I would like to make one thing abundantly clear: I am a cinema fanatic. I love books dealing with cinema, across a large range of topics. This book, written by Canadian film critic Katherine Monk, was a very good idea. It's a combination of biographies (of filmmakers), film history, reviews, and analysis of Canadian motifs and culture. This is not a bad book, a solid "3 Star" attempt by Ms. Monk. What is its downfall is Ms. Monk's writing, I just can't say I'm a fan. It was somewhat repetitive and dull. To end my review I would say this: I picked up this book wanting to learn about Canadian film. This book did that, which is great considering there are not many books on the subject. However, at times her writing can be less than exemplary.