Legends in their Time: Young Heroes and Victims of Canada would make an excellent introduction to a history course at the high school level. The accounts of young Canadian lives, influenced by historical events and fascinating characters, can as great initiatives for further research. Voyages of discovery, native customs and rituals, the European Renaissance, the Huguenots, the fur traders, Louis XIV, the Jesuits, Selkirk and the Scottish pioneers, United Empire Loyalists, War of 1812, the Underground Railroad, George Brown and the Reform Party, John Brown, the American Civil War, Riel Rebellion, the RCMP, the Klondike Gold Rush, the Industrial Revolution, World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin, Henry Ford, Sam McLaughlin, E.S. Rogers and son Ted, Drs. Banting and Best, the Great Depression, Hitler, Toronto Maple Leafs, Grey Owl, Lester B. Pearson, Pierre E. Trudeau, Martin Luther King, etc. all provide background settings and contemporaries that affect our teenage heroes.

There are 18 chapters devoted to young, extraordinary lives. The accounts attest to the diversity, glory and sometimes shame that pattern Canada's past. Interesting information abounds. Did you know that Chief Donnacona's two teenage sons were the first translators in Canada, the first on record to administer medicine in North America (Vitamin C from cedar bark for scurvy) and one gave Canada its name? Did you know that Etienne Brűlé was the first white and only white to be boiled and eaten by members of a natives people? That the War of 1812 was the most important Canada ever fought? That spirituals sung by slaves were secret messages of escape? That Anna Swan of Nova Scotia was 8'1" tall? That most of Canada came to a stop in September 1972 to watch a hockey game in Moscow?

George Sherwood has taught history at the high school and university level. He is currently teaching Canadian history at the University of Toronto. His meticulous research is evident in his list of resources. His 34 pages of notes that include snapshots of many other Canadian heroes mentioned in the text would be excellent incentives for student research. An extensive list of recommended further reading is included. Artwork by Stewart Sherwood, the author's brother, and historic photographs complement the text.

This book is highly recommended for high school history courses.