction in this country of ours.
Not just an esteemed author, but a consummate Canadian. He will be missed.
Just read that. Sad.
The man influenced Gord, all ya need to do is read The Last Spike. I kept marking page after page when after noticing "Corduroy Roads," "Wheat Kings" and "The long line of longitude known as the Hundredth Meridian."
There's a ton of Gordie speak in his work. But hey, 84 good years, a true cultural icon, and he as rolling joints on national TV right up until the end!
The dude hated Bush, and loved to make political statements... hmmm... a showman to the end! Go Softly Pierre.
With Dubbya in town and the entire CBC crew, including infastructure, in Ottawa to cover Dubbya, Peter Mansbridge just led off the nations largest newscast with the news of Pierre's death.
Somewhere, he's loving that.
A simple, but great, Berton Hip related quote:
"A country has to have a mythology."
oh man, this is the first Ive heard of this..very sad. I loved his books and his candor, dang.
RIP to a true Canadian icon...
RIP Burton.
Anyone here read Vimy? An amazing read. I recommend it.
prz Wrote:RIP Burton.
Anyone here read Vimy? An amazing read. I recommend it.
Chilling... I'll never, ever forget the imagery of the entire Canadian Corps at Vimy lining up at the head of the trenches and waiting for the order to go at dawn...
The "fix bayonettes" order came... and as the clicking echoed down the trenches like domino's, the soldiers knew that when the clicking stopped, and the last soldier had readied his weapon, they would go over the top and face almost certain death.
Chilling.
Vimy would be my favorite Burton book for sure. I think I will have to read it again now.