In National Dreams: Myth, Memory & Canadian History (Arsenal Pulp $19.95), Daniel Francis debunks Canadian myths taught in high school history classes - the peerless Mountie, the fearsome Native and The Last Spike (which was really a photo-op). Regarding the deal with Disney for the rights to the RCMP's image, Francis refers to the RCMP as 'the world's only souvenir police force'. In reality the RCMP has been used to spy on Canadians, particularly those involved with labour movements and radical politics. Francis also claims the comforting notion that the RCMP always gets its man and treats Natives better than American police is largely due to fiction and Hollywood films. His tome differs from James Loewen's celebrated treatise on the mis-education of America, Lies My Teacher Told Me, because, as Francis says, "Loewen debunks textbooks; I explore themes in Canadian history."
1 55152 043 5

[BCBW 1997]