Concise Historical Atlas of Canada

The Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is a beautiful record of Canada's peoples and development. The book combines text and graphic material to create an extraordinarily rich picture of Canada's past, and presents a splendid visual record of the roots of our society and the evolution of the intensely regional, culturally diverse nation we know today. Based on the best-selling three-volume Historical Atlas of Canada, the Concise distills the best and most important plates into a single, comprehensive, thematically organized volume. It represents more than 20 years of collaborative effort between highly accomplished cartographers and a wide range of scholars.

The goal of the Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is simple: to summarize Canadian history from prehistory through to the latter part of the twentieth century. To accomplish this goal, the editors selected 67 plates from the nearly 200 plates found in the full set. Each plate is a double-page spread of maps, graphics, legends, and text on a single subject or theme, and is accompanied by a bibliographical note at the end of the volume. Collectively, the plates represent both the crucial events and the continuity of life that made Canada. The editors intend their selection to mirror the social and economic experiences of ordinary people more than the political and military activities associated with individual heroes.

While the plates selected from the full three-volume set are used without modification, the Concise Historical Atlas of Canada follows its own organizational structure. Plates have been grouped under three headings: 'National Perspectives,' 'Defining Episodes,' and 'Regional Patterns,' each with a new introductory essay. 'National Perspectives' gives overarching views of the land mass and the process of nation building. Among the topics covered are prehistoric and Native Canada, exploration, the establishment of boundaries, settlement and population patterns, and the development of transportation, urbanization, the economy, and society. 'Defining Episodes' refers to important historical events such as dramatic migrations, wars, and depressions - turning points of national importance. 'Regional Patterns' focuses on smaller parts of the Canadian experience, presents specific case studies of historical trends, and considers events and developments in greater detail over limited periods.

The Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is a unique tribute to our history and a significant contribution to Canadians' understanding of one another. It provides a comprehensive overview of the life of ordinary people, one that can as usefully be read for pleasure as for research. Fully cross-referenced, it also serves as a guide to the three-volume set enabling readers to pursue topics of special interest in greater depth.

William G. Dean is Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, University of Toronto. He and John Warkentin first discussed the Historical Atlas of Canada project in 1968, and Dean was appointed director of the original Organizing Committee in 1970. He has been the director of the Atlas project since its formal beginning in 1979. Conrad Heidenreich is a professor in the Department of Geography, York University. He was a member of the editorial board for volume I of the Historical Atlas of Canada. Thomas F. McIlwraith is a professor in the Department of Geography at Erindale College, University of Toronto. He is a member of the original Organizing Committee and served as co-ordinator for the Concise Historical Atlas of Canada. He is the author of Looking for Old Ontario. Geoffrey J. Matthews was Chief Cartographer at the University of Toronto for more than thirty years, until his retirement in 1993. He was cartographer for twenty previous atlases, including all three volumes of the Historical Atlas of Canada, as well as the Economic Atlas of Ontario, which won the Leipzig Award for the most beautiful book in the world in 1970. Byron Moldofsky is a graduate in geography and cartography of the University of Toronto and Queen's University. He has spent the past sixteen years as a cartographer and Production Co-ordinator with the Atlas project.