Peter Neary – författare

No other figure, historical or political, features more prominently in recent Newfoundland history than Joey Smallwood. During his long career in Newfoundland politics, Smallwood used the literary, rhetorical, and theatrical skills honed in the first five decades of his life to create a distinct and celebrated persona. He told his own story in his lively autobiography, I Chose Canada, published in 1973 only a year after he left office.Talented, venturesome, and above all resilient, he was no ordinary Joe. Smallwood was born in Gambo, Bonavista Bay, but grew up in St John''s. Leaving school at fifteen, he quickly established himself as a journalist and as a publicist for Sir William Coaker''s Fishermen''s Protective Union. In the early 1920s Smallwood sojourned twice in New York, where he planned a Newfoundland labour party. Ambition, however, led him to support the Liberal Party of Sir Richard Squires. Defeated as a candidate in the general election of June 1932, he next promoted producer and consumer cooperatives, but with mixed results. In 1937 he edited The Book of Newfoundland and thereafter enjoyed great success on the radio as "The Barrelman." The book culminates with Smallwood''s adoption of the cause of Confederation and his swearing in on 1 April 1949 as premier of the new Province of Newfoundland.There are multiple J.R. Smallwoods, but the aspiring and ambitious figure presented in this biography stands apart. Melvin Baker and Peter Neary use the largely untapped sources of Smallwood''s own papers and his extensive journalistic writing to add a documentary basis to what is known or conjectured about the first five decades of Smallwood''s remarkable life, both public and private.

No other figure, historical or political, features more prominently in recent Newfoundland history than Joey Smallwood. During his long career in Newfoundland politics, Smallwood used the literary, rhetorical, and theatrical skills honed in the first five decades of his life to create a distinct and celebrated persona. He told his own story in his lively autobiography, I Chose Canada, published in 1973 only a year after he left office.Talented, venturesome, and above all resilient, he was no ordinary Joe. Smallwood was born in Gambo, Bonavista Bay, but grew up in St John''s. Leaving school at fifteen, he quickly established himself as a journalist and as a publicist for Sir William Coaker''s Fishermen''s Protective Union. In the early 1920s Smallwood sojourned twice in New York, where he planned a Newfoundland labour party. Ambition, however, led him to support the Liberal Party of Sir Richard Squires. Defeated as a candidate in the general election of June 1932, he next promoted producer and consumer cooperatives, but with mixed results. In 1937 he edited The Book of Newfoundland and thereafter enjoyed great success on the radio as "The Barrelman." The book culminates with Smallwood''s adoption of the cause of Confederation and his swearing in on 1 April 1949 as premier of the new Province of Newfoundland.There are multiple J.R. Smallwoods, but the aspiring and ambitious figure presented in this biography stands apart. Melvin Baker and Peter Neary use the largely untapped sources of Smallwood''s own papers and his extensive journalistic writing to add a documentary basis to what is known or conjectured about the first five decades of Smallwood''s remarkable life, both public and private.

Vice Admiral Sir Humphrey Thomas Walwyn (1879–1957) was the British-appointed governor of Newfoundland from 1936 to 1946 – a period of remarkable change that would culminate in Newfoundland’s union with Canada in 1949. Assembling records from the British national archives and the provincial archives in Newfoundland and Labrador, Out Here presents readers with Walwyn’s quarterly reports to the secretary of state for dominion affairs in London throughout his tenure as governor.

Walwyn’s position offered him a unique vantage point on the political and economic situation in Newfoundland throughout this tumultuous period. His reports bear witness to profound change, chronicling the economic downturn experienced in the final years of the Great Depression, followed by the unprecedented prosperity sparked by the Second World War that set the stage for debates over governance and for significant constitutional advance. The detailed accounts of Walwyn’s daily life in Newfoundland feature rich descriptions of capital city, company town, and outport mores; they paint a picture of coastal life in the mid-twentieth century and introduce the wide array of characters the governor encountered.

Throughout, the candid insider accounts of Governor Walwyn are augmented by expert historical context and illustrated with a generous selection of contemporary photographs. As a whole, Out Here stands as an invaluable primary-source record and an important trove of information on wartime experiences in Atlantic Canada.

Vice Admiral Sir Humphrey Thomas Walwyn (1879–1957) was the British-appointed governor of Newfoundland from 1936 to 1946 – a period of remarkable change that would culminate in Newfoundland’s union with Canada in 1949. Assembling records from the British national archives and the provincial archives in Newfoundland and Labrador, Out Here presents readers with Walwyn’s quarterly reports to the secretary of state for dominion affairs in London throughout his tenure as governor.

Walwyn’s position offered him a unique vantage point on the political and economic situation in Newfoundland throughout this tumultuous period. His reports bear witness to profound change, chronicling the economic downturn experienced in the final years of the Great Depression, followed by the unprecedented prosperity sparked by the Second World War that set the stage for debates over governance and for significant constitutional advance. The detailed accounts of Walwyn’s daily life in Newfoundland feature rich descriptions of capital city, company town, and outport mores; they paint a picture of coastal life in the mid-twentieth century and introduce the wide array of characters the governor encountered.

Throughout, the candid insider accounts of Governor Walwyn are augmented by expert historical context and illustrated with a generous selection of contemporary photographs. As a whole, Out Here stands as an invaluable primary-source record and an important trove of information on wartime experiences in Atlantic Canada.

The first comprehensive history of Newfoundland was published in 1793, but a centenary and a half passed before the first university course in the history of the island was offered there. During the past fifteen years there has been growing activity in the subject. This volume is the work of six scholars who have either studied or taught at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Some have done both.

The book has two broad aims. First, to point out the major themes of modern Newfoundland history currently being examined, and to offer a number of new interpretations of economic and political development in the last two centuries. Second, to supplement the standard works that are readily available to students. In some areas it provides additional details; in others, it bridges wide gaps.

The themes considered include: an introduction to the writing of Newfoundland history; the transition from the purely maritime economy of the nineteenth century to the mixed oceanic and inland resource economy of the twentieth, and the difficulties this involved; the decline of the traditional cod fishery in the nineteenth century; Newfoundland''s rejection of confederation in 1896; the limitations imposed by the fisheries agreements Britain negotiated with France and the United States; the consequences of the decision to reject confederation and diversify the local economy; the growth of the Fisherman''s Protective Union; the political atmosphere of the 1920s; the party politics in the post-confederation period; and, finally, the collapse of Newfoundland''s oldest industry, the saltfish trade, and the province''s integration into the North American economy.

This is a book intended for both regional specialists and general students of Canadian history. It provides a valuable resource about a province of rapidly growing importance.

The first comprehensive history of Newfoundland was published in 1793, but a centenary and a half passed before the first university course in the history of the island was offered there. During the past fifteen years there has been growing activity in the subject. This volume is the work of six scholars who have either studied or taught at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Some have done both.

The book has two broad aims. First, to point out the major themes of modern Newfoundland history currently being examined, and to offer a number of new interpretations of economic and political development in the last two centuries. Second, to supplement the standard works that are readily available to students. In some areas it provides additional details; in others, it bridges wide gaps.

The themes considered include: an introduction to the writing of Newfoundland history; the transition from the purely maritime economy of the nineteenth century to the mixed oceanic and inland resource economy of the twentieth, and the difficulties this involved; the decline of the traditional cod fishery in the nineteenth century; Newfoundland''s rejection of confederation in 1896; the limitations imposed by the fisheries agreements Britain negotiated with France and the United States; the consequences of the decision to reject confederation and diversify the local economy; the growth of the Fisherman''s Protective Union; the political atmosphere of the 1920s; the party politics in the post-confederation period; and, finally, the collapse of Newfoundland''s oldest industry, the saltfish trade, and the province''s integration into the North American economy.

This is a book intended for both regional specialists and general students of Canadian history. It provides a valuable resource about a province of rapidly growing importance.