This sampling of the work of J.M.S. Careless in the area of Canadian historical studies was selected by the eminent scholar himself, and represents much of his finest work. The collection spans the years from 1940 to 1990 in the long and distinguished career of one of Canada's best-known historians. In Careless's own words, History is dated. Its very claim is that the past does not fade into nothing but continues to matter, whether or not the purely present-minded are able to recognize that basic fact.

These essays cover the main lines of Careless's career in Canadian scholarship. The collection is divided into four general subject areas each covering a main preoccupation in a distinguished career of over forty years. The first section concentrates on the earliest theme in his writing, George Brown and his times. The second centres on exploring various aspects of frontierism and metropolitanism in Canadian history. The third part deals with cities and regions focusing particularly on the West and nineteenth century Ontario. The final section picks up the threads of other themes including limited identities Canada and multiculturalism.