2 Books Like The Last Buffalo Hunter

I loved this book because of the honesty of the author. It is an old book written by a Canadian veteran of World War 1. He tells his story of all the madness, death and his whole experience of war with a brutal and poignant honesty. He starts by telling why he joined up. He is from the east coast but found work for the season getting the harvest in, in the prairies. It is 1915. On a hot day is he out helping bring in the wheat and he looks up to see his little brother who had enlisted successfully only a few months before. His brother just stands and looks at him, dressed in his khakies holding his rifle. The author realizes his brother is dead and he also realizes he is being told to sign up and so off he goes. What follows is a personal take… show more.

I loved this book. It is an academic book, but it is so insightful. This is a retelling of the story of Canada's executed leader of the Metis People, Louis Riel. He is now on our silver dollar because it only took us a couple of generations to realize he was and is a national treasure. There are zillions of books about this man's story. But this one is different. It does not focus on his execution but on his early life. We learn he was sent to Montreal from the prairies and becomes a highly educated man, a debater, a writer, a young man who falls in love and is spurned because of his mixed ancestry. A man who can speak and write in several languages. A man who can challenge and stand up to a challenge. He is a man with one foot in the sophisticated world of… show more.