Timbit Nation : A Hitchhiker's Guide to Canada Book

After spending years travelling through some of the poorest nations of the world, seeking out the people's story, award-winning journalist and bestselling author John Stackhouse turns his keen eye toward his own country.

Most people who travel across Canada begin their journey at either end of an impressively long strand of national highway. But Stackhouse, thumb out and knapsack in hand, chooses Saint John, New Brunswick, as a launching point, where his ancestors arrived in the late 18th century as refugees of the Loyalist rebellion. From there he heads east to Newfoundland, north into Labrador and straight west to Vancouver Island, curious to discover how Canada has changed in his lifetime — since the advent of the superhighway, a global culture and continental economy have taken hold. Is Canada capable of remaining a distinct nation?

Following the route of the explorers, Stackhouse endures rain, bugs and gale-force winds, but also meets some incredible personalities, each with their own fascinating anecdotes and often surprising social and political commentary as well. Once and for all they dispel the myth that Canadians are a bland and complacent lot. Contemplating a Timbit in a Tim Hortons on the highway — a truly Canadian experience — leads Stackhouse to reflect on our remaining distinctions from our neighbour to the south. Americans may have perfected the doughnut as a fast-food staple, but it took Canadians to figure out how to truly exploit the hole.

A wry and perceptive look at our country in the present, Timbit Nation has all the prerequisites of good travel literature: a cast of colourful characters, funny, informative writing, and a landscape of tremendous beauty.