Historian / Author

To many Grant MacEwan is frequently recognized as one of western Canada's most popular and distinguished popular historian. However, as Lee Shedden points out, his achievements as a writer have often been overshadowed by his other notable careers. For decades, MacEwan sought to communicate our rich prairie history in a way that was easily accessible and understood. He accomplished this in two ways: by setting a personal example as a proud son of the Canadian West and by writing about the men and women populated the land through hard work and determination. MacEwan's work is as informative as it is entertaining. The combination of fact-telling and story telling is exactly what he was trying to achiever as a popular historian and author.

Bob Weber of the Red Deer Advocate has credited MacEwan with "saving western Canadian history from the dusty shelves of academics." Indeed MacEwan can be described as a pioneer of the subject. A one-time student of solely British and World History, MacEwan desired to inform Canadians about their own history. Macewan's interest in western Canadian history can be traced directly to his own upbringing as a boy who grew up in a family of farmers. Confusion exists over how many books MacEwan authored. Some put the figure as high as 60 while others postulate the figure to be closer to 40. In fact, according to Lee Shedden, MacEwan published 49 books, including the textbooks, the Best Of, and his journals. For a detailed account of all his works please read Lee Shedden's article "The Author and His Books."