"A remarkable book...Roy MacGregor of The Globe and
Mail has come as close to capturing the feel and flavour of
Canada as words allow."
-Carol Goar, Toronto Star
"Writing a book that tries to explain Canada to Canadians is in
many ways a gift....MacGregor unfolds a fascinating depiction of
Canada...Canadians is a sprawling book. But it does
capture the essence of our diversity, it does evoke the spirit of
this beautiful, undefinable set of contradictions that make up
Canada....A couple of the chapters are powerful enough to bring a
reader to tears."
-Aritha Van Herk, Calgary Herald
"Canadians is an impressive attempt to get at the heart
of the country and its people....MacGregor has long been considered
one of Canada's finest journalists, and this volume serves as
something of a sampler and encapsulation of his talents.
....Canadians stands as a superior example of reportage,
and a reckoning of a journalistic career of more than three
decades....MacGregor has a unique ability to balance objective
reportage with a keen, emotional core; he has a good eye for the
human interest angle, which intensifies his editorial thrust,
rather than distracting from it....Canadians is, in the
final reckoning, a series of snapshots of our varied and diverse
cultures, an insight into worlds and events that may be utterly
foreign to some of us, but are, at their heart, fundamentally our
own."
-Ottawa Citizen
"If passion for our country counts, Roy MacGregor certainly has
it. In Canadians he shares that passion with us again,
leavened with a generous sprinkling of humour. Perhaps, as he says
himself, it is only another exercise in examining our own
belly-button lint, but if so, I never imagined lint could be so
fascinating."
-Hamilton Spectator
"MacGregor writes about us while at the same time seamlessly
identifying himself as one of us. Canadians is a charming
book, and MacGregor is a graceful writer."
-Winnipeg Free Press
"He brings a rare -and trust me, admirable - touch to his
work....a worthy and entertaining effort, reminding us of shameful
shortcomings and how we can get it so right, even spectacularly
so....In many ways, travelling over time, topics and geography,
often courtesy of MacGregor's first-person, on-site observations,
by anecdotes and quotations, Canadians the book reflects
that. The overall effect after a read offers quiet, clear-eyed
reassurance."
-Edmonton Journal