Canada should commemorate the Battle of Châteauguay properlyWe can learn about our present day from our history Nov 08 25November 08, 2025Article at The Globe and Mail
Ken McGoogan: This might be the most Canadian journey ever undertakenIsabella Fraser's route evolved out of the Highland Clearances, resisted the American Revolution, embraced United Empire Loyalism, engaged coureurs de bois and First Nations allies, and culminated in a pioneer expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Jun 28 25June 28, 2025Article at thestar.com
A MAGA-style uprising could never take root in CanadaOur national identity emerged out of resistance to the first American Revolution – and Canada has been diverging from the U.S. ever since May 12 25May 12, 2025Article at The Globe and Mail
Ships of Misfortune - Canada's HistoryA ‘rare and extraordinary’ illness ravaged the crew of Jens Munk’s 1619 voyage in search of the Northwest Passage. Mar 17 25March 17, 2025Article at canadashistory.ca
In Hitler, Mackenzie King saw something of a saint: Excerpted from ‘Shadows of Tyranny’ by Ken McGooganKen McGoogan’s new book “Shadows of Tyranny” seeks to parallel current political trends in the United States to the rise of totalitarianism in Europe in the 1930s. As some sounded alarm bells about Germany’s new leader, some were charmed — Canada’s… Aug 24 24August 24, 2024Article at thestar.com
Saint or cultural assailant? Mark Bourrie takes a new look at Jesuit martyr Jean de Brébeuf in ‘Crosses in the Sky’Bourrie paints the Jesuits not as settlers but cultural assault troops, who undermined the traditions and beliefs of the Huron people, dividing and weakening the nation. May 15 24May 15, 2024Article at thestar.com
Excerpt from Searching for Franklin: New Answers to the Great Arctic MysteryArctic historian Ken McGoogan takes an in-depth, contemporary perspective on the legacy of Sir John Franklin, offering a new explanation of the famous Northern mystery The following article by Ken McGoogan is excerpted from his forthcoming book… Oct 05 23October 05, 2023Article at canadiangeographic.ca
Adventure, mutiny, murder: David Grann’s new book ‘The Wager’ is a masterclass in story-tellingIn March 1741, in a ferocious storm at the foot of South America, a creaky wooden ship called the Wager sailed into the Drake Passage — the most notorious channel in the world. The gunner on board, John Bulkeley, felt the vessel “hurtling on an… Apr 13 23April 13, 2023Article at thestar.com
Mark Hume finds the perfect spot to cast a line and meditate on his life in ‘Reading the Water’Subscribe to globeandmail.com for unlimited access to Canada’s leading independent journalism. Already a print newspaper subscriber? Get full access to globeandmail.com Already subscribed to globeandmail.com? Log in to keep reading Oct 01 22October 01, 2022Article at The Globe and Mail
Letters of the Lost Franklin Arctic Expedition is a significant addition to the Franklin canonTitle: May We Be Spared to Meet on Earth: Letters of the Lost Franklin Arctic ExpeditionAuthor: Edited by Russell A. Potter, Regina Koellner, Peter Carney, and Mary WilliamsonGenre: Non-FictionPublisher: McGill-Queen’s University PressPages: 481 From… Aug 10 22August 10, 2022Article at The Globe and Mail
Providing for a multi-media extravaganzaYo! Hey! Can anybody hear me? I’m shouting out from deep in this rabbit hole on website-building. I hate to say the C-word, but it’s happening. No more a swashbuckling writer, I have become a lowly CONTENT-PROVIDER. Tell the truth, I am having a… Dec 20 21December 20, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Celebrating the Indigenous contributionSeason’s greetings and hats off to the folks at the John Rae Society in Orkney. They’re the ones driving the restoration of the Hall of Clestrain, original home of Arctic explorer John Rae. Having purchased the Hall and the lands needed to build an… Dec 16 21December 16, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Building a Citadel in CyberspaceWhen every day you receive an email from a different website developer offering to design a new site for you, complete with razzle-dazzle graphics and up-to-the-minute Search Engine Optmization (SEO), well, then you know it's time to act. Time to… Dec 12 21December 12, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Leonard Cohen Volume TwoIt's equally compelling. Impossible to put down. Yet harder to read than Volume One. That's because, through the 1970s and into the '80s, our hero's narcissism becomes more egregious, harder to overlook. Yes, the anxiously awaited Volume two is here:… Nov 20 21November 20, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Creators calling on OttawaHello, hello? Ottawa? I'm sorry but there's no nice way to say this. For a decade now, educational institutions have been ripping off writers who tell Canadian stories . . . writers like, well, me. They have been using our work and flat-out refusing… Nov 03 21November 03, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Celebrating an early champion of the InuitArctic history buffs around the world are today celebrating what would have been John Rae’s 208th birthday. Born at the Hall of Clestrain in Orkney on September 30, 2013, Rae became a doctor in Edinburgh and then entered the fur trade with the… Sep 30 21September 30, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Let's resolve Canada's non-fiction crisisCanada’s non-fiction crisis is the focus of this week’s SHuSH by Kenneth Whyte. That crisis is the absence of support in this country for research-based non-fiction – biography, history, and science. Whyte, publisher of Sutherland House, is spurred… Sep 17 21September 17, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Farley Mowat left a marvelous legacyBack in 2014, I published the following reminiscence in the National Post. Strangely, it is no longer accessible on that newspaper's site. So, in reponse to clamourous demand, I reprise the post here . . . . The recent death of Farley Mowat at 92… Aug 31 21August 31, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
SHOUT-OUT to a Writers' Trust Rising Star!It's time for a QUIET SHOUT-OUT to Keriann McGoogan for being named a Writers' Trust of Canada Rising Star for 2021. Yup, the announcement came last week. McGoogan was one of five emerging writers to get the nod . . . along with $5,000 cash, a… May 09 21May 09, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
Remembering Lawrence FerlinghettiLawrence Ferlinghetti, dead at 101. I remember meeting him in 1987, at Le Grand Derangement, the international Quebec City Conference on Jack Kerouac. I drew on that phantasmagoria in my novel Kerouac's Ghost. I got to hang out with Ferlinghetti… Feb 23 21February 23, 2021Article at KEN MCGOOGAN
