Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Harold Innis Reflects: Memoir and WWI Writings/Correspondence (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture)

Offering fresh insight into the early life of Harold Adams Innis (1894-1952), this volume makes available a number of previously unpublished writings from the renowned Canadian economic historian and media scholar. Part I, Innis's autobiographical memoir, chronicles his farm-based family background, early education, military service during World War I, and the beginnings of what would become a distinguished academic career. Part II features a selection of correspondence during his military service, revealing both the pain and perceptions derived from that experience, and other war-related writings. It also includes "The Returned Soldier," a detailed piece of research and a compassionate plea to recognize how the aftermath of the Great War would affect those who served as well as the individuals and institutions on the home front. Years before the term "post-traumatic stress disorder" was coined, Innis was acutely aware of the condition and suggested ways in which it might be treated. Other war-related items included are Innis's first published article (dealing with the economics of the solider) and a draft speech composed in the fall of 1918. All original materials have been extensively annotated to provide context for the contemporary reader and researcher. Review The editors of this volume have brought together a variety of writings from the early life of Canadian economic historian and media scholar Harold Adams Innis (1894-1952). Included are a memoir, written in the last year of Innis's life, covering the first 26 years of his life, 44 letters written in 1916 and 1917 (many from France), and miscellaneous documents, including his 1918 master's thesis at McMaster University, which examined the condition of Canadian soldiers returning from World War I and what could be done to help them. This topic of course remains important today. While not exploring the fields of expertise for which Innis became known and respected, these items present the youth of an important Canadian scholar. Clearly a specialized collection of documents, this book will be of interest to Canadian readers and people interested in a personal view of World War I.--American Reference Books Annual Bill Buxton, Michael Cheney, and Paul Heyer--collectively a "dream team" of Innis scholars--have produced a gem of a collection related to the early life of Canada's most famous social scientist. The introduction is lucid and meticulously researched, but the real strength of this work lies in the publication and annotation of Innis's own previously unpublished material. Of greatest import are Innis's own reflections on his background and early life, via the incomplete memoir he began dictating just prior to his death in 1952. This memoir is complemented both by his wartime correspondence to family and friends and also by the inclusion of a fascinating and surprisingly brief (and off-the-cuff) 1918 piece on "The Returned Soldier" of the Great War. Scholars and nonspecialists alike will find the work compelling and will benefit greatly from the detailed annotations of the text.--Jim Mochoruk, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of History, University of North Dakota Few people hated war more than Harold Innis; he found it a venal, stupid business, symptomatic of a West in decline. Even a cursory examination of his academic work shows the impact of World War I on his life and thinking, and with the publication of Harold Innis Reflects, we are now in a better position to understand why that was so. This volume's presentation of Innis's early writings and correspondence gives Innis scholars vital context for a man who still shapes our thinking about the technological past, the communicative present, and the digital future.--John Bonnett, Brock University Harold Innis Reflects is a vital contribution to our knowledge of one of Canada's great thinkers. More than a half century after the scholar's death, readers are provided the rare treat