The Night Canada Stood Still: How The 1995 Quebec Referendum Nearly Cost Us Our Country

To vote "oui" or "non"; that was the question. Wright (Our Man in Tehran) describes the events of the precarious 1995 referendum on Quebec separation. Seen mostly from the point of view of the main political figures on both sides%E2%80%94Prime Minister Jean Chr%C3%A9tien and Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau%E2%80%94other politicians, journalists, intellectuals and average Canadians and Quebecers are also quoted. Despite the lack of a surprise ending, the narrative reads like a thriller and will have invested readers anxiously flipping pages. Wright acknowledges that he describes the referendum from the non-sovereignist side but still does a solid job in analyzing the topic fairly. All players are routinely congratulated or shot down, and everyone has a voice: federalists, nationalists, sovereignists, and undecideds, including francophones, anglophones, allophones and angry-phones. The scope of Wright's coverage is immense, and yet he includes details that make it feel personal, such as Ontarian motorists waving to each other as they drove to Montreal's unity rally. For those too young to remember the nerve-wracking year of 1995, and for those willing to relive it, this is a magnificent, celebratory memorial for one of Canada's greatest nightmares, which may continue to haunt it. (June)