Seeing Reds: The Red Scare of 1918-1919: Canada s First War on Terror

by Daniel Francis

Seeing Reds tells the story of a turbulent period in Canadian history, when in 1918-19 the Canadian government, fearful in the wake of the Russian Revolution, tried to suppress radical political activity at home by branding legitimate labor leaders as "Bolsheviks" and "Reds." Daniel Francis examines Canada's Red Scare in a global context, including government responses to similar activities in the United States and Europe, as well as its ramifications for the contemporary war on terror, in which issues of free speech and political dissent are similarly compromised in the name of national security.

Genres: History, Canada, Nonfiction

220 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Chad Kohalyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly about the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, with some interesting analysis of the view on "bolshevikis" from early 20th Century Canadian politicians and press. This is the longest short book I have read in a while. The title oversells it quite a bit. Just read the Wikipedia article, you'll not get much more from this book unless you are prepared to read a master's thesis that has been padded out to book length.

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook

This is an informative book. It was interesting to learn about Canada’s (with me being from the USA) initially battled communism (and others that were labeled as communist) in their country. A chunk of the book does look at events and actions in Russia, Germany, as well as the United States at this time. If you are familiar with work was going on in those countries at the time, you might feel the too much was spent on covering them. But if you don’t have much knowledge about it, then it is a very welcomed information to see the differences and how some things influence the Canadian politicians to do what they did. While somethings where justifiable, other things did allow for abuse and corruption.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be interesting, but, after a bit, the book descended into a maze of names and dates that became hard to follow.

[Sebastien · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not really need to exist. I mistakenly picked this book up thinking it would be about Canada. It ends up being about Canada about half the time. The other half is about the Soviet Union, the Weimar Republic, the United States, any country but Canada. I understand that some context is required at times, but the author focused for far too long on non-Canadian history. Daniel Francis also focuses for far too long on the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, which should have been its own book and not an excuse to write this one.

I suppose it did have some useful tidbits here and there. Von Ribbentrop having lived in Canada prior to World War I was fascinating and something I had never known. However, it still read like the longest Wikipedia entry ever written. A lot of words and little substance. Pass on this one.

[Dane Henshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a good job of summarizing the 1918-1919 "red scare" in Canada, with a lot of time spend discussing the Winnipeg General Strike. Too little of my personal reading is spend on Canadian history, and I found this to be refreshing change from my usual world history books. The author presents an insightful take on an important and relevant time in Canadian history.

My only criticism is that the book is too short, and does not go into enough depth in some of the areas that I would have liked to learn more about. For example, I would have liked more time devoted to an objective discussion of war profiteering with some relevant statistics and cases.

[Thomas Chau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed look at a darker chapter of the Canadian history. The book is long enough to be detailed and short enough not to bore me.
I like the last chapter when the author ties it back to our post 9/11 anti terrorist era.



3 Out of 3 marks:
- Penmanship. Did the author present the ideas in a concise, articulate manner? Easy to digest?

2 Out of 3 marks:
- Informative. Is the book comprehensive, and useful? Are the points raised valid?

2 Out of 3 marks:
- Research and un-bias. Would I be embarrass to use it as a reference in a professional setting?

1 Out of 2 marks:
- Discretionary.
Would I read it again? Was the topic interesting to me?

Total = 8/11

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't a whole lot of new material if you, like myself, have already looked at this topic before. The most interesting section was definitely the final chapter where the author compares the 1918-19 Red Scare and the current "War on Terror" since September 11th. An interesting telling of the history.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A likely little known piece of Canadian history and heritage...the dictatorial rule of the Prime Minister Borden's government is a chilling reminder what can happen when democracy is subverted by power grabbers. Every Canadian should red this. Wonderfully researched by Daniel Francis.

[Scott Neigh]

Reviewed here.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic look at Canada’s version of the “red scare” with a brief, insightful comparison to the current situation with the war on terror.