Wednesday, November 15, 2006


Congratulations to Steve Hewitt (U of S Ph.D., 1997) who has just published his third book, Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939 (University of Toronto Press, 2006.) The book incorporates previously classified material, and explores the RCMP both in the context of its ordinary policing role and in its work as Canada’s domestic spy agency. Steve demonstrates how much of the impetus behind the RCMP’s transformation was ensuring its own survival and continued relevance. Steve's first book, also with U of T Press, was Spying 101: The RCMP's Secret Activities at Canadian Universities, 1917-1997 (2002), followed by Canada and the Cold War (James Lorimer & Co, 2003), which he co-authored with Reg Whitaker. Be sure to go to Steve's website to find out, among other things, whether the Mounties have been spying on you and yours. Steve is a lecturer in American and Canadian Studies at the University of Birmingham, in England. Click here for his departmental web site.