Brinco: The story of Churchill Falls

By Philip Smith

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771081847
• ISBN13: 9780771081842
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: McClelland and Stewart
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 2.34 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, Well-Told Story

According to me, the best history is read as biography, or best of all, as autobiography. Broad histories of countries, historical events or even so-called social history get bog-downed in minutaie and analytical discussions. I prefer personal history, even of unimportant people. This book is an exception, and I don't know why exactly. Churchill Falls is, by capacity, the single largest hydroelectric site in Canada. Its development posed numerous engineering problems not the least of which was the long-distance transmission of electricity. Financing the project and getting the Newfoundland, Quebec and Canadian federal governments to agree posed problems of a different sort: human, ego and how to cut the proverbial cake. Some 30 years later, it's still an issue. This book should be of interest to anyone connected to hydroelectricity. But that's not really the point. For the book also provides, if actions speak louder than words, a fascinating glimpse into the true political style of Joey Smallwood and the political changes ongoing in Quebec in the 1960s. To students of contemporary Canadian history, this book is a joy. And it has made me wonder if the best way to look at history is to see how different parties put together a complex deal.