Alberta Originals: Stories of Albertans Who Made a Difference - Softcover

Brennan, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1974127427 ISBN 13: 9781974127429

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

William "Bible Bill" Aberhart is remembered as one of the oddest political leaders in Canadian history. During the Great Depression, he emerged from the obscurity of a religious sect he founded himself to preach a radical new economic doctrine. He fulfilled none of his pre-election promises during his eight years as premier. Yet the force of his personality was such that at the time of his death, while still serving in office, he had more believers than doubters. The political dynasty he established – the world's first Social Credit government – remained in power in Alberta for another 28 years.

Unlike Aberhart, the Alberta women known as the Famous Five actually did achieve something significant, aside from getting their names into the history books. They lobbied successfully for the constitutional change that resulted in Canadian women, hitherto disenfranchised, becoming eligible for Senate appointments.

There are many other important achievers in this best-selling collection of biographical profiles by social historian Brian Brennan:

Karl Clark used his training as a chemist to develop a primitive method for extracting oil from the Alberta oil sands that formed the basis for the sophisticated technology used by the industry today.

Ruth Carse founded the Alberta Ballet as an amateur troupe in 1958, secured government funding to have it turn professional in 1966, and saw it flourish under her artistic leadership to become recognized internationally as one of Canada's top ballet companies.

Eugene Steinhauer broke ground as a First Nations broadcasting pioneer who provided a voice for his people through his CBC Radio programs and fought to have protection of treaty and aboriginal rights enshrined in the Canadian constitution.

Catharine Robb Whyte established a museum in Banff that today provides an important key to understanding the history and culture of the Canadian Rockies.

Add this book to your library today and discover how some trailblazing individuals, blending vision with pragmatism, spent time in Alberta during its first century, marched to the beat of their own drum corps, and created a rhythm that was truly special, truly unique, truly Albertan.

Praise for this book: "If there's any justice this side of the Pearly Gates, it resides in the eye of a fair-minded biographer. Not only does Brian Brennan give overdue credit and redress neglect, but he makes sense of the province's past by revisiting the lives of Alberta's dear departed." – Edmonton Journal

About this title

About the Author

I am the author of sixteen best-selling books, most about the social history and colourful personalities of Canada's past.
Born, raised, and educated in Dublin, Ireland, I have called Canada home for the past fifty years. Since 1974, I have lived and worked in Calgary, where I spent twenty-five years as a staff columnist and features writer with the Calgary Herald. Before that, I toured Canada as a professional musician and worked as a radio announcer in Prince George, British Columbia.
I have won numerous awards for my journalism, including two Western Magazine Gold Awards, the national Hollobon Award for medical reporting, and the Professional Writers Association of Canada Features Writing Award for a profile of Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi. 
I have also won awards for my books, including the first Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for Romancing the Rockies, and the Petroleum History Society's Lifetime Achievement Award "for making numerous contributions to the body of literature concerning the Canadian petroleum industry, including many focused on its colourful personalities and significant events."
My interest in Canadian history was sparked in 1992 when I was assigned by the Calgary Herald to write a daily feature column about the lives of extraordinary individuals who had recently died. When I left the Herald in 1999, I revisited several of those columns to incorporate the stories into my books.
One of my most constantly sought-after books is Scoundrels and Scallywags, which sold more than ten thousand copies and topped the regional best-seller charts for more than eighteen months. A sale of five thousand copies, according to generally-accepted industry standards, qualifies as a best-seller in Canada. 
When not writing books and delivering speaking engagements, I play the piano, mostly for fun and sometimes for profit.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1974127427
• ISBN 13: 9781974127429
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224