Daniel Francis

Reading the National Narrative

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March 30, 2021

Vancouver's Chinatown in 1906. (Courtesy Vancouver Public Library 5240)

The epidemic, and more recently the horrible murders in Atlanta, have focussed attention on the corrosive impact of anti-Asian prejudice and discrimination. Most Vancouverites are aware of the city's long history of discrimination against its Japanese, Chinese and South Asian residents. Unable to vote,...

February 5, 2021

While waiting for my next book, Becoming Vancouver: A New History, to be published this fall -- delayed by the COVID situation -- I thought I'd introduce the project by telling some "tales of the city."

The death of James Cross last month took me back to October 1970. Not to Quebec, where the main events took place, but to Vancouver, where tragedy turned to...

December 21, 2020

December 9, 2020

Why not give the gift of history for Christmas?

November 29, 2020

While waiting for my next book, Becoming Vancouver: A New History, to be published -- delayed by the COVID situation -- I thought I'd introduce the project by telling some "tales of the city."

You'll recall the mega explosion that destroyed much of downtown Beirut back in August, killing more than 200 people and leaving 300,000 homeless. The cause was the careless...

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