For 23 years I was lucky enough to work in the 18th century. Well, as close as is possible for someone born in the 20th century. That happened because I was a staff historian at the Fortress of Louisbourg, where I passed many hours studying a million pages of documentation and over 500 maps and plans of the long-ago society. That research allowed me to write many books and articles—for both academics and the general public—about the onetime French stronghold and bustling seaport. I found the work fascinating, and I credit my time at the Fortress of Louisbourg for making me the historian and writer I became.
I wrote this book for the widest possible readership. As befitting a high-altitude, simplified look at such a complex historic site, the book is richly illustrated and has many sidebars. The story presented runs from before the French settled there in 1713 through its subsequent rapid growth and social evolution to the tumultuous wars that ultimately decided its fate. The book ends with a glance ahead to how rising sea levels will threaten the one-fifth reconstruction of the onetime French colonial town. Readers who would like longer narratives and more in-depth analyses might wish to check out some of my other books about Louisbourg, like Endgame 1758, Life and Religion at Louisbourg, and Control and Order at French Colonial Louisbourg.
Using a wide range of original sources — diaries, letters, official correspondence, criminal cases, and maps and plans — Christopher Moore does a terrific job in this book of presenting the world of 18th-century Louisbourg. He restores to vivid life five people who actually walked the streets of the colony over two and a half centuries ago. Through the dramatically different stories of those five individuals, Moore offers innumerable insights into what society and culture was like in the French colonial town. First published in 1982, the book won Canada’s Governor General’s prize for best non-fiction book of the year.
Each year, thousands of tourists flock to the Fortress of Louisbourg on the coast of Cape Breton Island to visit the reconstruction of part of the original eighteenth-century fort and town. Using the same records, diaries, letters, and charts that were used to recreate the site, Moore restores to vivid life five people who actually walked the streets of the colony over two hundred years ago. First published in 1982, this bestselling book of fascinating true stories represents what historian Desmond Morton calls “social history as it should be written.”
Not many history books remain in print — and highly useful — more than a century after publication. Yet this book by John Stewart McLennan, first published in 1918, is one. His narrative of the rise and fall of Louisbourg remains a compelling and fact-based history that continues to satisfy many readers, especially those primarily interested in Louisbourg as a pawn in the game of imperial struggle between France and Great Britain. To be sure, McLennan’s book is light on the social, cultural, and religious history of Louisbourg, but there are lots of other authors who have explored those themes in more recent decades.
Louisbourg, From Its Foundation To Its Fall, 1713-1758 has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.
For a wide range of scholarly — yet highly readable — essays on the onetime French stronghold, Aspects of Louisbourg offers a great starting point. It’s an eclectic collection of fifteen essays by ten different authors. The focus in each paper varies, with some writers examining economic or social themes, and others looking at military history. From the rugged life of 18th-century fishers to gardens and material culture, to the complexities of the garrison or recent commemorative activities, the essays paint a comprehensive picture of both French colonial Louisbourg and what in the 20th century became the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada.
Aspects of Louisbourg is an eclectic collection of essays that considers the economic, social, military, and commemorative events in the lives of the people of Louisbourg. From the rugged life of an 18th -century fishing family, to gardens and material culture, to today's commemorative activities, these essays paint a picture of the life of Louisbourg.
This book is a true marriage of images and words. The photographer and the writer worked closely together to establish the central storylines they wanted to communicate — under the themes of seaport, fortress, and community. They then chose the best photos to illustrate and enliven the evocative text. Reardon’s photos are outstanding. They highlight the many moods, colors, and characteristics of the renowned Canadian national historic site. First published in 1990, the book remains a wonderful photographic portrayal of the Fortress of Louisbourg and its costumed animators.
As fascinating as Louisbourg’s history is all by itself, it is also important to place it in a wider context. René Chartrand provides just such a comparative look in this well-illustrated book about four major French colonial centers, including Louisbourg. Readers are able to grasp the imperial significance of the French colonial stronghold on Cape Breton Island (then known as Ile Royale) and compare it to the brief histories of three other North American towns: Québec, Montréal, and New Orleans.
This title provides a detailed examination of the defenses of the three largest fortified cities in Canada - Quebec, Montreal and Louisbourg - and also covers New Orleans in America. Quebec City is the best known and most impressive of the sites covered, and was the strongest of the fortresses of New France: besieged twice by the British (1690 and 1759) and once by the French (1760), it was captured in 1759 by General James Wolfe. Montreal was also strongly fortified and its strategic location ensured its prominence in the fur trade early on. Fortress Louisbourg was built as a…
Gabrielle found her grandfather’s diaries after her mother’s death, only to discover that he had been a Nazi. Born in Berlin in 1942, she and her mother fled the city in 1945, but Api, the one surviving male member of her family, stayed behind to work as a doctor in a city 90% destroyed.
Gabrielle retraces Api’s steps in the Berlin of the 21st century, torn between her love for the man who gave her the happiest years of her childhood and trying to come to terms with his Nazi membership, German guilt, and political responsibility.
Api's Berlin Diaries: My Quest to Understand My Grandfather's Nazi Past
"This is not a book I will forget any time soon."
Story Circle Book Reviews
Moving and provocative, Api's Berlin Diaries offers a personal perspective on the fall of Berlin 1945 and the far-reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich.
After her mother's death, Robinson was thrilled to find her beloved grandfather's war diaries-only to discover that he had been a Nazi.
The award-winning memoir shows Api, a doctor in Berlin, desperately trying to help the wounded in cellars without water or light. He himself was reduced to anxiety and despair, the daily diary his main refuge. As Robinson retraces Api's…
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