LITMIR.BIZ

Susanna Moodie was already a published author when she emigrated from England to Upper Canada with her husband and baby in 1832. The Moodies were seeking financial security and a better life in the colony, but they found themselves struggling to make a living on a bush farm. Despite her primitive life in the backwoods and the demands of caring for her children, Susanna continued to write and publish. In 1852 her best-known book, Roughing It in the Bush , was published in England. A Canadian edition appeared in 1871. Roughing It in the Bush has endured both as a valuable social document of the Canadian pioneer experience and as a work of literature.

Подробнее

The boreal forest of Quebec/Labrador – some of the most rugged and isolated land in Canada – has captivated avid canoeists for generations. In the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, the intrepid A.P. Low of the Geological Survey of Canada spent, in total, more than ten years of his working life surveying the area. Employing Aboriginal canoemen and guides, he travelled by canoe, snowshoe and sailing vessel to map and document much of this vast territory. Challenged by the mystique of this extraordinary Canadian, canoeists Max Finkelstein and James Stone retraced Low’s routes – by their admission, their toughest canoe trip ever! Using archival sources, oral history and personal experience, they tell the story of A.P. Low and, in the process, reveal the environmental issues now facing this much threatened Canadian wilderness. "Once again Max Finkelstein has blessed us with his incredible ability to make history of exploration come alive. Rather than sit behind a desk and try to imagine the ’misadventures’ Low would have had, he goes out and duplicates them, and along the way creates a few tales of his own. This is one great read and we should be thankful that people like Max and Jim Stone exist in this world of ours." – Kevin Callan, well-known author and canoeist "From A.P. Low’s logs and reports, Max Finkelstein and Jim Stone give vitality to that great geological surveyor. Interspersed are vivid accounts of their own challenging canoe voyages on the same rivers and portages of the boreal forest and rock in the James Bay/Ungava/Labrador country of the Cree, Innu and Inuit. What emerges is an eloquent testimonial for the wilderness canoe trip in the Canadian experience." Bruce W. Hodgins, Emeritus Professor of History, Trent University; President, Camp Wanapitei; Member, Advisory Council, Canadian Canoe Museum

Подробнее

Communications theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) predicted the effects of electronic media on modern culture as early as 1964. McLuhan published several breakthrough books and coined terms like «hot» and «cool» media, «the global village,» and «the medium is the message.»

Подробнее

Stephen Henighan, a Romanian grammar book and hours of language tapes under his belt, billets with a family as an English teacher in Moldova, a country born from the dismantling of Romania during World War II. As a Westerner in this «lost province» and former Soviet republic, Henighan feels he’s an unnerving disappointment for many Moldovans, especially to the MTV-addicted, twenty-year-old Andrei.

Подробнее

I was only six when I suspected my skin might be the wrong colour… Born female on the wrong side of the tracks, Eve Mills Nash, with the help of co-author Kenneth J. Harvey, tells a hard-hitting tale of a lifelong fascination with men of a darker hue. From early childhood, Nash knew it was «something to do with what was inside the bottles» that encouraged the groping male fingers that casually abused her during her parents’ drunken parties. She soon discovered that the wine remnants in the revellers’ discarded cups would numb her pain. Nash’s fortuneteller grandmother predicted a future of violence for her, starting as a teenager with her marriage to first husband Stan, an Ontario Mohawk. What Nash’s grandmother didn’t prophesize was the drunken binges and revolving door of unstable partners that traumatized her children, left her suicidal, and convinced her she was a failure as a mother after her eldest daughter became a cocaine addict. Harrowing yet life-affirming, this blistering account of life on the cusp of New Brunswick’s Native community sees the Little White Squaw and her children balance precariously between two seemingly irreconcilable cultures and colours.

Подробнее

George Grants Lament for a Nation led some to call him a Red Tory and the dominant force behind the Canadian nationalist movement of the 1970s. Today, reading George Grants books helps us to understand the full implications of American-led, technology-driven globalization on everyday life.

Подробнее

Among the important stories that need to be told about noteworthy Canadians, Lincoln Alexander's sits at the top of the list. Born in Toronto in 1922, the son of a maid and a railway porter, Alexander embarked on an exemplary life path that has involved military service for his country, a successful political career, a thriving law career, and vocal advocacy on subjects ranging from antiracism to the importance of education. In this biography, Shoveller traces a remarkable series of events from Alexander’s early life to the present that helped shape the charismatic and influential leader whose impact continues to be felt today. From facing down racism to challenging the postwar Ontario establishment, becoming Canada's first black member of Parliament, entertaining royalty as Ontario's lieutenant-governor, and serving as chancellor of one of Canada's leading universities, Alexander's is the ultimate, uplifting Canadian success story, the embodiment of what defines Canada.

Подробнее

With the advent of Conrad Black’s new appeal, Steven Skurka is back to deliver a thorough, in-depth account of the controversial businessman’s legal difficulties. It was the trial that captivated observers on both sides of the Atlantic. Media titan Conrad Black, by turns respected and reviled for decades in Canada and around the world, faced off with U.S. prosecutors on charges of criminal fraud stemming from his activities with Hollinger International. As the only Canadian writer to attend the trials of Conrad Black, lawyer Steven Skurka delivers a thorough, in-depth account of the controversial businessman’s legal difficulties. Skurka offers analysis, insights, and personal anecdotes to present the clearest picture of the trials to date, featuring interviews with key members of the prosecution and defence, as well as a peek into the jury room during final deliberations. In the first edition of Tilted , Skurka showed how the prosecution attempted to «tilt» the trial in its favour, but he also demonstrated how Black unsuccessfully attempted to tilt the trial his way. Black lost his appeal to the Court of Appeals and began serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence in Florida. Black’s legal battles moved to the U.S. Supreme Court, followed by a second appeal in Chicago and leading eventually to a dramatic conclusion. Now Skurka brings the reader up to date on all of the recent developments in Conrad Black’s case, including new interviews and behind the scenes strategy.

Подробнее

Winner of the 2010 Donald Grant Creighton Award Artist Frances Gage, born in 1924 in Windsor, experienced both artistic recognition and acute despair in her life, yet she flourished in her work and as part of the contemporary Toronto art scene. A friend of Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, she developed a greater connection with the Group of Seven, working closely with Frederick Varley and producing reliefs of both him and A.Y. Jackson while working in Tom Thomson’s shack Frances remained focused and positive and became a successful sculptor, creating more than five hundred works of art. Still, even though she achieved the dream she strove toward during all the years of struggle, she discovered that the Dante-like Paradise she had sought and gained was instead the poet’s Inferno in disguise. Her correspondence, as referenced in this remarkable biography, bears out this insight in a life often marked by unsatisfying triumph over tragedy. It presents a candid view of one of Canada’s most fascinating artists of the twentieth century.

Подробнее

In 1607 Henry Hudson was an obscure English sea captain. By 1610 he was an internationally renowned explorer. He made two voyages in search of a Northeast Passage to the Orient and had discovered the Spitzbergen Islands and their valuable whaling grounds. In the process, Hudson had sailed farther north than any other European before him. In 1609, working for the Dutch, he had explored the Hudson River and had made a Dutch colony in America possible. Sailing from England in 1610, on what would be his most famous voyage, Hudson began his search for the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic. This was also his last exploration. Only a few of the men under his command lived to see England again. Hudson's expedition was one of great discovery and even greater disaster. Extreme Arctic conditions and Hudson's own questionable leadership resulted in the most infamous mutiny in Canadian history, and a mystery that remains unsolved.

Подробнее