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You Had to Be There: An Intimate Portrait of the Generation That Survived the
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You Had to Be There: An Intimate Portrait of the Generation That Survived the Depression, Won the War, and Re-Invented Canada Paperback - 1999

by Robert Collins

From the publisher

Robert Collins, grew up in rural Saskatchewan during the Depression in conditions described in his renowned best-seller Butter Down the Well. After serving in Europe with the RCAF during the war (an experience described in The Long and the Short and the Tall), he returned to Canada to attend university and help produce the baby boom generation. Later, as a writer for Maclean’s, the Star Weekly, and Toronto Life, he chronicled the goings-on in the suburbia of the 1950s and the upheaval of the turbulent 1960s. Subsequently, he travelled the country writing major articles for Reader’s Digest. Collins, who lives in Toronto, now concentrates on books. This is his fourteenth.


From the Hardcover edition.

Details

  • Title You Had to Be There: An Intimate Portrait of the Generation That Survived the Depression, Won the War, and Re-Invented Canada
  • Author Robert Collins
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 1st Printing
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Date October 7, 1999
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780771022562 / 0771022565
  • Weight 0.97 lbs (0.44 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.69 x 5.76 x 0.94 in (22.07 x 14.63 x 2.39 cm)
  • Dewey Decimal Code 971

Media reviews

“In a wonderfully evocative portrait of the Depression generation, Robert Collins has captured the sweet innocence and defiant pride of Canadians who grew up in the Dirty Thirties, won the war, and spawned post-war prosperity and the baby boomers. It’s a joyous read.”
–Knowlton Nash

“Bears the mark of a veteran journalist.”
–Globe and Mail

“Evoking a thousand memories, Robert Collins has woven a rich and vari-coloured tapestry of the poignant and courageous lives of many who were there. For those who were not, these stories will perhaps bring appreciation and understanding of the generation and the time that was.”
–Betty Kennedy

“Robert Collins has helped make these people, who gave so much, more permament in Canada’s collective memory. For them and for him I’m grateful.”
–Financial Post

“Through moving interviews with people across Canada, [Collins] develops an overview of a generation.”
–Kitchener-Waterloo Record

“This is Canadian history in an accessible and entertaining package.”
–Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

“Immensely enjoyable.…Heartily recommended.”
–Halifax Daily News


From the Hardcover edition.

About the author

Robert Collins, grew up in rural Saskatchewan during the Depression in conditions described in his renowned best-seller Butter Down the Well. After serving in Europe with the RCAF during the war (an experience described in The Long and the Short and the Tall), he returned to Canada to attend university and help produce the baby boom generation. Later, as a writer for Maclean s, the Star Weekly, and Toronto Life, he chronicled the goings-on in the suburbia of the 1950s and the upheaval of the turbulent 1960s. Subsequently, he travelled the country writing major articles for Reader s Digest. Collins, who lives in Toronto, now concentrates on books. This is his fourteenth.

From the Hardcover edition."

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You Had to Be There
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You Had to Be There

by Collins, Robert

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You Had to Be There
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You Had to Be There

by Collins, Robert

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You Had to Be There

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U.S.A.: McClelland & Stewart, 1999. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Remaindered.Owners signatrure. McClelland and Stewart, 1997. An intimate portrait of the generation that survived the Depression, won the War, and re-invented Canada . immensely enjoyable . Through this fascinating story , the author weaves the voices of Canadians from across the country , who speak with humor, regret and passion about their defining trials and their hard-won triumphs.They gained their maturity in an age of monumental and unprecedented change - from horse-and-buggy, Model TFord, and crank telephone, to moonwalks, space shuttles, and the Internet. They are better educated, more affluent, more vigorous, and longer-lived than any generation before them, yet obstinately cling to a forthright simplicity no generation is likely to regain. They are proudly old fashioned in their outlook, hardworking, and frugal in their ways. They are the last enthusiastic patriots, the last to… Read More
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You Had to Be There

You Had to Be There

by Collins, Robert

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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A tight and unmarked copy-" They gained their maturity in an age of monumental and unprecedented change from horse-and-buggy, Model TFord, and crank telephone, to moonwalks, space shuttles, and the Internet. They are better educated, more affluent, more vigorous, and longer-lived than any generation before them, yet obstinately cling to a forthright simplicity no generation is likely to regain. They are proudly old-fashioned in their outlook, hardworking, and frugal in their ways. They are the last enthusiastic patriots, the last to accept authority with respect. They are the last generation to have reached adulthood without television, credit cards, computers, or the Pill. Their younger critics may call them old fogies; Robert Collins calls them Generation M, for mature. In You Had to Be There, Robert Collins gives us the entire history of this extraordinary and hugely influential generation. Through this fascinating story, he weaves the voices of Canadians from across the country, who speak with… Read More
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You Had to Be There
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You Had to Be There

by Collins, Robert

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