Snowshoe and Lancet: Memoirs of a Frontier Newfoundland Doctor, 1937–1948 by Robert Skidmore Ecke (review)

their efforts are often commendable, their contextual analysis is at times inconsistent. For example, in discussing Ney's decision to organize his first teacher's tour of England, they note that he was motivated by a desire to counter the unfavourable views several Canadians held of English immigrants, but provide neither an explanation of the character of these attitudes nor reference to the several studies on the subject (the works of Ross McCormack and Patrick Dunae quickly come to mind). Similarly, and most surprisingly, Sturgis and Bird offer no description of the imperial developments of the 1920s, provide little discussion of the decline of the commonwealth connection in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s, and, consequently, fail to place Ney's imperial endeavours in their full context. In addition to these contextual lapses, the book suffers from a lack of attention in the introductory chapter to explaining exactly who Ney was and what he did. Indeed, it is not until chapter II that the authors mention the Empire Youth Movement and, much later, that they define it. With neither an introductory thumbnail sketch of the leading protagonist nor an outline of the chapters, the reader unfamiliar with the exploits of Major Ney may be left with little reason to read further. This would be a shame since, despite these shortcomings, Canada's Imperial Past provides much of value for those interested in the history of the British connection, education, and youth travel in twentieth-century Canada. WADE A. HENRY University of British Columbia