The history of the Canada-United States relationship is frequently pre sented as a story about fish, boundaries, reciprocity and personalities; or a nationalistic treatise about United States ambition and imperialism toward its smaller neighbour; or a Special relationship' unique in the world. Thompson and Randall have written an excellent book in which the relationship is set in the broad context of the international system and the expansion of the roles of the United States and Canada within it. A central theme is that Canada shifted from being a European nation to an American nation because of geopolitical and economic forces over which it had little control. Canada's historical relationship with the United States has been conditioned by this reality. Up to 1871 Canada's importance to the United States was as a special case (a 'hostage') in Anglo-American relations. Thus there was a general lack of interest in Canada, with the exception of resource issues, except as it related to Anglo-American strategic and economic relations.