"Canada's history has been a long, fascinating, and very independent evolution, in marked contrast to the violence that typifies the United States's story. Most Americans know embarrassingly little about their northern neighbor's unique history, from its first sighting by the Norse to its full confederation in 1922 to today's social democracy. Now, in the wake of NAFTA and the Quebec crisis, an understanding of the forces that have driven Canada's development over the last 400 years is more important than ever.