THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF CANADA

Few geography books compare and contrast their subjects with the US as well as this one does. In sophisticated terms, Malcolm (a dual citizen of Canada and the US) describes how Canadians feel about themselves, each other, and their sometimes overbearing neighbor. The geographic, social, and cultural facts usually presented in the ``Portraits of the Nations'' series are all here, but the author's greatest achievement is giving Canada's problems meaning and interest for ``Americans.'' ``First Canadians'' rate their own chapter; and although Canadian political history is less violent than ours, the conflicts will be no less interesting to those concerned with surviving our own racial and ethnic divisions. Though Malcolm describes Canadians as very different from the US population, especially in their effacing self-image, many similarities are also apparent. The style's lively, with the information presented clearly, but chapters seem to have been written independently: facts will be reintroduced as if for the first time, without cross- referencing. Many ``boxes'' list brief facts (number of farms in the Yukon: 0); there are also longer boxed accounts of important topics (how ice affects northern life), and stories about both well-known and obscure individuals. An excellent resource. Maps and b&w photos not seen. Extensively annotated bibliography and filmography; index. (Nonfiction. 14+)