National Dream

Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton CC OOnt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a television personality and journalist. He won many honours and awards for his books. An accomplished storyteller, Berton was one of Canada's most prolific and popular authors. He wrote on popular culture, Canadian history, critiques of mainstream religion, anthologies, children's books and historical works for youth. He was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community. Berton's 50 books became popular because his light and fast-paced style was not weighed down by footnotes or deep probes into primary sources. Historian C. P. Stacey, in 1980, said Berton demonstrated his skill as an anecdotalist, or storyteller, who emphasized the human dimension, while often overlooking the scholarship. His two-volume documentation on the War of 1812, running 928 pages, was republished in 2011 as "Pierre Berton's War of 1812"