Alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrific tragedy, has nevertheless gained some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living on Toronto's skid row, has been scarred by another tragedy. But, like all his clansman, Alexander is sustained by a family history that seems to run through his veins. And through these lovingly recounted stories-wildly comic or heartbreakingly tragic-we discover the hope against hope upon which every family must sometimes rely.

    This book also contains them all, except that each one appears by itself in its own chapter. A unique personality for each vowel soon emerges: A is courtly, E is elegiac, I is lyrical, O is jocular, U is obscene. A triumphant feat, seven years in the making, this uncanny work of avant-garde literature promises to be one of the most important books of the decade.

    Lizzy is the steadfast grandmother; crazy, red-haired Josie, the mother; and Kit, the 14-year-old daughter who tells their story. Like a maritime cutter, the narrative sails along smoothly, and much of the dialogue is in the distinctive argot of that windy Atlantic island: "When it's clear like ice and ribbed on the bottom--that's the killin' frost. Your berries are dead. Good for moose and caribou pickin's. Now, there's them that picks 'em anyway, and that's why their jam is as tart as a whore's arse." With its partridgeberry patches, moose stew, and endless cups of tea, this is quintessential Newfoundland. After Lizzy dies, the nasty local pastor wants to put Kit in an orphanage and Josie in an appropriate institution. The compassionate Doctor Hodgins becomes their staunch defender against both do-gooders and those plotting Kit's downfall. This first novel is a female coming-of-age story of the rural variety, replete with endemic poverty, good-hearted and downright evil village people, and the constant irritant of Newfoundland's raw, nasty weather. It is also the touching story of Kit's first love, and it reads like a breeze. --Mark Frutkin

    Begun in the 1870s, it was intended, in the words of government officials, to bring these children into the “circle of civilization,” the results, however, were far different. More often, the schools provided an inferior education in an atmosphere of neglect, disease, and often abuse.     Using previously unreleased government documents, historian John S. Milloy provides a full picture of the history and reality of the residential school system. He begins by tracing the ideological roots of the system, and follows the paper trail of internal memoranda, reports from field inspectors, and letters of complaint. In the early decades, the system grew without planning or restraint. Despite numerous critical commissions and reports, it persisted into the 1970s, when it transformed itself into a social welfare system without improving conditions for its thousands of wards. A National Crime shows that the residential system was chronically underfunded and often mismanaged, and documents in detail and how this affected the health, education, and well-being of entire generations of Aboriginal children.

    A masterful retelling one of the major victories of Canadian troops over the German army’s elite division during WWII.

    It’s called BASTARDS AND BONEHEADS.Bastards succeed. Whether their goals are noble or immoral, Bastards are ruthless. Active. They cause events to unfold by an act of focussed will. Boneheads fail, usually by stumbling over their own two feet. Boneheads are reactive. Inept. They cause events to unfold mainly by accident. Bastards screw Canada. Boneheads just screw up.BASTARDS AND BONEHEADS makes an excellent parlour game. Pierre Trudeau was a Bastard. Joe Clark was not. Brian Mulroney managed to be both. Your turn: Jean Chrétien—Bastard or Bonehead?But Ferguson doesn’t limit himself to the prime ministers. No, sir. He takes on the full sweep of Canadian history, examining and evaluating the key personalities behind our most momentous events. When the English captured Quebec in 1759, was it a “Battle of Boneheads” or a “Contest of Bastards”? Was the War of 1812 won by Bastards? Or lost by Boneheads? From the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War to Canada’s contribution to the Holocaust, from the battle for women’s rights to the rise of the separatist movement, Will Ferguson looks at our past head-on, wars and all. This is history on the edge: opinionated, hard-hitting, outrageous and always thought-provoking. Watch out, Canada. Will Ferguson is headed our way.

    When he got there, he was home for the rest of his life.From the true nature of fishing to the harsh realities of raising a family in the woods, from the role of fear in the bush to the small nuances of family relationships, A Life in the Bush is painted on a canvas both vast and richly detailed. A story that captures the tough physical demands, the rich life of the senses, and the unselfconscious freedom that comes from living apart from town and city.In this beautifully crafted memoir of his father, Roy MacGregor paints an intimate portrait of an unusual man and spins a spellbinding tale of a boy’s complex relationship with his father. He also evokes, perhaps for the first time in Canadian literature, the bush the way bush people see it, an insider's view of life in the totemic Canadian wilderness.

    Feeling shy at first, the girls eventually become fast friends with their cousins. By the time the family is ready to leave, the girls are sad to see the wonderful day come to an end.

    Susanna Moodie’s Roughing It in the Bush warned her countrymen from taking the bait and emigrating to Canada; Catharine Parr Traill’s The Backwoods of Canada and Life in the Clearings celebrated her new-found freedom in Canada's classless society, and the spirit of industry. Both women had great influence on England's understanding of colonial Canada, as well as on Canada's own vision of its young self. Their writings have become central to all Canadian studies courses and are considered classic examples of pioneer memoirs.

    Tim Cook shows that the serious threat of gas did not disappear with the introduction of gas masks. By 1918, gas shells were used by all armies to deluge the battlefield, and those not instructed with a sound anti-gas doctrine left themselves exposed to this new chemical plague.This book provides a challenging re-examination of the function of gas warfare in the First World War, including its important role in delivering victory in the campaign of 1918 and its curious postwar legacy.

    It's a heartwarming tale of the magic that happens when the "Outside" and the "Inside" come together.

    Evolving over thousands of years, they thrive and flourish in their regional habitats. 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardeners is the ultimate guide for introducing these beautiful and robust plants into your own garden. Whatever your conditions -- sunny, shady, or in-between -- and whatever your style -- formal, informal, or a mix -- there are native plants to help you achieve your gardening goals.

    While recovering, he explains that it was a gift to his beloved wife, who disappeared from their Kiev home in 1941 during the German occupation. He has been searching for her ever since. It is now 1982.After that first encounter, Elia comes back to the flea market every Sunday to tell his story. It's the tale of a young Jewish mane risking his life to find his beloved. Elia recounts hiss earch for his pregnant wife through war-torn Eastern Europe, barely escaping death at Babi Yar, encountering suspicious partisans, posing as a Nazi soldier, witnessing the destruction of the Polish ghetto, and ending up in a concentration camp. The war over, he follows his wife's trail to Montreal--where it fades away. But three women are moved by his story and join the hunt. At the story's unexpected end, readers will believe that love and hope can in some way survive horror and inspire good.

    This amazing true story culminates in Fipke's staking of the Etaki diamond claim in Canada's Northwest Territories.

    His family's surprise-filled travels take them from one end of Canada to the other, even up to Nunavut, the newest territory. Curious but cool, Guy is the perfect narrator on this national odyssey. Honest, and often downright hilarious, his wry backseat observations, as well as those of his younger sister, Rachel, will be a hit with young readers. Their engaging tales will make this one car trip that anyone would want to take!This rollicking, informative and absorbing discovery of Canada's many splendors is a refreshing celebration of the country. Author Vivien Bowers has a keen sense of what appeals to young readers, and she turns up new information that captures the spirit of the many regions that make up Canada.Guaranteed to delight and inform, Wow Canada! is filled with: amazing Canadian facts Canada's historical wonders wacky postcards from Canada's odd corners cartoon adventures of Bucko Beaver photos and illustrations of Canada's most famous sights...and some hidden gems!The 3-D scrapbook-style design, bright artwork and stunning photographs complement the fast pace and refreshing style of this bountiful book. Humorous sidebars appear throughout, such as "Food I Was Introduced to for My Own Good" and "Exceedingly Weird bits of Canadian Trivia." "According to Mom" explains the natural history of Canada, while Dad's scientific knowledge is imparted in "According to Dad." Each chapter concludes with a list of even more "Places to Go" and "Things We'll Do Next Time," and provides readers with the best provincial Websites on the Net. Gorgeous, panoramic artscapes by Dan Hobbs open each chapter as the intrepid family makes their way across each province and territory.

    Now, in this exciting publishing event, there is further cause for celebration with the publication of his selected letters. This volume for the first time gathers together previously unpublished letters that Davies wrote while at the height of his illustrious career.In these lively and provocative letters readers will find affectionate letters to his daughter, witty barbs to hostile critics, as well as amusing and profound observations on the creative life. Correspondence with famous figures like Sir John Gielgud and Margaret Atwood offers fascinating pieces of gossip: "... and Salvador Dali, at the next table, raised his eyebrows and popped his eyes to such a degree that I feared they might leave their moorings and bounce about the floor".Poignant, sometimes devilish, and always entertaining, these wonderful letters give a rarely seen portrait of the private Davies.

    A natural story-teller, Fiorito’s extraordinary talent is revealed in prose that is spare, tough, and tender. In this memoir of his family, he writes with a full heart, wielding language like a knife. In the 1950s in Fort William, Ontario, when Joe Fiorito was growing up, it was wrong to be poor and Italian, and risky to be bookish – and he was all of these. He was also marked as a member of a lively and infamous clan. Strangers could size him up at a glance and tell he was a Fiorito; Dusty’s boy.Everyone knew Dusty. He was handsome and hard and hot-tempered. He was a man his son loved and loathed with equal fervour. And it is Dusty who occupies the heart of this book. A letter carrier, a small-town trombonist and occasional crooner, a heavy drinker, Dusty was both the keeper and maker of the family’s many stories. At the end of his life, as Dusty lay dying in hospital, Joe sat with him at nights, listening one last time to the family legends, now burnished to a perfect lustre by repeated tellings – stories too fantastic to be fiction, too pointed to be entirely true. Stories narrated in exquisite style in The Closer We Are to Dying.Fiorito’s striking talent is revealed both in his laconic prose and superlative story-telling, and in the affection and empathy of his vision. The Closer We Are to Dying is a beautiful reminder that while only the powerful are remembered in the history books, the lives of the powerless can also be the stuff of enduring myths.

    Montgomery's role in the development of Canada's national culture is not often discussed by literary historians. This is curious as some of Canada's leading writers, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Jane Urquhart, have acknowledged their indebtedness to Montgomery's fiction.That scholars have not mined the 'Canadianness' of Montgomery's writing is redressed by this collection. It is the first systematic effort to investigate and explore Montgomery's active engagement with Canadian nationalism and identity, including regionalism, canon formation, and Canadian-American cultural relations. It examines her work in relation to the many dramatic changes of her day, such as the women's movement and the advent of new technologies; and it looks at the national and international consumption of Anne of Green Gables, in the form of both 'high' culture and cultural tourism.The wide range of contributors represent views from across disciplines and boundaries, including feminist, biographical, psychoanalytical, historical, and cultural approaches. The scholarly reflections are punctuated to great effect by creative pieces, personal reflections, and interviews.This ground-breaking collection will appeal to all fans of Montgomery's work and to students of Canadian letters. It places Montgomery and her work squarely in the mainstream of Canadian literary history, affirming her importance to our country's cultural development.

    Among his subjects are: the old guide who built a staircase up a cliff; the stranded snowshoer who was rescued between rounds of beer in a Banff tavern; the man who catered to hungry grizzlies; an opinionated packrat with a gift for larceny; and a horse named Candy whose heart was as big as a stove.Along the way, Marty tries to answer the kind of questions that all of us must face some day. Do we really have to “grow up” and abandon adventure as well as youthful ideals? Can the mountains draw old friends back together, when politics and life styles have set them apart?Sid Marty writes gracefully of the land he loves and lampoons a few bureaucrats whose policies sometimes threaten its integrity. His portraits of the people – and creatures – that make their lives in the mountains are affectionate and respectful. But, above all, this is a collection of engaging, surprising, funny, and superbly told true stories by a gifted writer.

    The book caters for all budgets.

    

    Of his latest novel, Newsday wrote, "Thomas King has quietly and gorgeously done it again." Truth and Bright Water tells of a summer in the life of Tecumseh and Lum, young Native-American cousins coming of age in the Montana town of Truth, and the Bright Water Reserve across the river in Alberta. It opens with a mysterious woman with a suitcase, throwing things into the river -- then jumping in herself. Tecumseh and Lum go to help, but she and her truck have disappeared. Other mysteries puzzle Tecumseh: whether his mom will take his dad back; if his rolling-stone aunt is home to stay; why no one protects Lum from his father's rages. Then Tecumseh gets a job helping an artist -- Bright Water's most famous son -- with the project of a lifetime. As Truth and Bright Water prepare for the Indian Days festival, their secrets come together in a climax of tragedy, reconciliation, and love.

    Still, he had no idea their meeting would result in an amazing collaboration that would span a decade. Through the use of many tape recordings and translations, Sheldon has painstakingly woven the threads of a remarkable man's life into a book for all to treasure. With Tookoome's drawings to enhance the text, Oberman has managed to express the cadence and voice of one of the last of the Inuit to live the traditional nomadic life in the Arctic. The Shaman's Nephew magically transports readers to a cold climate that warms and grows more familiar with every turn of the page.Shortlisted, Governor General's Award 2000Norma Fleck Award 2000Parent's Choice Silver Honor Winner 2000 The Parent's Council, Select Title2002 Red Cedar Award, Non-Fiction Nominee

    Genuine political poetry is immensely difficult. Moritz succeeds, not because his list of atrocities is longer or more shocking, but because his vision is underwritten-not whitewashed-by an ecstatic lyricism that knows evanescence is the only enduring truth.

    It presents excerpts from the debates on Confederation in all of the colonial parliaments from Newfoundland to British Columbia and in the constituent assembly of the Red River Colony. The voices of the powerful and those of lesser note mingle in impassioned debate on the pros and cons of creating or joining the new country, and in defining its nature.In short explanatory essays and provocative annotations, the editors sketch the historical context of the debates and draw out the significance of what was said. By organizing the debates thematically, they bring out the depth of the founders' concern for issues that are as vital today as they were then: the meaning of liberty, the merits of democracy, the best form of self-government, the tension between collective and individual rights, the rule of law, the requirements of political leadership, and, of course, the nature of Canadian nationality. Canada's Founding Debates offers a fresh and often surprising perspective on Canada's origins, history, and political character.Previous published by Stoddart Publishing, 1999.

    She and her sister Marla arrive at the peculiar reunion to discover that the family home has been restored to look as it did in the 1970s, and that Joel has hired two actors to play their parents who died almost twenty-five years ago. "Then Again" unlocks the door to the blackly comic history of the Schafer family - with some explosive results.

    Fascinating descriptions of 91 species accompany color photographs and illustrations. Quick identification features, track patterns and range maps are included.

    This compels them to act in curious ways. Pool-Hopping is about the messy chaos of contemporary uban life and the attempt to stave off confusion with risky, often brave, and sometimes plain wrong-headed gestures of generosity.

    In this first biography of Vickers, Jeannie Williams provides a captivating and revealing portrait of a very private, deeply religious man and complex artist who baffled and often enraged his friends and colleagues.Drawing on scores of interviews with those who knew and worked with Vickers, Williams traces his life from boyhood in western Canada, to schooling in Toronto, to his debut at Covent Garden, to his tenure at the Royal Opera House, to his celebrated appearances on the world's major opera stages. She discusses his signature roles, including details of a little-known Otello in South Africa, over-the-edge performances, and stormy battles with conductors and directors. In addition, she details Vickers' controversial withdrawal from the Tannhuser opera, his on-going friction with BBC-TV, his conflicted relationship with his native Canada, and his choices in repertory. Williams also illuminates the paradoxes in the world view of a man who might have been a preacher or a prime minister if he had not been blessed with such a remarkable musical talent.This in-depth, well-balanced, and objective biography will stand as the definitive work on one of the world's greatest heroic tenors.

    Surrounded by rainforest and mountains, inaccessible and remote, this garden has endured for over eighty years. It is powerful with story, rich with legend and history, and Margaret Horsfield's book brings all these elements together in her critically-acclaimed book. Cougar Annie's Garden has been widely acclaimed in Canada since its publication. In 1915 Ada Annie Rae-Arthur came to this part of the coast as a pioneer settler. She set to work clearing the land. What emerged was no ordinary stump farm out in the bush, it was a vision, a dream and a passion. Slowly, over the years, a garden of strange, mesmerising beauty took shape in its clearing in the deep forest, featuring hundreds of varieties of imported shrubs and trees and perennials. Wily and stubborn , Ada Annie operated a mail-order nursery garden; she also ran a general store and a post office from her home. She bore eight of her eleven children here, and she outlived and outworked four husbands. A crack shot and a skilled trapper, she became a cougar bounty hunter, killing over seventy of the big cats. She became known as Cougar Annie. Until she was in her mid-nineties, she remained in her beloved garden, Many types of West coast lore, many strands of history combine in this book to weave together Cougar Annie's story. Many tales are told of the grim courage, blind hope and bitter losses that have shaped history here. Time plays ironic tricks on this isolated part of the coast. Failed enterprises lie rotting in the bush. The population has diminished. Settlements and homesteads have been abandoned. The ver landscape has been radically altered because of the logging in this part of Clayoquot Sound. People have left and dreams have died, all around here. Cougar Annie's Garden tells of a dream that has survived, and lives on. Against all odds, this remarkable garden has outlived its equally remarkable owner. Although it was radically overgrown at the time of her death in 1985, it has now been completely restored, and now enters a new era. Thriving with fresh energy and beauty, the garden stands sentinel on this part of the coast, an indomitable survivor. The non-profit Boat Basin Foundation is taking over ownership and administration of the garden, its aim being to preserve the garden and to establish a site for botanical field study in Clayoquot Sound. Construction on study cabins has now begun and the first group of students, from San Francisco, has already spent time at the garden on a study trip. This is Margaret Horsfield's fourth book. It features art work by Takao Tanabe and Briony Penn and a foreword by Peter C. Newman. In the spring of 2000 this book received the Roderick Haig-Brown award for best book about British Columbia during the past year; it was also shortlisted for the Hubert Evans non-fiction prize and it was runner-up for the Lieutenant-Governor's medal for historical writing about British Columbia. The book is a full colour production, with over 100 colour pictures and 50 black and whites.

    Each species has a concise yet thorough description, including range and habitat. Also includes seasonal highlights for parks in the Rockies and maps.

    But three of her seminal works of postmodernism and feminism have been lost to us for years. The Blue Books brings them back. A Book: A novel about a novel; five characters in "search of a narrative, a narrative in search of an author." Brossard's first novel, and a key work in Canadian postmodernism. Turn of a Pang (Sold-out in French): Quebec's 1943 Conscription Crisis and the 1970 War Measures Act weave together to form the texture of a woman's life. French Kiss: a celebration of the energy of women and language in the face of the male authorities of Montreal politics and the physical authority of the printed (and bound) word.The Blue Books collects these three long-out-of-print, groundbreaking Brossard titles, in their original Coach House Press English translations (A Book by Larry Shouldice, Turn of a Pang and French Kiss by the acclaimed Patricia Claxton). Don't be blue: these Brossard classics are back!