Best of
Canada

2007

At the Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1914-1916, Volume 1


Tim Cook - 2007
    It provides both an intimate look at the Canadian men in the trenches and an authoritative account of the slow evolution in tactics, weapons, and advancement. Featuring never-before-published photographs, letters, diaries, and maps, this recounting of the Great War through the soldiers’ eyewitness accounts is moving and thoroughly engrossing. At The Sharp End is the first comprehensive history of Canadians in World War One in 40 years. It heralds a growing interest in World War One history with a CBC documentary currently under development. Acclaimed Canadian actor Paul Gross is starring in a $20-million feature film to be released in summer 2007.

If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor


Jean Little - 2007
    But soon her loving family is torn apart as the Spanish flu is brought to Canada by soldiers returning from fighting overseas in World War I. Fiona turns to her diary, pouring out her fears as her sisters fall ill with the deadly disease. Will Fee lose those dear to her?

Whitewater Cooks: Pure, Simple and Real Creations from the Fresh Tracks Cafe


Shelley Adams - 2007
    Despite constant pleading from customers, recipes for dishes made famous there were as unattainable as snowflakes in July. Even the cafe staff was sworn to secrecy. Now, Whitewater Cooks opens the kitchen doors.With this eagerly anticipated book, home cooks can re-create chef Shelley Adams' signature dishes. Readers will enjoy over 70 recipes from the cafe's selection of top sellers -- from warming soups to desserts -- indulging in such culinary favorites as:Whiskey-smoked salmon chowder Ymir curry bowl Whitewater veggie burger Runaway train wrap Peppercorn, brandy and gorgonzola sauce Crackle top snowy mountain cookies Whitewater brownies.Whitewater Resort is internationally recognized for its alpine scenery and the fine quality of its food. Now home cooks everywhere can share its most celebrated dishes.

Songs of a Sourdough


Robert W. Service - 2007
    This is a collection of 33 poems that relate to his years in North America, and include Shooting Dan McGrew and Cremation of Sam McGree.

The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor


Sally Armstrong - 2007
    In 1775, at the young age of twenty, she fled her English country house and boarded a ship to Jamaica with her lover, the family’s black butler. Soon after reaching shore, Charlotte’s lover died of yellow fever, leaving her alone and pregnant in Jamaica. In the sixty-six years that followed, she would find refuge with the Mi’kmaq of what is present-day New Brunswick, have three husbands, nine more children and a lifelong relationship with an aboriginal man. Using a seamless blend of fact and fiction, Charlotte Taylor's great-great-great-granddaughter, Sally Armstrong, reclaims the life of a dauntless and unusual woman and delivers living history with all the drama and sweep of a novel.

Dancing Through the Snow


Jean Little - 2007
    No mother. No birth certificate. Not even a real birthday. Now, after four different foster families, Min's not surprised when she's dumped back with Children's Aid the week before Christmas. Still, a small part of her can't help aching for a miracle... and now she has an injured dog that needs a miracle too.

John A: The Man Who Made Us


Richard Gwyn - 2007
    Macdonald follows his life from his birth in Scotland in 1815 to his emigration with his family to Kingston, Ontario, to his days as a young, rising lawyer, to his tragedy-ridden first marriage, to the birth of his political ambitions, to his commitment to the all-but-impossible challenge of achieving Confederation, to his presiding, with his second wife Agnes, over the first Canada Day of the new Dominion in 1867. Colourful, intensely human and with a full measure of human frailties, Macdonald was beyond question Canada’s most important prime minister. This volume describes how Macdonald developed Canada’s first true national political party, encompassing French and English and occupying the centre of the political spectrum. To perpetuate this party, Macdonald made systematic use of patronage to recruit talent and to bond supporters, a system of politics that continues to this day. Gwyn judges that Macdonald, if operating on a small stage, possessed political skills–of manipulation and deception as well as an extraordinary grasp of human nature–of the same calibre as the greats of his time, such as Disraeli and Lincoln. Confederation is the centerpiece here, and Gywn’s commentary on Macdonald’s pivotal role is original and provocative. But his most striking analysis is that the greatest accomplishment of nineteenth-century Canadians was not Confederation, but rather to decide not to become Americans. Macdonald saw Confederation as a means to an end, its purpose being to serve as a loud and clear demonstration of the existence of a national will to survive. The two threats Macdonald had to contend with were those of annexation by the United States, perhaps by force, perhaps by osmosis, and equally that Britain just might let that annexation happen to avoid a conflict with the continent’s new and unbeatable power. Gwyn describes Macdonald as “Canada’s first anti-American.” And in pages brimming with anecdote, insight, detail and originality, he has created an indelible portrait of “the irreplaceable man,”–the man who made us.“Macdonald hadn’t so much created a nation as manipulated and seduced and connived and bullied it into existence against the wishes of most of its own citizens. Now that Confederation was done, Macdonald would have to do it all over again: having conjured up a child-nation he would have to nurture it through adolescence towards adulthood. How he did this is, however, another story.”“He never made the least attempt to hide his “vice,” unlike, say, his contemporary, William Gladstone, with his sallies across London to save prostitutes, or Mackenzie King with his crystal-ball gazing. Not only was Macdonald entirely unashamed of his behaviour, he often actually drew attention to it, as in his famous response to a heckler who accused him of being drunk at a public meeting: “Yes, but the people would prefer John A. drunk to George Brown sober.” There was no hypocrisy in Macdonald’s make-up, nor any fear. —from John A. Macdonald

Essex County, Vol. 1: Tales from the Farm


Jeff Lemire - 2007
    Their relationship grows increasingly strained and Lester befriends the town's gas station owner, and damaged former hockey star Jimmy Lebeuf. The two escape into a private fantasy world of super-heroes, alien invaders and good old-fashioned pond Hockey. Tales from the Farm is the first volume in a trilogy of graphic novels set in a fictionalized version of Lemire's hometown of Essex County, Ontario.

The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic


Melanie McGrath - 2007
    "Nanook of the North" featured a mythical Eskimo hunter who lived in an igloo with his family in a frozen Eden. Nanook's story captured the world's imagination. Thirty years later, the Canadian government forcibly relocated three dozen Inuit from the east coast of Hudson Bay to a region of the high artic that was 1,200 miles farther north. Hailing from a land rich in caribou and arctic foxes, whales and seals, pink saxifrage and heather, the Inuit's destination was Ellesmere Island, an arid and desolate landscape of shale and ice virtually devoid of life. The most northerly landmass on the planet, Ellesmere is blanketed in darkness for four months of the year. There the exiles were left to live on their own with little government support and few provisions. Among this group was Josephie Flaherty, the unrecognized, half-Inuit son of Robert Flaherty, who never met his father. In a narrative rich with human drama and heartbreak, Melanie McGrath uses the story of three generations of the Flaherty family--the filmmaker; his illegitimate son, Josephie; and Josephie's daughters, Mary and Martha--to bring this extraordinary tale of mistreatment and deprivation to life.

Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army


Christie Blatchford - 2007
    Her vivid prose, her unmistakable voice, her ability to connect emotionally with her subjects and readers, her hard-won and hard-nosed skills as a reporter–these had already established her as a household name. But with her many reports from Afghanistan, and in dozens of interviews with the returned members of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and others back at home, she found the subject she was born to tackle. Her reporting of the conflict and her deeply empathetic observations of the men and women who wear the maple leaf are words for the ages, fit to stand alongside the nation’s best writing on war.It is a testament to Christie Blatchford’s skills and integrity that along with the admiration of her readers, she won the respect and trust of the soldiers. They share breathtakingly honest accounts of their desire to serve, their willingness to confront fear and danger in the battlefield, their loyalty towards each other and the heartbreak occasioned by the loss of one of their own. Grounded in insights gained over the course of three trips to Afghanistan in 2006, and drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews not only with the servicemen and -women with whom she shared so much, but with their commanders and family members as well, Christie Blatchford creates a detailed, complex and deeply affecting picture of military life in the twenty-first century.From the Hardcover edition.

A Perfect Gentle Knight


Kit Pearson - 2007
    Set in the 1950s and seen through the perspective of the middle child, 11-year-old Corrie, Pearson’s story illustrates how a rich fantasy life both helps and hinders children trying to cope with loss, loneliness, and growing up.While elder sister Roz is growing up and out of the desire for fantasy games, eldest brother Sebastian, who fancies himself Sir Lancelot in their Round Table game, continues to need them as much as ever,

The God of Atheists


Stefan Molyneux - 2007
    It it impossible is to resist quoting passages from this novel, given the author’s brilliant insights into character, wonderful literary flourishes and stunning demonstration of what is meant by inspired writing." - Humber School for Writers. A savage, brilliant, hilarious attack on modern hypocrisy, "The God of Atheists" follows the downfall of three men who wake up one morning and decide to take what they have not earned. Al, a down-and-out music producer, bullies his handsome son into forming a boy-band. Alder, an obscure academic, steals a brilliant idea from a grad student. As they exploit the talents of the naïve youths around them, their fame and wealth increase – but they become more and more terrified of exposure and destruction...

I Still Love You


Daniel MacIvor - 2007
    Includes: Never Swim Alone, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, In on It, and A Beautiful View.

Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917


Ted Barris - 2007
    All four Canadian divisions advanced in a line behind a well-rehearsed creeping barrage of artillery fire. By nightfall, the Germans had suffered a major setback. The Ridge, which other Allied troops had assaulted previously and failed to take, was firmly in Canadian hands. The Canadian Corps had achieved perhaps the greatest lightning strike in Canadian military history. One Paris newspaper called it "Canada’s Easter gift to France." Of the 40,000 Canadians who fought at Vimy, nearly 10,000 became casualties. Many of their names are engraved on the famous monument that now stands on the ridge to commemorate the battle. It was the first time Canadians had fought as a distinct national army, and in many ways, it was a coming of age for the nation. The achievement of the Canadians on those April days in 1917 has become one of our lasting myths. Based on first-hand accounts, including archival photographs and maps, it is the voices of the soldiers who experienced the battle that comprise the thrust of the book. Like JUNO: Canadians at D-Day, Ted Barris paints a compelling and surprising human picture of what it was like to have stormed and taken Vimy Ridge.

Call to Love: In the Rose Garden with Rumi


Rumi - 2007
    Rumi—the Persian mystic who lived and wrote in 13th-century Turkey—has become America’s most widely read poet, and these verses draw on two of the richest symbols in his Sufi tradition: the rose and the rose garden. The rose evokes both a high spiritual state and a visionary ecstasy, while the garden embraces all the world’s glories. Renowned scholar Andrew Harvey and award-winning photographer Lekha Singh have cultivated a fine balance of word and image to bring Rumi’s lines to life, pairing sumptuous color images with original translations of his transcendent writings.

Outside the Wire: The War in Afghanistan in the Words of Its Participants


Kevin Patterson - 2007
    Throughout each piece the passion of those engaged in rebuilding this shattered country shines through, a glimmer of optimism and determination so rare in multinational military actions–and so particularly Canadian.In Outside the Wire, award-winning author Kevin Patterson and co-editor Jane Warren have rediscovered the valour and horror of sacrifice in this, the definitive account of the modern Canadian experience of war.

Odori


Darcy Tamayose - 2007
    Eddie dies. But Mai falls into the world of her great-grandmother on the island of Hamahiga somewhere between heaven and earth. Odori is a novel that navigates through the glorious Ryukyuan Kingdom and the Golden Era of the Sho Dynasty, through bloody World War II Okinawa, and over parched prairies of Southern Alberta

The Red Indians: An Episodic, Informal Collection of Tales from the History of Aboriginal People's Struggles in Canada


Peter Kulchyski - 2007
    In the manner of Eduardo Galeano's famous trilogy Memories of Fire, the book uncovers a critical, living history of conflict. The Red Indians, with its polyvalent title that points to the many issues covered in the text, introduces readers to the history of colonial oppression in Canada, and looks at contemporary examples of resistance. Kulchyski clarifies the unique and specific politics of Aboriginal resistance in Canada.

Southern Cross


Laurence Hyde - 2007
    This new hardcover edition is a facsimile of the original edition, published in 1951. Laurence Hyde was infuriated with the United States' continued testing in the Bikini Atoll, following the mass destruction and unthinkable horrors resulting from the atomic bombs dropped onHiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Hyde's graphic novel involves a Polynesian island and the islanders' idyllic and secure life that is forever lost after American sailors arrive and evacuate the islanders from their homes. During the evacuation, a fisherman kills a sailor who attempts to rape his wife. The couple flees with their child into the jungle to avoid capture. After the other islanders have evacuated, the Americans detonate an atom bomb on the ocean floor. The islandreceives the brunt of the bomb's destructive force, which annihilates all flora and fauna. The fisherman and his family are subjected to horrific suffering and pain before dying from the resulting blast and radiation.Southern Cross includes the original introduction by Rockwell Kent and two essays by Hyde in which he provides the idea for his book, a detailed description of the process of wood engraving, and a short history of the woodcut novel. A new introduction is provided by the woodcut novel historian David A. Beronä.

The Birds in My Life


Ching Hai - 2007
    In this beautifully illustrated book, Master Ching Hai lovingly writes about each one of Her feathered friend's unique biography, complemented by life-like photographs and captions filled with amusing telepathic exchanges between Master and bird. As one views these colorful vibrant beings among the trees and flowers, singing their love for God, one feels a soulful retreat from the daily grind of the urban jungle. Simply opening this book of Master Ching Hai, instantly brings forth a magical forest animated with birds and flowers. Twenty-three beautiful feathered beings, frequently seen nestling in the Master's arms, brings Her endless joy. She is often moved by their words and actions and is greatly inspired by them as well. Master Ching Hai pleasantly surprises the reader by revealing that inside these God s creations are very highly developed souls whose love know no boundaries. Each bird comes with an inimitable life history and possesses its very own quirky personality. Some of them have had sad past making one s heart ache. Nevertheless, their funny antics will surely entertain and put smiles on faces, just the way they do to their beloved Mom. Supreme Master Ching Hai demonstrates in this work of love, the tenderest love a human can have for other creatures. Moreover, She shows how deeply animals can feel and that when one peers into their emotions a wide spectrum of feelings emerge. Master says: "I wish we could all understand others like birds, and treat them as we would ourselves...Their companion and friends mean a lot to them, sometimes as life itself, their loyalty is so incredible! They suffer loss and sorrow much like we do." All who have birds should consider their feeling and have respect for their dignity and love." These two hundred seventy pages of wonderful pictures and stories walk you to a world graced by beautiful birds and inspire to understand their lives and wide range of thoughts and emotions.

Rigorous Intuition: What You Don't Know Can't Hurt Them


Jeff Wells - 2007
    Tackling many of the most difficult subjects that define our time—including 9/11, the JonBenet Ramsey case, and "High Weirdness"—these studies, containing the best of the Rigorous Intuition blog as well as original content, make connections that both describe the current, alarming predicament and suggest a strategy for taking back the world. Following the maxim "What you don't know can't hurt them," this assortment of essays and tools, including the updated and expanded "Coincidence Theorists' Guide to 9/11," guides the intellectually curious down further avenues of study and scrutiny and helps readers feel empowered rather than vulnerable.

House of Sugar


Rebecca Kraatz - 2007
    Originally published in 2006 (by Tulip Tree) these small, four-panel episodes, with their heavy lines and slightly squashed faces, resemble high school drawings that have grown up. The collection's themes are consistent: our immediate pasts are messy and painful places, but if we look so far back that we have to squint to see, everything is strong and elegant. Autobiographical anecdotes make up the bulk of House of Sugar, detailing Kraatz' childhood in the prairies and West Coast. Recurring characters include her wise and sentimental grandfather, her unattainable peers, and her treasured brother. The book is also peppered with appearances by the various idealized men and women from the 1940s who comfort and inspire Kraatz throughout her life. The stories contain tales of Ogopogo, reasons to not become a makeup artist, Kraatz's experimentation with drugs, and the deflating realization that trapeze artists get runs in their stockings, too. House of Sugar also boasts an introduction by Canadian singer-songwriter Joel Plaskett.

Benedict Arnold's Army: The 1775 American Invasion of Canada During the Revolutionary War


Arthur S. Lefkowitz - 2007
    His contemporaries called Arnold the American Hannibal after he successfully led more than 1,000 men through the savage Maine wilderness in 1775. The objective of Arnold and his heroic corps was the fortress city of Quebec, the capital of British-held Canada. The epic campaign is the subject of Benedict Arnold s Army, a fascinating campaign to bring Canada into the war as the 14th colony. The initiative for the assault came from George Washington who learned that a fast moving detachment could surprise Quebec by following a chain of rivers and lakes through the Maine wilderness. Washington picked Col. Benedict Arnold, an obscure and controversial Connecticut officer, to command the corps who signed up for the secret mission. Arnold believed that his expedition would reach Quebec City in twenty days. The route turned out to be 270 miles of treacherous rapids, raging waterfalls, and trackless forests that took months to traverse. At times Arnold s men were up to their waists in freezing water dragging and pushing their clumsy boats through surging rapids and hauling them up and over waterfalls. In one of the greatest exploits in American military history, Arnold led his famished corps through the early winter snow, up and over the Appalachian Mountains, and on to Quebec. Benedict Arnold s Army covers a largely unknown but important period of Arnold s life. Award-winning author Arthur Lefkowitz provides important insights into Arnold s character during the earliest phase of his military career, showing his aggressive nature, need for recognition, experience as a competitive businessman, and his obsession with honor that started him down the path to treason. Lefkowitz extensively researched Arnold s expedition and made numerous trips along the same route that Arnold s army took. Benedict Arnold s Army also contains a closing chapter with detailed information and maps for readers who wish to follow the expedition s route from the coast of Maine to Quebec City. There is a growing interest in the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War as a source of national pride and identity and the Arnold Expedition as told through Benedict Arnold s Army is one of the greatest adventure stories in American history. Arthur S. Lefkowitz lives in central New JerseyREVIEWS In short, BENEDICT ARNOLD S ARMY is brilliant. The prose sparkles, the research shines, and the historical fog enveloping this obscure expedition lifts to reveal the military gamble across a barely-charted wilderness... hard to put down. Magweb.com 05/2008 highly recommended to American History shelves and anyone who would want to learn more about this enigmatic figure of American History. Midwest Book Review, 05/2008 an excellent campaign history that is difficult to put down a fine narrative that is certain to find a wide audience among scholars of the War of Independence and more popular audiences as well. On Point, 01/2009"

Portrait in Light and Shadow – The Life of Yousuf Karsh


Maria Tippett - 2007
    His iconic images of Bogart, Hemingway, Churchill, the Kennedys, Auden, Castro, Einstein, the Clintons, Khrushchev, Casals, and Elizabeth II inhabit the mind's eye of anyone familiar with photographic history. A refugee from the ethnic cleansing of Turkish Armenians in 1916, Karsh made his home in Boston and Ottawa but travelled the globe during his sixty-year career, photographing political leaders, celebrities, monarchs, and movie stars. He died in 2002, aged 94. He left a legacy of 50,000 portraits. This is the first biography, written with help from his family and colleagues and based on the Karsh archive in Ottawa. Its publication marks Karsh's centenary in 2008, when retrospective exhibitions are scheduled in a number of locations in North America, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Boston Public Library, and Rhode Island School of Design. The book reproduces sixty of Karsh’s most celebrated portraits, and reveals the technique behind the camera and the brilliant mastery of the photographer.

An Enchantment of Birds: Memories from a Birder's Life


Richard J. Cannings - 2007
    He muses over the meadowlarks' ability to hide their nests so completely that he has seen only two in a lifetime spent searching for them; the trumpeter swan, as picky as a two-year old, devouring potatoes and carrots but turning up its beak at Brussels sprouts; the northern gannet, with its snowy plumage, black wingtips, and startling blue eyes; the little saw-whet owl, which dabbles in bigamy and even trigamy; and more than two dozen other birds. Covering the entire continent, from the cacophony of a seabird colony on the shores of the Atlantic to a symphony of snow geese on the autumn plains to songbird courtship in the alpine tundra of the Rockies, An Enchantment of Birds informs and entertains, in one fell swoop.Published in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation.

The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment


Peter E. Kelly - 2007
    Prior to 1988 it had escaped detection even though the entire forest was in plain view and was being visited by thousands upon thousands of people every year. The reason no one had discovered the forest was that the trees were relatively small and lived on the vertical cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. The Last Stand reveals the complete account of the discovery of this ancient forest, of the miraculous properties of the trees forming this forest (eastern white cedar), and of what is was like for researchers to live, work and study within this forest. The unique story is told with text, with stunning colour photographs and through vivid first-hand accounts. This book will stand the test of time as a testament to science, imagination and discovery.

Explorers Of The Dawn


Mazo de la Roche - 2007
    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Sisters in Two Worlds: A Visual Biography of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill


Michael Peterman - 2007
    . . [their] story reminds us, as Canadians, of where we have come from and how far we have travelled.”—Charlotte Gray, in the introduction to Sisters in Two Worlds.Their childhood was spent in a manor house in the Suffolk countryside. As aspiring young authors, they attended literary evenings in the drawing rooms of Georgian London. But in 1832 Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill crossed the Atlantic to embark on new lives in the backwoods of Upper Canada where they struggled to survive and raise their families in a strange and often hostile world. By the light of homemade candles, Susanna and Catharine wrote about their experiences, producing such enduring classics as Roughing it in the Bush and The Backwoods of Canada. And Catharine’s beautifully illustrated books on Canadian plants and wildflowers were the first of their kind.Sisters in Two Worlds recreates the remarkable lives of these two pioneering writers. Its absorbing narrative is complemented by modern colour photographs of the places they knew, combined with archival images, paintings, letters, and family artifacts. Written by Canada’s foremost Moodie/Traill scholar, this visual biography is an informative new look at two of this country’s seminal writers and a remarkable tapestry of life in early Canada.

Crazy for Gold (Canadian Flyer Adventures)


Frieda Wishinsky - 2007
    So with sketchbook and digital recorder in hand, they once again rub the sled's magic logo. This time, they find themselves in the gold rush of the late 1800s. They soon catch Klondike Fever, but will they find gold or lose their shirts? The people are colorful, the land is rugged, and the adventure is unlike anything Matt and Emily have ever experienced. Dean Griffiths' black and white illustrations add detail to this daring tale.

The Lumberjack's Lady


Susan Page Davis - 2007
    When an intriguing French lumberjack comes to work in the office alongside her, Letitia knows she cannot allow the feelings he stirs within her. Her father would never consider him an eligible suitor. From the moment Etienne rescued the boss's lovely young daughter from drowning in a frozen lake, he has not been able to put her out of his mind. Working with her only complicates things. Yet his feelings for her are so strong. Can he overcome prejudice and prove his worth both as an employee and as a man?

The Wild Coast 3: A Kayaking, Hiking and Recreation Guide for Bc's South Coast and East Vancouver Island


John Kimantas - 2007
    The Wild Coast 3 completes, for the first time, a kayaking network across the entire B.C. Coast.The Wild Coast 3 provides explorers with everything they need to know to journey along the south coast and east Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Port McNeill. Written from first-hand research, this point-by-point guide, designed for kayakers but usable by anyone on the coast, describes the details, hazards, geography, ecology, history, hikes and attractions of each location. Colorful maps and color photography accompany the text.This book provides information for the following locations:The Gulf Islands The Discovery Islands Sechelt Inlet Johnstone Strait Desolation Sound Knight Inlet Jervis Inlet Broughton Archipelago Quadra Island Queen Charlotte Strait.Kayakers, adventurous travelers, curious tourists and armchair readers alike will find The Wild Coast, Volume 3 to be an indispensable guide to British Columbia's magnificent coast.

The German Army at Passchendaele


Jack Sheldon - 2007
    Reeling from the huge losses in earlier battles, the German army was in no shape to absorb the impact of the Battle of Messines and the subsequent bitter attritional struggle.Throughout the fighting on the Somme the German army had always felt that it had the ability to counter Allied thrusts, but following the shock reverses of April and May 1917, much heart searching had led to the urgent introduction of new tactics of flexible defense. When these in turn were found to be wanting, the psychological damage shook the German defenders badly. But, as this book demonstrates, at trench level the individual soldier of the German Army was still capable of fighting extraordinarily hard, despite being outnumbered, outgunned and subjected to relentless, morale-sapping shelling and gas attacks.The German army drew comfort from the realization that, although it had had to yield ground and had paid a huge price in casualties, its morale was essentially intact and the British were no closer to a breakthrough in Flanders at the end of the battle than they had been many weeks earlier.

Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire


Linda McQuaig - 2007
    Attempting to please our powerful neighbour, Ottawa has abandoned Canada’s traditional role as a leading peacekeeping nation, and instead adopted a more militaristic, warlike stance, battling insurgents in Afghanistan as a junior partner in the U.S. "war on terror."Ottawa has also abandoned Canada’s traditional attempt to be a fair-minded mediator and conciliator, most notably in the Middle East conflict. And, under the government of Stephen Harper, Canada has joined the United States in becoming a leading obstructionist in worldwide efforts to deal with climate change — perhaps the most urgent issue on the international agenda. The switch in direction evident in these positions has redefined the way Canada operates in the world, transforming our country into a helpful assistant to an aggressive U.S. power, increasingly out of sync with our European allies and with the rest of the world.As in all her previous books, Linda McQuaig strips away the comforting illusions peddled by those in our elite. With her trademark combination of research, analysis, irreverence and passion, McQuaig shows how the elite has pushed us down a path with far-reaching consequences for us as a nation, and for our ability to find our own way in the world.From the Hardcover edition.

Margin of Terror: A Reporter's Twenty-Year Odyssey Covering the Tragedies of the Air India Bombing


Salim Jiwa - 2007
    Two flights. Both departing Vancouver en route to India with stops in Tokyo and London.Two explosions. One on the ground in Tokyo, the other in the air off the coast of Ireland.Three hundred thirty-one innocent people — dead.Twenty years...two suspects. A 19-month trial. One hundred fifteen witnesses. Three weeks of closing arguments. The longest, costliest trial in Canadian history.Zero convictions.Margin of Terror is a compulsively readable portrait of the innocent victims and of the heartbroken families and friends for whom the dreams of justice and closure remain bitterly unfulfilled.

Three Million Acres of Flame


Valerie Sherrard - 2007
    But in the annals of Canadian history, October 7, 1825, is the date of one of our greatest national disasters.The Haverill family has been turned upside down in the last year. Following the death of their mother, Skye and her brother, Tavish, have adjusted to live with a single parent. And when they're asked to make another adjustment -- when his father remarries and his new wife becomes pregnant -- Skye finds that some changes are too much to handle.But family struggles quickly become irrelevant when the Haverills and their community are caught up in the Miramichi Fire, the largest land fire in North American history. As the family and the town struggle through the fire and the devastating aftermath, all must find a way to rebuild homes and relationships.

The Lost Massey Lectures


John Kenneth Galbraith - 2007
    In this extraordinary collection, major thinkers offer passionate polemics on the major issues of the 20th century. Here are King on race and prejudice; Galbraith on economics and poverty; Jacobs on Canadian cities and Quebec separatism; Goodman on the moral ambiguity of America; Brandt on international peace; Kierans on globalism and the nation-state; and much more. Their words not only have considerable historical significance but also remain hugely relevant to the problems we face today. At last, a selection of these “lost” lectures is available to a world so hungry for, and yet in such short supply of, innovative ideas. The Lost Massey Lectures includes an introduction by veteran CBC producer Bernie Lucht.

The Spirituality of Narnia: The Deeper Magic of C.S. Lewis


John P. Bowen - 2007
    However, not all readers know the deep spirituality that underlies them. In some ways, the stories mirror Lewis' own wrestling with his spiritual longings, and seek to help others on the same journey. He wants us to feel, as he himself came to feel, that what we long for at the deepest level of our being is to be part of a great story, indeed The Great Story, in which the stories of Narnia and the story of our world and the story of our lives find their true meaning. John Bowen is a professor at Wycliffe College in the University of Toronto. He teaches courses on such things as communication, leadership, culture, how to make churches user-friendly, and (of course) C.S. Lewis.

Dystopia


Mike Oulton - 2007
    Mike Oulton went to prison for trying to smuggle fifteen kilos of cocaine into the United States. Ed Griffin went to prison to cause a revolution. He wanted men to write their stories and when the public discovered the horror of prison, the walls would come tumbling down. Both had a lot to learn. Mike counts the years and the days until he can get back on the street; Ed numbers the converts to his revolution. One day they meet in a classroom and friendship changes both of them. The book takes readers through some of North America's worst prisons. The story follows the two men on their different paths. The reader watches Ed trek into American and Canadian prisons to teach murderers and thieves how to write. Mike, a convicted drug smuggler and habitual criminal, tries to survive the dangers of a Mexican prison and the emotional torment of one of Canada's worst penitentiaries. Both men tell stories of the characters they meet along the way and both show the reality of prison, not the media image.

Macdonald: A Novel


Roy MacSkimming - 2007
    Macdonald.Narrated by his private secretary, Joseph Pope, "Macdonald" opens with stirring scenes of Sir John fighting his last great election battle on issues that uncannily echo our national concerns today. The year is 1891, and there is a very real fear of absorption by the United States.Meanwhile, a political scandal in Quebec threatens to topple Sir John's government. Exhausted by his electoral victory, the old leader fights to keep his iron grip over his party and life itself. Joseph Pope renders his chief in intimate detail, reveling the immense charm and personal magnetism that gave Macdonald such mastery over people and events. As the novel moves majestically towards his final hours, Sir John himself addresses the reader directly, reflecting on his past and present.The spellbinding narrative features a memorable cast of characters ranging from President Ulysses S. Grant, Louis Riel and Sir Wilfrid Laurier to Macdonald's feisty second wife, Lady Agnes Macdonald, and their disabled daughter Mary.Convincingly grounded in the political and personal passions of the day, "Macdonald" delivers a brilliant and exciting portrait of a young emerging nation and its greatest champion. At once seductively evocative and emotionally engaging, this is historical fiction at its best.

Power Plays


Maureen Ulrich - 2007
    By signing her up with the local girls hockey team, her parents hope to give her a fresh start and help her make new friends, but bullies can be found everywhere—including the dressing room. Power Plays, a gritty tale about the problems facing today’s teens, is sprinkled with humour, heart-pounding hockey action, life lessons, and positive female role models.

Post


Arley McNeney - 2007
    Her position as "Big Girl" on the team belies her fragility when her decision to retire and undergo a long overdue hip replacement throws her into a post-retirement identity crisis. Spurred on by pain and a numbing domesticity with longtime love, Quinn McLeod, she retreats into her memory, reliving her rookie year and emerging sexuality with her much older mentor, Darren Steward. As Nolan struggles to maintain her tenuous connections to the people around her in the midst of physical anguish, we are reminded that, despite our bodies' limitations, we have physical needs that we are driven to fulfill, and the adrenaline that pushes professional athletes can be harnessed to allow what may seem impossible.

Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment


Geoffrey Hayes - 2007
    Since then, generations of Canadians have shared a deep emotional attachment to the battle, inspired partly by the spectacular memorial on the battlefield. Although the event is considered central in Canadian military history, most people know very little about what happened during that memorable Easter in northern France.Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment draws on the work of a new generation of scholars who explore the battle from three perspectives. The first assesses the Canadian Corps within the wider context of the Western Front in 1917. The second explores Canadian leadership, training, and preparations and details the story of each of the four Canadian divisions. The final section concentrates on the commemoration of Vimy Ridge, both for contemporaries and later generations of Canadians.This long-overdue collection, based on original research, replaces mythology with new perspectives, new details, and a new understanding of the men who fought and died for the remarkable achievement that was the Battle of Vimy Ridge.Co-published with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies

My Years As Prime Minister


Jean Chrétien - 2007
    Chrétien loves to tell a good tale – and he does so here in the same honest, plain-spoken style of Straight from the Heart, his earlier bestselling account of his years as a Cabinet minister. He gives us a self-portrait of a working prime minister – the passionate Canadian renowned for finishing every speech with Vive le Canada!Chrétien knows how government works, and his political instincts are sharp. Through the decade 1993 to 2003 we watch as he wins three majority elections as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Finding the country in a dreadful state, dangerously in debt and bitterly divided, he describes how his government wiped out the deficit in just four years, helped to defeat the separatists in the cliffhanger Quebec referendum, passed the Clarity Act, and set out to fulfill the economic and social promises his party made in its famous Red Books. He reveals how and why he kept the country out of the war in Iraq – a defining moment for many Canadians; led Team Canada on whirlwind trade missions around the world; and participated in a host of major international summits.Along with his astute comments on politics and government, he gives candid portraits of a broad cast of characters. Over a beer, Tony Blair confides his hesitation about taking Britain into the Iraq War; in the corridors of the United Nations, Bill Clinton offers to speak to Quebecers on behalf of Canadian unity; while at home, Chrétien reveals the events leading up to the departure of his finance minister, Paul Martin. He recounts the dramatic night in which his quick-thinking wife, Aline, saved him from an assassination attempt at 24 Sussex Drive; and, with lively humour, he describes how he and Clinton successfully escaped from their own bodyguards – to the consternation of all.Even in the highest office in the land, Jean Chrétien never lost his connection with ordinary Canadians. He is as warm and funny in his recollections as in person, at once combative and cool-headed, a man full of vitality and charm. Above all, from start to finish, his love for his country and his passion to keep it united run clear and deep.

Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought


Notisha Massaquoi - 2007
    What does Black feminist thought mean to Black Canadian feminists in the Diaspora? What does it means to have a feminist practice which speaks to Black women in Canada? In exploring this question, this anthology collects new ideas and thoughts on the place of Black women's politics in Canada, combining the work of new/upcoming and established names in Black Canadian feminist studies.

Van Horne's Road: The Building of the Canadian Pacific Railway


Omer Lavallee - 2007
    William Cornelius Van Horne and the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.For armchair railroaders, historians, students - anyone fascinated by Canadian history - Van Horne's Road is a pictorial history of the railroad that forged a nation.Widely hailed as one of the most informative and important histories of the construction and first years of operation of the Canadian Pacific Transcontinental Railway, this vibrant new edition of Van Horne's Road has been reformatted and redesigned for a new generation of readers as a permanent tribute to the people responsible for the building of what has been called Canada's National Highway.

Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup


Ed Willes - 2007
    The greatest collection of hockey talent ever assembled, playing the games of their lives.Three epic 6-5 contests between Canada and the Soviet Union decided the ’87 Canada Cup.Canada evened the series, after the Soviets won Game 1, when Gretzky’s fifth assist of the game set up Lemieux’s hat trick, ending Game 2 in double overtime. Game 2 is widely considered one of the greatest hockey games ever played.With time running out in Game 3, after Canada battled back from a 3-0 deficit, Team Canada coach Mike Keenan sent the Gretzky / Lemieux / Hawerchuk line on the ice for a faceoff in Canada’s end. The rest is history as Gretzky, Lemieux, and Larry Murphy rushed up the ice, Gretzky skating on the left wing, setting up Lemieux’s game-winner in the slot with 1:26 left in the game. Gretzky’s pass to Lemieux, followed by Lemieux’s goal, is one of the most memorable plays in hockey history.Gretzky to Lemieux captures the on-ice drama that led to the historic three-game final, and the stories behind it. Ed Willes adds depth and weight to the games by revealing the rebellion among Soviet hockey stars in the early days of Glasnost and a crumbling Soviet Union; the trouble brewing for Alan Eagleson; the ascendancy of Mario Lemieux; and the end of the glorious Gretzky era in Edmonton.Packed with interviews of players and coaches, Gretzky to Lemieux tells the full story of the greatest hockey ever played.From the Hardcover edition.

Heroes: From Hercules to Superman


Bruce Meyer - 2007
    Ultimately, he demonstrates, heroes reflect the best of humanity. What Meyer’s bestselling book The Golden Thread did for the touchstone works of Western literature, Heroes does for our rich canon of flawed yet powerful characters. Whether tragic and epic, divine or infernal, Meyer ushers us into the company of extraordinary figures and guides us through some of the greatest stories ever told.

All Your Ears Can Hear: Underground Music in Victoria, BC 1978-1984


Jason Flower - 2007
    The first press is limited to 1000 copies. The book features one full page for each artist featured on the CD s and has hundreds of rare and never before seen photos, gig posters, record covers, etc. The CD s contain many unreleased and never before heard songs, such as two unreleased Nomeansno songs (1979 & 1982) plus their related groups: Infamous Scientists, Beaten Retards, Dioxyn, Harvest of Seaweed, and Mass Appeal. It also features the Neos plus their related groups: Fake Dogs, Sludge Confrontations, Nematodes, Harvest of Seaweed, Jerk Ward...also the Dayglow Abortions plus their earlier group the Sickfucks...also Red Tide plus their related groups: Censored Chaos, Suburban Menace, Nuclear Errors, and Divine Right...and many more. The book itself contains contributions from/about: Marcus Pollard (the Clix), Ricky Long (Commodes), Jade Blade (Dishrags), Ian Cochrane (Richards Records), Ray Ellis Dance Studio gig (March 7, 1981), John Wright (Nomeansno), Scott Henderson (Purple City), Murray Acton (Dayglow Abortions), Kev Smith (Neos), Andy Kerr (Infamous Scientists/Nomeansno), Tim Crow (Red Tide), Clod Neon (Steve Sandve). The preface is written by Rick Andrews. The foreword is written by Jason Flower.

At the Far Reaches of Empire: The Life of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra


Freeman M. Tovell - 2007
    Serving from 1774 to 1794, he participated in the search for the Northwest Passage and, with George Vancouver, endeavoured to forge a diplomatic resolution to the Nootka Sound controversy between Spain and Britain. Freeman Tovell’s thorough and nuanced study presents this officer as a key figure in the history of the region. Bodega's accomplishments place him in the company of Bering, Cook, Vancouver, La Pérouse, and Malaspina – those who advanced a better understanding of the geography, ethnography, and natural history of the area.

City Walks: Vancouver: 50 Adventures on Foot


Jennifer Worick - 2007
    Explore Vancouver's exciting streets and stunning parklands like a native.Walks include: The Seawall Promenade Lighthouse Park The West End Granville Island...And more!