Canada's Pierre Berton Dies at 84

by Nathalie Atkinson, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 12/2/2004

Pierre Berton, one of Canada's most beloved and prolific authors, died yesterday in Toronto at the age of 84.

The Yukon-born author, journalist, historian and media personality wrote more than 50 books (and another 21 in a children's series), popularizing Canadian history and culture with bestsellers like the gold rush classic Klondike, Mysterious North and The Last Spike, about the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He won more than 30 literary awards, including the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, received over a dozen honorary degrees to his credit and was a Companion of the Order of Canada. Most recently, Berton returned to his roots with the publication this fall of Prisoners of the North, which profiles Arctic adventurers, and the republication of his children's classic, The Golden Trail.

Just last month, Berton appeared on the CBC's satirical news show Monday Report (which thinks of itself as the Canadian answer to the Daily Show, but isn't), deadpanning that Prisoners of the North would make an excellent joint-rolling surface. In an inspired comedy (not to mention book-plugging) segment not often seen on mainstream TV, he demonstrated his marijuana tips and technique (think classic SCTV episodes).

If you missed the clip, which has been a heavy-volume download since then, you can watch it here.

Berton is survived by his wife, Janet, eight children and 14 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Berton House Writers Retreat. (With a $50,000 contribution from the author, the Yukon Arts Council turned Berton's childhood home into a retreat for professional writers in 1989.)