Review of 'Canada vs United States: How Canada is So Much Better than America'

Canada vs United States: How Canada is So Much Better than America by Jeff Pearce

canada_vs_united_states.jpg The title of this book probably grabbed you and provoked a bit of a chuckle, particularly if you are Canadian. But despite the somewhat amusing title there are not really a lot of laughs here with Jeff Pearce going through a load of statistics, and anecdotes to convince insecure Canadians that feel somewhat inadequate against their larger neighbour to the south…or does it? “Canada vs United States” is more a book about analysing the relationship between the two countries though specifically from the Canadian side of the border providing a surprisingly balanced viewpoint.

Chapters take us through various aspects of this relationship: Quality of Life, Business, Government, History, Religion, Sports, Culture, Security, etc. In each Pearce presents various points about the topic with a varying degrees of completeness but in the end the conclusion is not so much that Canada is better than the US but rather that Canada and the US have their pluses and their minuses…which should come as no surprise to most. I found the chapters often more than a bit dry and slow going despite the chapters being fairly brief. Perhaps the book could do with a lot more humour added to keep the reader engaged. As it is, when Pearce is not spouting statistics or quoting others he is presenting anecdotes as proof of his points making the intention of the book somewhat murky: It often sounds like an attempt at a serious treatise regarding the countries' differences but then destroys any premise with spurious comments.

A read for those interested in the awkward relationship between Canada and the United States, though probably mostly of interest to Canadians…it might not hurt if a few people from the US were to read this to perhaps give them some perspective as well. I suspect the title alone will mean a lot of people buy this book but perhaps never take the time to read it.

Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2021-12-04


Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Folklore Publishing

Publication Date: 2010

ISBN: 9781894864794