James Laxer (1941–2018)

An evocative and beautifully written history of some of Canada's earliest settlers, and their search for a definitive home. In 1604, a small group of migrants fled political turmoil and famine in France to start a new colony on Canada's east coast. Their roughly demarcated territory included what are now Canada's Maritime provinces, land that was fought over by the British and French empires until the Acadians were finally expelled in 1755. Their diaspora persists to this day. The Acadians is the definitive history of a little-known part of the North American past, and the quintessential story of a people in search of their identity. In the absence of a state, what defines an Acadian is elusive and while today's Acadian community centred in New Brunswick is more confident than ever, it is entering a contentious debate about its future. James Laxer's compelling book brilliantly explores one of Canada's oldest and most distinct cultural groups, and shows how their complex, often tragic history reflects the larger problems facing Canada and the world today. From the Hardcover edition.… (meer)

So disappointing. Where to even begin. I am unclear if this book is just sloppy or if it is willfully ignorant and intentionally incorrect.

Laxer is a poli sci professor at York University in Toronto (which makes the factual errors even ore disappointing). He is writing about his perceptions of California as a Canadian. Which sounds interesting.

• The title implies he traveled around California. No, he traveled between San Diego (I don't mean the Mexican border--I mean Coronado/Balboa Park) and San Juan Capistrano. That's a distance of 70 miles. 70!
• He discusses the "schemers" who want to flood the Rockies trench in Canada to divert Canada's water to the Colorado River. WTF? That sounds like a seriously crackpot scheme, which I have never heard of. It is clear he knows Americans hate taxes, so how would something that insanely expensive ever even get funded? He seems to take it seriously.
• He thinks I-5 is "the main north-south interstate along the coast of California". I-5 only follows the coast between....San Diego and San Clemente. The only part of the state he traveled in. There is no interstate along the coast all the rest of the way up the pacific coast until...Olympia. In Washington, And yes it's I-5.
• He uses Hispanic and Latino interchangeably. They do not mean the same thing.
• He doesn't believe it's true that a "good" neighborhood can border a "bad" one. Yes, it's true. Weird, but true.
• He believes the constitution guarantees the right of individuals to own guns. That's what the NRA would have you believe, but that's not actually what it says--it refers to guns for a "well-regulated militia". And our volunteer Army now is very very different than the volunteer militias that existed c 1776.

Sloppy or ignorant or willfully wrong? Or all of the above?… (meer)

James Laxer, the dust jacket tells us, is an award winning author of 16 books, and is a political science professor at York University in Toronto.

When I picked up this book and read the dust jacket, I got the impression that this book had an agenda. The table of contents lists chapter titles and topical subheadings. Both simply identify the key historical topics Laxer is putting forth on those pages. Before I began reading, I suspected this book might be one of two things. A history of the world, by way of answering these questions: In each era, who were the major players and how did they run things? Or, it was this Canadian’s anti-American version of “info-tainment”, à la Fox News. As soon as I got into the first chapter, however, I realized that James Laxer was not just giving us a brief history of empirical forms of government. He wrote an awesome argumentative research paper. Form following function, this book is organized very much like a five point argument.

Chapter 1 functions as our thesis statement. America is an empire.
Laxer acknowledges that some people do not agree with this classification, and briefly explores why. He explains that empires function in various ways. Some are “formal” and some “informal”. Beyond that there are various types: slave empire, mercantile empire, capitalist empire, and global empire. The author makes a connection between empire states and their need for slave labor. Laxer includes some quotes from Frederick Engels’ philosophical writing, in order to validate his claim that slavery and empires are sister institutions, historically speaking.

There are no maps in this section, but the Engels quotes and their context are displayed in an Information Insert. The insert takes up one entire page. (Maybe I should say, just one page. One of the later inserts takes up three pages.) The copy is in a different font to distinguish it from the main argument. The font color is black and it is in a grey box. The information included in the later inserts are all relevant to the argument that Laxer presents, but this method of quarantining certain details allows him to preserve some brevity when he is connecting major points.

In Chapter 2 Laxer briefly outlines 12 empires in history. There are five maps in this section that provide the reader with a reference for the scope of various empires, insofar as to show the time period they held power, and their physical borders and territories. Indigenous American empires, Hitler’s Third Reich, the Soviets, and the French are not illustrated, though they are discussed. This book is not an all-inclusive history of empirical forms of government throughout human existence. In Chapters 3 and 4, Laxer focuses on the actions of American Empire. It is a tight, thorough, convincing argument. The final chapter is not a summation; rather Laxer details some of the societal consequences of empirical governance. It transfers the author’s sense of urgency, and inspires the reader to pick a side.

There is no formal Afterword, but directly after the text of the final chapter, Laxer details two uprisings to British Imperial authority that occurred almost simultaneously with two Information Inserts: The Quest for Irish Freedom and India’s Struggle Against the British Raj. Using these final 13 pages, Laxer delivers a potent warning that empirical domination can breed terrorism. He also shows us the potential for incredible cruelty in the name of preserving the ruling empire’s authority.

Before I read this book I was unfamiliar with Groundwood Books and the Groundwork Guide series. Based on the way it was presented on the cover, my fear was that Laxer would have written a sensationalized, poorly sourced book. Or, even worse, that it would be a fear mongering collection of clichés and buzz words. I would gladly dispel any fears about the tendency to sensationalize and generalize. I would, save for one map. One map. For the most part, the maps drawn by Leon Grek are wonderful. They include accurate, concise details, and they provide the visual context we need to conceive these global happenings. The final map (and the book’s only global map) annotates American military bases using an inflammatory graphic: the silhouette of a semi-automatic pistol. This is the one instance that I wish the editor had made a more pedestrian choice.

There is no glossary included in the text. It does not seem necessary. Most of the challenging words are nestled in context clues.
For example: “Laws made in London or promulgated by the emperor in Rome were enforced across the empire. “
Or, “The surplus production of slaves allowed for the creation of a small privileged class of rulers who could spend their time freed from the most menial kind of labor.”

Following the last Information Insert, there is a timeline called The Duration of Selected Empires. Following the timeline, we find bibliographical information in chapter notes and Further Reading. The book ends with a very thorough topical index.

I think this book is perfect for 7th and 8th graders. Groundwood Books and Anansi Press recommend 14 and up. The text includes plenty of historic detail to articulate Laxer’s thesis. At times I felt Laxer had left out some detail, or I wanted him to mention subjects that were excluded (i.e. the Ottoman Empire), but the material is appropriately challenging for late-middle school students, and the text does this without committing the sin of being so detailed that a 13 year-old would consider it totally irrelevant. My intention would be to introduce the students to topics that they will be studying throughout their high school years. Because of the easily digestible format of the book, I would incorporate this text into a curriculum about writing a structured argument. Another activity would be to fill in the historical holes. Students could find empires not discussed in the book and research them. I would have them search for the kinds of details that Laxer discussed. Also, this book has not been updated since 2006. So, I would have the kids research current events and ask them if these new details support or contradict Laxer’s argument.… (meer)

I have not had trouble finishing the book. It is thin and quick, and frankly it does not say much. Two and a half stars does not come from the over all readability of the book. It comes from my strong feelings against the author's arguments. I disagree with most he has to say, save the facts, and I think his writing is amateurish and unconvincing, and his arguments often go in circles. The author does not do a good job arguing for his points. He does a lot to disapprove what he sets out to disapprove, and neglects backing up with evidence what he sets out to prove. In addition, he employs a lot of wrong logics and so makes the book annoying to read for anyone holding opposite views, like me. The book is only a little better than a long-winded high school essay. Not quite sure why I read the book is right for describing my feelings for it. It has wasted a few hours of my time.… (meer)