A description of the founding of McGill University and the construction of its buildings.

It’s been 31 years since I graduated from McGill, and I still have fond memories of the experience. However, from the essays I read in this book, I wish I’d spent more time there, more time exploring the campus. I spent most of my time in and around the Engineering buildings, and only went elsewhere when necessary. I loved the descriptions of McGill history, the founding, the early days, its influence, and the evolution from what the school was to what it is (or was when this was written, in the age before the internet and AI). I find myself wanting a part 2. By far, the history interested me most. Some essays were a little difficult to read, but they still offered interesting tidbits. The photos that accompany each article are phenomenal, whether they represent the early plans, the view of Montreal around the school, the statues, and nooks and crannies that I never knew existed. This book wasn’t a definitive history by any means, waxing fondly on memories, and that is enough for a tribute… or celebration.

I don’t remember anything about this book, the fact that it’s a collection of essays by different authors, or what the essays were about. But I remember enjoying it. I basically ignored the poetry, which generally does nothing for me, although I read it. Is it good? I can’t say.

The photographs comprise delightful places that could be hidden or in plain sight, from old maps of the University grounds to pictures that are rather mundane, but show the architecture for anyone who is interested in it. In short, there should be something for everyone in this book.

As for the essays, here are a few brief thoughts…

A Student’s World is a short essay, brilliantly describing the buildings on campus, as well as the limits of the University of the day. Like the author, I had my core building (engineering), and the rest was more of an appendix to the map. I didn’t take gym at McGill, but I can see the attraction of the sports buildings, too.

The Seed Becomes a Tree is the history I was looking forward to, from the initial grant by James McGill in a time when it was fashionable to leave money to institutions (like in The Perfect Machine), through the trials to meet his deadline, the location and how it evolved, and to the buildings that were added or removed. What would have happened if the stewardship didn’t have to sell off much of the original bequest? It would have been a huge property! The descriptions of the city of Montreal at the time are captivating, as are the way buildings were added the lost. McGill wasn’t the only benefactor to the burgeoning university, and each donation allowed it to grow. There’s mention of the women’s college and the arboretum in St-Anne-de-Bellevue, and even out in the Eastern Townships, which I hadn’t realized was part of the school. Amazing to go through this and see how everything grew, including the city itself!

I thought a sheepskin was a football, but in the context of Winning the Sheepskin, it has something to do with graduation, no longer part of the ceremony, I guess. The essay starts by talking about some of the most famous grads, like Sir William Oster, Octavia Grace Ritchie, and Annie MacDonald. It then switches gears to talk about the transition after World War 1, including the increased enrollment (3000 undergrads!), the introduction of avant-guard thinking and productions, and social change. The war years have always interested me, and the degree to which they changed the University are interesting, ending with another massive surge of enrolment from war veterans. Into the roaring sixties with more social change, including drugs at dances and other gatherings, the author moves into the ’70s and ’80s. This is another essay I’d love to continue with a part 2, showing how things continued to change.

I never knew there was, once upon a time, an outdoor procession, with the grad students, undergrads, faculty, support staff and everyone else. It must have been a terrific sight. The author of Who Runs This Place Anyway? takes the opportunity to describe each of the faculty and support roles, the formation and transition of the senate to include students and faculty, and more. When he gets to the principal, it’s time to describe as many of them as possible, and maybe all of them up to the print date. I found this part fascinating to the point where I wanted more! Of course, there’s a nice section about undergrads and grad students and support staff, with a few special notes.

I found Stages in an Education to be more difficult, as it meandered a lot. From personal recollections of professors and inspiration, which were usually neat to read about, to the role of female faculty, with the usual hardships of being taken seriously, finally resulting in the author leaving McGill. I liked the individual parts, but as a whole it seemed to be lacking something of the earlier essays.

The author of A Torch for All Time makes research sexy, describing the works of Osler in medicine, and Principal William Dawson in natural sciences. It seems that everyone had something to donate to McGill, making its university museums state of the art. Physics with Rutherford, MacDonald College on the West Island, and robotics are all covered, with token examples that make a reader want to know more.

Writing is one of my passions, but I never did it academically. Most of what the author means by writers in Writers at McGill are poets, but there are other references, too. I would expect that a University like McGill to have produced many authors of all sorts, and I was not disappointed. I have not read any of these authors, and their interests are not mine. The essay felt a bit dry, strangely, but the accomplishments are anything but!

Discovering the McGill Treasures is the essay that made me regret not wandering the campus more, discovering things. It was not my style, though, so I’m glad others did and could report on it. There’s a lot of cool stuff, though I found the writing to be a little less interesting. The museums are described on a personal note, which gave them depth, with an interest in how they came to be and where many artefacts came from. There are a lot more museums than I ever would have guessed at the University!

McGill and the Community … and me, unfortunately, started as the weakest and most rambling essay of the book, and although it had many nuggets of interesting information, it lost me at some points. I think the author was trying to be satirical, or maybe just went beyond my understanding of the classics in his references. However, his descriptions of Montreal and the way it evolved, often because of the influence of the university, were superb, but as always with these short essays, insufficient.

The book concludes with Celebrating the Future, a satisfactory description of some of the author’s contacts made through life at the University, and evolves into historical description of the eras of education. I’m reminded of Isaac Asimov’s last books, where the University at Trantor and its library take on religious status, regarded as the epitome of human achievement. If it had been written more recently, I wonder how it would proceed. Are establishments of knowledge highly regarded anymore, or have they become advanced high schools, since just about everyone needs a degree to get a job. Do they represent the epitome of human evolution anymore, or do people in general even think of them? I’d like to think yes, but given the state of the world, I’m not sure anymore.

Most of the essays were truly enjoyable, and this book is wonderfully crafted, and a pleasure to read. Still hoping for a second part one day!

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