Of Riel as a symbol, enough has been written. Riel as a person remains a troubling enigma. One possible technique is to take him at his own valuation. That is almost exactly what Thomas Flanagan has done [in Louis 'David' Riel: Prophet of the New World]. Having edited Riel's diaries, collected his youthful poetry and explored the political theory behind the 1869 Declaration of the Red River colony Metis. Professor Flanagan has now explored the abundant collection of Riel's religious writings. Let us, he suggests, suspend the conventional judgment that the Metis leader was insane. Instead, why not see if he qualifies as a millenarian religious leader?

The resulting book is an impressive and sometimes laborious example of interdisciplinary scholarship. Although a political scientist, Professor Flanagan has applied literary techniques and theological knowledge to an essentially historical problem. His task was made easier by the narrow horizons of Riel's...