It is a bit of deja vu for History professor Jonathan Vance as he finds himself on The Globe and Mail’s annual list of the Top 100 most influential books.
For the second year in a row, Vance is in the company of some of the country’s top writers, this time for his book A History of Canadian Culture.
History professor Jonathan Vance’s latest book – A History of Canadian Culture – has hit the Globe’s Top 100 list.
“You don’t write for the accolades, but rather so people can read your work,” admits Vance, whose book Unlikely Soldiers made the list in 2008.
“And because writing is a solitary craft, you never know how people are going to respond to a book – it may sound great to you, but will anyone else care? So to be included in a list like this – a list that tells people that this really is a book worth reading – is a great honour.”
Vance says he writes because he loves the subjects he writes about. For others to see merit is “a real bonus.”
In his latest book, Vance talks about a country of great diversity, where culture has many different shades of importance and meaning. From Aboriginal culture to plays created by Canadian sailors, Vance weaves together many ‘I didn’t know that’ tales in exploring Canada’s cultural history.
Vance says worrying about Canadian culture is one of the definitions of ‘Canadianness’ – whether it’s ‘Are we doing enough to support it?’ and ‘Should we do more?’ to ‘Why are we doing so much to support it?’ and ‘Why can’t it stand on its own?’
“If we weren’t fretting about culture, we wouldn’t be Canadian,” says Vance.
“I finally decided that there’s no one answer to where or what is Canadian culture, because it means so many different things to so many different people.But it’s all important, and we need to admit that to ourselves.
People outside of Canada have always valued our culture more than we have – it’s time for us to recognize its quality and significance.”
A History of Canadian Culture was the No. 5 best-seller in Canada earlier this year and the book was also shortlisted for the 2009 Pierre Berton Award, Canada’s top honour for writers and producers of Canadian history in popular media.
There is no slowing down for Vance, who has three projects on the go – one on enlistment into the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, another on Canadian-British relations during the two world wars, and the third is a biography of a Jewish-Canadian doctor who was a prisoner of war in the Far East during the Second World War.
“It’s been a terrific year, and it sure makes it worthwhile when you reflect back on those countless hours spent toiling away in obscurity,” jokes Vance. “Now if I could only sell a screenplay, my kids would really be impressed.”