num_pages: 688
description: #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERAn exciting story passionately told and rich in detail this major biography is the second volume of the bestselling award-winning John The Man Who Made Us  by well-known journalist and highly respected author Richard Gwyn.John A. Macdonald Canada's first and most important prime minister is the man who made Confederation happen who built this country over the next quarter century and who shaped what it is today. From Confederation Day in 1867 where this volume picks up Macdonald finessed a reluctant union of four provinces in central and eastern Canada into a strong nation despite indifference from Britain and annexationist sentiment in the United States.But it wasn't easy. The wily Macdonald faced constant crises throughout these years from Louis Riel's two rebellions through to the Pacific Scandal that almost undid his government and his quest to find the spine of the the railroad that would link east to west. Gwyn paints a superb portrait of Canada and its leaders through these formative years and also delves deep to show us Macdonald the man as he marries for the second time deals with the birth of a disabled child and the assassination of his close friend Darcy McGee and wrestles with whether Riel should hang.Indelibly Gwyn shows us Macdonald's love of this country and his ability to joust with forces who would have been just as happy to see the end of Canada before it had really begun creating a must-read for all Canadians.
language: English
title: Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times
publisher: Random House Canada