Canada Books

An invaluable resource for all students. As a writer of a fictional account involving the Klondike Gold Rush, it was invaluable to me, as are all of Pierre Berton's works. Only one thing missing, or perhaps not very clear, is timeline - a month or even year when certain episodes happened. A lot of stories go back and forth. But those true stories involving such colorful characters are priceless, and Pierre Berton sure knows how to tell them!

I consider this the definitive book on the Klondike Gold Rush. Interesting, informative, highly entertaining and hugely enjoyable, the book covers all the drama from the first discovery to the last days of the Klondike Kings. You don't have to be a Klondike enthusiast to enjoy this book, because Berton is first and foremost a storyteller, and the historical facts come alive in his writing.

I've read this book at least 9 times, and it inspired me to backpack the Chilkoot Trail. It's not just one of the best history books I've ever read - it's one of the best books, period, that I've ever read. Enjoy!

As a Canadian living away from home, I never miss an opportunity to read a book by Pierre Berton. Berton had a talent for making History come alive in a way that is rare not only among Canadian authors, but indeed is rarely equaled and certainly not surpassed by any other author I have encountered abroad.

Klondike is one of those books that is so well constructed and written that you forget you are reading History and instead are absorbed into the story-line as if you were reading a first-rate novel. Burton develops the story-line and characters so that you are drawn into the history and come to appreciate the facts of the era and location. The people become real. You leave having experienced history instead of just having been served warmed over facts with a few theories as to how they tie together.

Despite the difference in genre, reading Burton's account of the Gold Rush in the North is every bit as entertaining as reading Farley Mowat or Jack London.

I recommend this book highly. It is a good introduction to Berton, to the Canadian North, the history of the Yukon, and a good primer before you launch into the other great books of Berton if you have never read him before!

For those of us whose knowledge of the Klondike Gold Rush comes mostly from the 1950s radio drama, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" this is a fine book to read. (Trivia question: What was the name of Sergeant Preston's preternaturally intelligent huskie?) This is a revised and updated version of the book "Klondike Fever" published in 1958. Read "Klondike" if possible, although the earlier "Klondike Fever" is still perfectly readable. The maps are much better in this edition.

This Gold Rush, named after the Klondike River in the Yukon territory of Canada, was the last great scramble for gold in the old West. One hundred thousand persons, mostly from the U.S., set out for the Klondike in 1897, 30,000 or 40,000 got there, after an arduous journey through killing winter snows, and a few hundred found gold. The stories of the long, hard journey into this Arctic wilderness are often horrific. In one party of 19 men, 15 died or were killed along the route and the other four had eyes damaged by snow blindness. The gold seekers included author Jack London, Wyatt Earp, and poet Joaquin Miller. By late-summer 1899, "one of the weirdest and most useless mass movements in history" was over. Most of the gold seekers went home to live normal lives, although a few moved on to the beaches of Nome, Alaska where gold could be picked up among the grains of sand.

The author tells a compelling tale of the men and women who participated in the Klondike Gold Rush. It was indeed a fever. The characters in this book include crusty old miners who suddenly became rich beyond their wildest dreams, stalwart, incorruptible Canadian Mounties, conmen like Soapy Smith -- who in the dramatic tradition of the West receives his just deserts -- prostitutes, madams, gamblers, angels of mercy, last-chance losers, rich adventurers, Indians, and missionaries. It's a fascinating read, based on research that included interviews with many of the oldtimers who lived to talk to the author in the 1950s. The author's standard of truth telling is high; he identifies a tall tale or an unlikely exaggeration when he finds them.

The text would be enhanced if there were photographs, but I doubt you'll find a better book about the Klondike Gold Rush. Oh, yes, Sergeant Preston's dog was named "Yukon King."

Smallchief

THE book on the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-99. Berton tells the story in chronological order, beginning with the pre-Gold Rush period when individual prospectors roamed the Yukon River territory looking for El Dorado. A million dollars worth of gold was hauled out of Circle City, an early camp, in 1896; a year later they would do the same in a matter of weeks in Dawson City, a few hundred miles up the Yukon from Circle City. Of course, after the big strike was made on Rabbit Creek in August 1896, Circle City was emptied of its population by the spring. Gold camp communities that had lived and thrived under a well-understood frontier code lost their cohesiveness; the thousands of outsiders rushing into the Klondike could never abide by such a code.

Berton relates the human interest stories, too. The infamous Soapy Smith, the dictator of Skagway, is here, as are the thousands of crazies who came north to the Arctic Circle underclothed, unprepared, unprovisioned, full of the gold fever. Things got so bad by the winter of '97 that the government had to appropriate $200,000 for those in the Yukon to prevent mass starvation. And still they came, heading up the Chilkoot Pass like ants. It was called a stampede, but progress was so slow it seemed anything but. Only the outbreak of the Spanish-American War put an end to it, along with the discovery of gold in Nome.

It's an exciting story, the last gold rush anyone will ever see. Factual, without unnecessary hype, Berton's book is an excellent account of this period in history. Highly recommended.

If I would only have the joy to read one book in my lifetime, it should be See Under: Love.

See Under: Love took my breath away, moved me to tears and touched me in the tenderest reaches of my soul. It is brilliant, imaginative, engaging and humane. The way characters, themes and time wind into each other transport the reader to a place far beyond the mundane. I loved every word. Immediately upon finishing, I went back to the first page to reread. My second reading was more deliberate and careful, and I caught much that I had overlooked in my first pass. I am sure that I will reread it again and again.

I originally bought this book after Jonathan Safran Foer enumerated it in his "Five Most Important Books" for an August 2007 Newsweek piece. Foer called it, "The novel of the 21st century" though it was first published in English in 1989. I thank Jonathan Safran Foer for his own works and, here, this recommendation. And in turn, I hope that I can pass this rare jewel on to others. This is my first review (well, not really a review which is elsewhere on Amazon but a recommendation) but I am compelled to do so. Months after the reading, I find myself thinking about See Under: Love and feeling grateful that I experienced it. This is not an easy book to read but the rewards are multifold. And when you are done, read the transcript of a talk that the author gave for a San Francisco Symposium at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0411/is_1_51/ai_85068470 for even greater insight.

David Grossman has taken the worst that man has to offer and spun it into a magical, magnificent ouevre which will touch you with the human spirit and make you proud to be alive.

Words fail. I beg anyone who has been considering buying into Jonathan Safran Foer's hype to instead find themselves a copy of this, the book from which he appears to have stolen most of his ideas, instead.

All hyperbole aside, this wonderful book has few equals. It demands attention, and reflection, and time, and it rewards those willing to invest those things in it beyond compare. Nothing short on a meditation the way our lives are impacted by the moral calculi of others, and the way our own actions reverberate throughout the generations.

As an Israeli who have read it in Hebrew, I would like to add a few words. One thing: this book is entirely different if you read it in Hebrew. It losses a lot in the translation, and not because the translation is bad, rather that the combination of different layers of very special Hebrew combined with Yiddish, along with the cultural context, makes it a book that is an impossible mission for the translator. Of course, you can't ask someone to learn Hebrew just for this book (and this still won't be enough, because he has to be born again as an Israeli and grow up here to understand everything...), but the book has numerous universal aspects that can be translated, and it's still, even after the translation, a must-read.
And now, for the book itself (if there is such a thing the book itself...).
This is by-far the greatest Israeli book that I have ever read. I had one feeling that went along with me throughout the journey: I don't know how the hell he did. I just don't know. Like a magician that makes a trick you just can't figure. The scope. The depth. I cannot describe this book. It defies space and time. It is a masterpiece.

I don't think I am qualified to write a review of this piece of art. Think Toni Morrison on LSD, or maybe Falkner writing in Hebrew as Isaiah, composing in a way never before conceived, about of all things, The Hollocaust! I guess this most twisted example of human depravity requires such a book. However, if I had not read Mr. Grossman's beautiful love narrative, " Someone to Run With" I would not have known at first if it was a work of genius or a tale told by an idiot, and might not have hung in there long enough to declare it the former - 5 stars! However, a second reading may be required to understand the nuances.

One of the best novels I have ever read. Don't miss it!

I found this book twenty years ago in a discount bin at a bookstore in Montreal, and every woman in my family and every woman I've lent this to, love this book. It is emotional, sad, but still so full of deep hope. It's a great short novel that cannot be critiqued intellectually. It's soul food.

I read this book over 25 years ago and it has haunted me. I periodically re-read it and find new hope in its pages every time. I have lent it to many friends over the years and my copy is sadly dog-eared. I know it is considered young adult/juvenile but it is timeless and ageless. It is a very precious book and I treasure it. It needs to be re-printed.

Publishers take note - this book is both timely and timeless! Published again, in this era where so many seek spiritual guidance, it would be certain to find mass appeal.

I read this remarkable, image-rich book twenty-five years ago. It was a treasure that cried out to be shared, and so I did. Unfortunately the book journeyed away and never returned to me. I hope that it is still being passed from reader to reader inspiring others with its message of eternal interconnections and redemption. It haunts my mind to this day - so much that my quest to find another copy has never ceased.

I read this book so long ago, I must have been in my teens. I picked it up because I needed a quick read. This story has stayed with me all these years. Each time someone asks me about a memorable book this is the one I think of instantly. Over the years I read and re read it, each time I found a new meaning in the story line. A new postive message for me to use in my life. I lent it to a friend who was going through a difficult time and it was then passed on again and again to other friends until I finally lost it. I would love to find it again, this time I would buy several copies so I could have one as well as lend them. I hope the publishers can be persuaded to do another printing soon.

I first read this book in junior high school, and it has stayed with me ever since. I think of it often and dig out my tattered paperback to re-read it and always pick up something new.

This is the story of Margaret Redmond, who dies of asthma at the age of seventeen in the year 1900. She finds herself in a strange "heaven" where she meets Paul, a member of a large Chinese family who lives in a great compound. Paul's grandmother, the matriarch of the clan, has predicted that Margaret will destroy the compound. Margaret does not understand this, or anything else at first. She begins to remember other lives, one as an Indian slave, Zawumatec; another as a sailor's wife named Elizabeth; and finally the life in ancient Sumer, where she was a doomed prince named Tirigan. Margaret must confront the lessons learned in these lives and the curse and hatred that have clung to her throughout the centuries before she can find peace and learn who "Paul" really is. A moving tale of reincarnation and the power love and hate have in shaping our destinies.

Mr.Dunford, wherever you are, Loved the audio version of Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture (back in 2001 I think). Will pounce on your next UNabridged novel with glee!

This delicious murder mystery will have you anxious to stay up late and finish it. Set in Toronto, Canada, the story follows Mitchell Draper, the fame-chasing, gay screenwriter and the antics of his friends Ingrid and Ramir. It's like reading a book written by your best friend. Read the next one too...Making a Killing. We can only hope for more from this witty and original novelist.

Early on in the book, the author describes a character as "nondescript" and I thought "oh, no. This will be bad." but no! This book is tremendously well-written. I think I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to gay humor fiction, so it's great to find something to recommend whole-heartedly. Similar to Misadventures in the 213, Soon to Be.. has a little triumvirate of lovable characters (though Mitchell's friend Ramir can be less than lovable) that are drawn very well. Even minor characters such as the unnerving and condescending Kitina is spot on and Dunford's Carmen Denver strikes me as a Hollywood tyrant completely encapsulated.

The reader will probably figure out what's really going on before Mitchell does, but that's okay because there are still a few surprises. Mitchell's other friend Ingrid is very lovable and shy. The reader really roots for her triumph in the Toronto artworld and her subsequent stresses caused by her fame are very touching and affecting.

People who liked this book would also enjoy the aforementioned Misadventures in the 213 and Christian McLaughlin's book. I can't wait to read the next Warren Dunford.

Okay, so call me paranoid, but I'm convinced Warren Dunford has been spying on me. The characters are so real, and so much like myself and people I know, that I swear I've met them all before. Our Ingrid is a boy, however, and our Ramir is a girl, but otherwise, same angst. The scene with Mitch's parents is eerie.
Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture is the most entertaining, compulsively page-turning, addictive book I've read in years. I haven't laughed out loud on the subway this hard since Douglas Adams. I started reading Making A Killing immediately after finishing this one, and already it's proved to be just as witty, just as engrossing and just as real as the first one.
I enjoyed the screenplay format portions immensely. I hope the hint is taken in Hollywood North and this book is made into a film, because I MUST see it!

The adventures of Mitchell Draper are the amusing and poignant tale of every aspiring writer. Warren Dunford's first person narrative style is so fresh and intimate, you feel as though you are included among his equally neurotic and very likeable friends.

Spotting the Toronto references was great fun - Oh, I've been there! - and a nice change from the ubiquitous America city usually found as the setting for novels.

Warren Dunford has provided a wonderfully diverting way to spend an afternoon and many, many opportunities to laugh out loud.

With any luck at all, "Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture" soon will be. I look forward to it!

This is an excellent book with clear photos of different parts of trees in its stated regional area.Maps are very good also and easy to see. I know what I am talking about since I have all the field guides available thru Peterson, Audubon,etc for North American coverage. Coverage of species native and introduced is thorough. This makes identifying them easier by narrowing your choices .Too big for field work,but good notes taken in the field with your significant other helping you with smaller regional guides and camera phones in tow will suffice when you get back to your home or motel.You can sip a glass of red wine together and share the day's fun in the Natural world!

This is a great book to help with the identification of tree specimens that you find in our northern forests. Beautifully illustrated, with pictures of leaves (and fall color), flowers, fruits, and the bark of both mature and young trees, Farrar really provides horticultural enthusiasts with all the tools they need to make correct identifications (in most cases, of course). In addition to the pictures, other botanical information is provided such as max heights, growth rates, silhouettes, reproductive information, ranges, etc.

My only small complaint with the text is that the ranges for several species are incomplete, covering only the areas in Canada and the very northernmost United States. Many species have a much broader native habitat, and it's often necessary to reference a second text for that information. Other than that; however, it is a great text that even includes "quick recognition" tips for most species. Farrar gives us a valuable resource for horticulture lovers and woodsmen of the north.

This book is just about as complete as everyone else that has reviewed says. I really only wanted North American trees and that is precicely what I got. A very fine book that is well organized with abundant photos, drawings and discriptions. I am just a novice so the more complete of a book the better. The only thing I wish is that I had an old beat up one to take into the woods.

There is no one book that will satisfy all your tree needs, but this one comes closest. Though it is Canada-centric, it should be useful no matter where in the US you may live. The pictures and line drawings are excellent, but most importantly they are consistent throughout. The "Quick Recognition" bits are a wonderful feature.
It is organized as an identification book but I use it more as an encyclopedia and wish it was organized alphabetically by genus. This is a book you read, then go for a walk, then read again. Highly recommended to everyone.

Every attempt I've made to identify a tree with this book has been successful. Worth every penny.

I like to travel and to observe the cities, landscapes, the plants and animals and the human inhabitants of the countries I go to. So does Levy-Strauss, and he is a fantastic observer, much more sharp-eyed than I could ever hope to be, and a highly entertaining writer. In this classic he talks about a wide range of observations from a number of corners of the world, but mainly about South America.
The book deals with Levi-Strauss' time as a teacher in Brazil and his trips into the South American hinterland; his escape from Nazi-occupied France; His later expeditions to visit remote tribes in the Amazon; and an assortment of observations about such diverse topics as the frustration of the traveler to never encounter the true, pristine state of a culture, the Indian caste system and the division of public and private space in different parts of the world. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes: My favorite one is how a native chief from observing Levy-Strauss grasped the social importance of writing, but not its role in information storage and transmission. He bluffed to impress his underlings and drew freshly invented line configurations on a paper. This leads Levy-Strauss to observe that from the invention of writing to its universal knowledge a few millennia passed, during which it did not serve to liberate the masses, but to control them. Such wide-ranging philosophical associations are frequent and were very enjoyable to me. The book is, however, definitely not only a collection of anecdotes, but in parts a very detailed description of the life of some of the native tribes he visited in the Amazon. Drawings of artifacts, patterns used in body-painting and photographs supplement the text. We are given both anthropological descriptions of the lifes of these peoples, their social organization, attitudes and material culture, as well as Levy-Strauss' personal experiences when living among them, sometimes his friendships with members of these tribes. Of course these people were strongly affected by the contact with European civilization, often to the worse. We also learn about these developments. There isn't really much direct explanation about his theoretical approaches to anthropology. This is the kind of book which made me wish that I could have been an expedition member of Levy-Strauss' team. Highly recommended.

I often review works which I have read long ago. Upon beginning to write about them I invariably discover how much time I gave to something which seemed so worthwhile at the time, and which I have almost completely forgotten. I then ordinarily do some catch- up learning about the book. And my review becomes an amalgalm of distant past and most recent present impression. And meanwhile the heart of the book is forever unknown to me and lost. And my review is only a minor tracing an impression both of the book itself and what of my mind knew when reading through it.
This certainly applies to my reading of this particular work, ,the one work of Levi- Strauss which I remember reading with any degree of real understanding and pleasure. His making of a life and career as an anthropologist which are a good part of the first part of the work interested me then.
The long travelogue and explorations into Amerindian society and mind, interested me less.
I understand though that the real voyage is into and along with the mind of Levi- Strauss itself, a mind much more complicated than I was ordinarily used to meeting and ingesting .
I do remember however the somewhat majestic tone, the tone of restrained sadness of quiet mourning which seemed to go through the work as Levi- Strauss met with worlds being lost and deterorating , in part through their meetings with the very kind of Western mind he himself exemplified. It is the mind destroying the object in the process of knowing it , as the Western explorers of these tribal societies transformed them out of their own natural state by meeting with them.
For Levi- Strauss and this I remember, the ' primitive mind' is not ' primitive at all' and may be in its linguistic complexity and social structure far more intricate than the ' civilized ' as it were sophisticated worlds we believe we live in.
I read this work as a way of being acquainted with a great mind, a mind which to my mind proved to be quite elusive and even distant.
But clearly the exploration made by Levi- Strauss of his own inner and external worlds is one which calls to the curious human mind and heart in its quest for understanding ' of the other'
Montaigne took a trip in the Brazilian jungle in the twentieth
century, looked in the mirror and saw the face of Levi- Strauss.

One way to gauge who's in among fashionable academics is to read the catalog for the "Writers and Readers' Documentary Comic Book" series. Sartre has an entry, and so does Derrida, and Lacan. Thirty years ago, you would have expected to find an entry in this index for Claude Levi-Strauss. No more. Translations of his principal works appear to persist in print, but the sales numbers are look low, and he seems almost to have disappeared from the trendy book reviews and such. This is perhaps a matter for at least idle curiosity: Levi-Strauss is surely no more abstruse than his magisterial contemporaries - but no less so; one is perfectly willing to be relieved the obligation of ever picking him up again.

With one exception. In style and temperament, Tristes Tropiques is so different from almost everything else Levi-Strauss wrote that it is hard to believe it is written by the same man. Oh, the primitive tribes are there, and a brief personal intellectual history, that offers a bow to Freud, and Bergeson, and Saussure. In my own copy, which I first read about 1980, I even have a pencilled notation "structuralism" - this at page 375 (Pocket Books edition, 1977). But there is almost none of the portentous vacuity that you had to cope with in the so-called "serious" works.

What you get instead is Levi Strauss the raconteur, full of travelers' tales. He dines on roasted parrot, flamed with whisky. The termites make the earth rumble. Virgins are made to spit in pots of corn, to provoke fermentation - but "as the delicious drink, at once nutritious and refreshing, was consumed that very evening, the process of fermentation was not very advanced." You almost expect the anthropophagi and the men whose heads grow beneath their shoulders, that you meet in the Voyages of Sir John Mandeville, Knight.

Laced through it all, you get a kind of austere sadness which is either (a) a tragic view of life; or (b) a kind of self-indulgent posturing, depending on your temperament for skepticism. "Every effort to understand," he says, "destroys the object studied in favor of another object of a different nature." Or: "Anthropology could with advantage be changed into 'entropology', as the name of the discipline concerned with the study of the highest manifestations of [a] process of disintegration."

Well, call me anything the like, they say, as long as you call me for dinner. It might even be an elaborate con. But so, for that matter, might the stories of Herodotus were you get the same mix of the eclectic and the tolerant, the surreal and the sly. Herodotus, we may note, is one of the first great works of Western literature. Let's hope that Levi-Strauss is not one of the last.

This is Levi-Strauss most readable book, and it is a fantastic introduction to the "why" behind his interest in structuralism. There are hints of the various methods and approaches that he uses in later works, but this book shows why he was to develop structuralism in later works. The writing is clever and eloquent, and various conclusions he made about cultural diversity address contemporary concerns in a highly articulate and responsible manner. Read this book before delving into the other writings of one of the 20th Century's most important anthropologists.

Tristes Tropiques, surely one of the great books of the twentieth century, is Levi-Strauss at his intoxicating, idea-overloaded best and an elegy for a world that colonialism and then globalisation have doen their rational best to annihilate.

Levi-Strauss, like most thinkers who come up with new ways of describing the world-- those who Richard Rorty calls "inventors of philosophical vocabularies"-- has of course been mis-read and his ideas mis-applied, as we see with the much-hyped "creation" and then "demise" of "structural anthropology." The real pleasure of this book, which mixes fascinating accounts of Levi-Strauss' travels in Brazil in the '30s with autobiography, and adds chapters on the Maya and ancient Hindu (Indian) civilisations, is in its sheer mass of artfully arranged detail and its endless, provocative play of ideas.

Levi-Strauss stays conversational, descriptive and straightforward, avoiding academic jargon and obscure references. He assumes you know the basics about people like Freud, Marx, Darwin and the Buddha, and then shows you a trip through largely non-industrial societies which unfolds from anthropological description into deep philosophical speculation on the meaning of society and life.

In Brazil, Levi-Strauss watches an illiterate but canny chieftain use his anthropological fieldnotes to intimidate his illiterate tribesmen subordinates, and speculates on the parallel origins of writing and slavery. In Matto Grosso, he meets a butcher fascinated with elephants, since "he could not imagine so much meat in one place." On the banks of the Amazon, a non-industrial tribe is dying, hypnotically lost in the symbolic intricacies of an ancient social system that makes its citizens inbreed. In India, Levi-Strauss watches Islam and Hinduism-- the "locker room" and "mother" religions-- wage symbolic and then real war post-Independence.

The book starts as anthropology, turns into philosophy, and ultimately becomes a critique of the West, driven by "reason" and technology to shake off what Levi-Strauss calls the "thick blanket of dreams" with which non-industrial civilisation arranges the Universe into Meaning, which remains for the industrialised world the greatest and unanswered question.

But Levi-Strauss does not idealise the primitive. His point is that through the study of those and that which are different, a kind of "ideal model" of society-- one which will never exist-- can be built in the imagination, and people can evaluate their world by reference to this community of mind.

This is a remarkable book-- easy to read, engrossing, and endlessly thought-provoking.

I purchased 5 of these books as a "Thank you" to 5 excellent physicians who supported me as an oncology nurse practitioner. Since I was retiring, I wanted to say "Thank you" and each physician was thrilled to receive a copy.

This is one of the most absorbing and readable biographies of Sir William Osler. Michael Bliss' book is considerably shorter and easier to read than the monumental Pulitzer Prize winning book by Harvey Cushing, Life of Sir William Osler.
As a retired general practitioner, Sir Willam's life and example is particularly close to what I have been practicing for the past forty years. When one reads this account one can begin to fathom this great man's ability, perception of human suffering, natural curiosity and dedication to the patient's welfare. This book reveals to us some of his other unique abilities and qualities namely his bibliophilia,vast reading, writing close to 170 papers, teaching scores of students, and having the honor of holding responsible and prestigious positions in the fields of medicine and the humanities. In addition to all these were his literally developing Johns Hopkins Hospital and University into the best in the world in his time and marshalled the achievements of hospitals in Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto. As Regius Professor at Oxford from 1915 to 1919 he was a towering giant . He therefore stands in my eyes as the greatest doctor of the 19th.,20th. and perhaps the 21st. centuries. Not Sydenham, not Hunter, not even Lister could do all that Osler managed to do and do so with so much energy, dedication and humility.
We doctors who were not with him on hospital rounds, clinical demonstrations,lectures, lunches, teas and dinners and amazing conversations with him are very envious of those who were blessed with these opportunities.
He set a living example to his protege the way a doctor should live and work to earn that mark of nobility that the profession has had for centuries. He was the healer of all healers and inspired many to literally follow his foot steps. To mention two such would be too few but the likes of Harvey Cushing and Wilder Penfield come to mind and they both became superb neurosurgeons even though their hero, Osler , was an internist. I was astounded to read the great numbers of international luminaries who were treated by him. He ministered to doctors and their families, medical students and staff and was thus a doctor's doctor both as a teacher and physician.
His love of little children, the youth, the aged and his own extended family was exemplary to say the least.
How sad that such a doctor left the world at a mere 70 years of age. Three great nations, Canada, the U.S. and Britain all claim him as their own son. That honor and adulation no one and no doctor has the distinction of achieving. He served all of them so well.
We all stand in awe of this stalwart of modern medicine and Michael Bliss has opened our eyes to this individual so well.

Despite almost a century since his death, William Osler persists as the `the grand old man of medicine', a life devoted to doctoring and doctors, who has supplied inspiration for many generations of physicians in the United States, Canada, Britain and the Continent.

Osler's life was a remarkable achievement as a medical teacher, (important in America in giving medical students real medical experience, as clinical clerks in hospitals) physician, prolific author, councillor, researcher and mentor to literarily thousands of men and women embarking on the profession in the medicos. It was the philosopher and great teacher, William James, who commented to Osler, marvelling and his energy and interests. Osler replied, that he was terribly conscious of time that it was a commodity he wished he could buy more of, as there was so much he could do with it. (p. 502) Osler's zest for work and unbounding passion for medicine set the standard for medical women and men in the twentieth century.

After reading Michael Bliss's brilliant biography of the pioneering neurosurgeon, Harvey Cushing, another remarkable medical man, and Osler's first biographer, it seemed only natural to read about Cushing's mentor. Both biographies are first rate and it really would be a disservice to compare them, because both works are thorough, educational, inspiring and definitive contributions to the greats of medical history.

Osler is the author of the currently classic text, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, which became the core textbook for students and practicing physicians during his life. It became a yearly task for the doctor to revise later editions, (sixteen in all) and in present time, for modern doctors, according to Bliss, has now become patient-centred and a historical document of the state of 19th century medicine.

Osler is famous for his bedside manner, the notion of empowering patients and autonomy in clinical practice. The man's faith in medicine and the legendary "aura" of healing that surrounded him, causing patients to regain the faith in their own healing ability, has caused a renewed interest in humanities joining forces with science, a proper balance, ensuring an optimal treatment and outcome for the patient.

How did the man accomplish so much in one lifetime? Similar to the 18th century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, people close to him could adjust their clocks to the second by the philosopher's movements. Osler was the same: his day was usually planned down to the minute, rising at seven and retiring by ten-thirty everyday.

He was also a man born with writing disease, never a day would go by without putting pen to paper, as his articles, correspondence, speeches and books certainly reveal. A consummate bibliophile, his collection of medical texts and related subjects, at the end of his life reached eight thousand, taking many years to catalogue, ending up being donated, as was his wish, to McGill University.

An excellent biography of an extraordinary man of medicine.

This is, quite honestly, a hefty tome, but no less may be expected when writing about the greatest American physician who ever lived. Bliss presents us with a detailed, well-paced, and engaging biography of Dr. Osler, from his childhood days in Canada to his final years at Oxford. Being both a student of medicine and a Baltimorean (currently), I took a special interest to the chapters devoted to his post as the first chief of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Unlike the time-honored work by Cushing, Bliss's book is no hagiography; it makes no false overtures about Dr. Osler's iconic grandeur, instead letting the reader discover for himself (or herself) that Dr. Osler was, in fact, as great a man as people say he was. (All that being said, I still value the two-volume Cushing biography, and there is no way I will rid myself of the precious first-edition set I snatched up last year at the Maryland Historical Society bookshop!)

One need not practice Oslerolatry (that is, the veritable worship of Dr. Osler expressed by many of the older faculty at Hopkins and elsewhere) to appreciate this book, though having an interest in medicine and/or medical history may help. Critics often lament that American doctors no longer have any professional integrity, and that taking the Hippocratic Oath is a sham. Read this book, and discover how great the American physician can be...and THEN lament that they don't make them like they used to.

William Osler remains an iconic figure in American medicine. Osler is taken often to epitomize the physician who brings a crticial and scholarly approach to the bedside in conjunction with compassion and empathy. In this very well written biography, Bliss traces Osler's life, his achievements, and examines how he assumed iconic status and whether or not this status is deserved. Bliss is particularly well equipped to undertake this task. A well known specialist on Canadian history, he has written other fine books on medical history in a Canadian context.
Bliss presents Osler as a product of the rising British Victorian middle classes. The remarkable son of impressive parents, Osler was the son of an English naval officer turned Anglican minister and his equally intelligent wife. Raised in rural Ontario when this part of Canada was still a frontier, Osler's parents inculcated respect for learning, dedication to hard work, and clearly taught the value of community service. William Osler was not an outlier in this family. One of his brothers became a prominent businessman and two other brothers became important figures in Canadian law and politics. An early interest in natural history (biology) lead Osler to medicine. Trained in then provinicial Toronto and Montreal, he finished his education in some of the great teaching hospitals of Europe. Spotted by his mentors in Montreal as a future star, he was brought back to McGill to teach at the modest medical school. At McGill, Osler launched the career of careful clinical observation, pathologic correlation, and teaching that would propel him to the apex of his profession. His growing reputation led to appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and then to the nascent Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. At Hopkins, he became the first Professor of Clinical Medicine and introduced the teaching methods that revolutionized medical education in the USA. Relatively little of what Osler did was truly novel. Clinico-pathologic correlation has been standard method for expanding medical knowledge for decades and the clerkship method of teaching had been used in Britain and continental Europe for some time. Osler carried these methods to new heights. In his clinical practice, in his teaching, and in his great textbooks, Osler summarized and codified almost all of 19th century medicine. He was not a notable scientist, though his description and characterization of several important clinical conditions was very valuable, but he brought the best science of his time to the bedside and set clinical medicine on the course of drawing from systematic scientific work. In terms of his personal accomplishments and the example he set for his numerous trainees, his impact on 20th century medicine was immense.
Osler's reputation as a fine physician was deserved. Bliss shows him to be an warm and compassionate individual who was regarded often with great affection by his patients. Blessed with a generous and kindly personality, he enjoyed a wide circle of friends and a happy family life. In important respects, Osler exemplifies some of the most important and most admirable features of the Victorian period. His sense of virtue and service was very strong but he was not a prig and had relatively liberal values. Traveling in Germany towards the end of the 19th century, he noted and deplored rising anti-Semitism. He appears to have been devoid of overt anti-Semitic feelings and had a number of Jewish trainess, all of whom he appears to have treated with his usual combination of high expectations and civil behavior. Alone among the faculty at Hopkins, he supported the admission of women, though he did not really believe in female equality. Bliss spent years immersed in Osler's extensive writings and tremendously extensive correspondence, clearly likes and admires Osler, and his regard for Osler is reflected in the tone of this biography.

Osler was also that quintessential Canadian, the provincial boy who achieves fame on the wider stage of the USA or Britain. At the peak of his fame, he was the best known physician in the English speaking world and something of a minor celebrity.
Like all fine biographies, this book is about more than its central subject. It is valuable on the development of Canadian society, the growth of universities in the USA and Canada, the history of medicine, and the devastating impact of WWI.
This will be the standard biography of Osler and it is worthy of its subject.

In "Bandy," author Marcia Martin recounts a true tale of devotion and perseverance. The book's prose is lyrical as it chronicles the real life experiences of the author's developing relationship with a courageous and affectionate one-legged Canada goose named Bandy. "Bandy" is at once compelling and inspiring-just what the book doctor ordered in a new millennium filled with so many bad tidings. It's a story that can be appreciated by young and old readers alike.

If you like a heart-warming story of courage and overcoming incredible odds, this book is for you. Marcia does a wonderful job showing us how nature can teach us something about our own lives. Bandi the goose is an inspiration for making the most of what you have despite your trials and tribulations. I highly recommend this book to anyone coping with life's challenges, which is everyone at some time or another. We can learn so much from a goose!

Bandy was one of many wild canada geese visting Marcia's pond - and yet he was special and brave and drew her attention. Since he wore a band she was able to identify him and enjoy his repeat visits. Unfortunately, Bandy became injured which caused him to lose status with the geese - however, the bond between Bandy and Marcia strengthened and this story is very much about their special relationship. It is easy to feel the love that Marcia has for Bandy and to find oneself rooting hard for Bandy.

If you enjoy stories about special animals, this book is for you. I was originally nervous to read it, thinking it may be too sad for me. But while it is, of course, sad that Bandy was injured, the book doesn't stop there or even dwell on this. Rather the story continues with Bandy's courage, intelligence, and special friendship with Marcia. I read the book in just a couple of hours and then ordered another copy to give as a gift. It is the kind of story you want to share.

In stark contrast to human strife and the tragic events of our present world, Bandy is a wonderful story of love and compassion. It teaches important lessons about life and true happiness.

JAMES F. HALL, President Emeritus, Cape Cod Community College

Marcia Martin has a gift for storytelling, and in her warm and open and down-to-earth style, she shares with us an amazing and enchanting story about her friendship with a very special one-legged Canada goose named Bandy. It is a story about compassion and dedication, love and trust, and what we can learn from nature and its denizens about adversity. Indeed, Bandy has much to teach us about courage and perseverance and resilience, and by telling his story, Marcia Martin has given us a most wonderful and inspiring gift.

As a person with a conservative background, let me start off by telling you what this book is not. It is not liberal, despite what reviewer Kennedy of CA may believe. Yes, James Blanchard is a Democrat, but aside from mentioning select election results, there is no liberal or conservative ideology contained within this book. Further, James Blanchard does much to bolster his credibility through listing his own shortcomings and relaying some less than flattering views of the Clinton administration where warranted. I was surprised and impressed by his candor.

Lastly, reviewer Kennedy is just plain silly when implying that former congressman, governor, ambassador Blanchard (with a masters in business and a law degree) "...discovers Canada actually exists..." With the majority of Canadian/American trade flowing between Ontario and Michigan, and the fact that every handful of Michigan pocket change contains at least one Canadian coin, it is preposterous to assume any Michigan resident would be ignorant of the planet's second largest country.

The heart and soul of this book is a very human and relatable James Blanchard giving readers an inside look at what is like to be an American ambassador to Canada and how he may have played a humble, yet key role in the shaping of the two nation`s policies. The former ambassador's most lasting contributions may well lie within the Canadian/American Open Skies agreement and the results of the Quebec referendum.

No doubt, Canadians and Americans of all slants will enjoy learning more about the partner with whom they share the world's longest open border.

If only James Blanchard were still the US Ambassador to Canada! Relations between the two countries would not be in the sorry state they are now. But then the current Republican administration would never send someone like Blanchard to Ottawa. Blanchard made every attempt to get to understand Canada and Canadian issue before he even moved to the capital. He travelled to all ten provinces in the months prior to setting up shop across from the parliament buildings.
This book provides a powerful and insightful backdrop against which to view the current administration's constant harping about the war on drugs. Canada is trying to take a more European approach, treating the problem as a medical issue as opposed to a criminal matter - but that only enrages George Bush's gang. One would think that the US war on drugs was a series of resounding triumphs!
Blanchard also noted that Canada does not 'do inbvasions' but rather does peacekeeping, so advised Clinton not to even ask Canada to take part in an invasion of Haiti. He also noted that we like to do things as part of the United Nations, so that was the best way to approach us. Imagine!
This book should be read by all US ambassadors, in fact all US state department officials for that matter.

As the previous reviewers have said, Blanchard has written a key book for understanding US-Canadian relations. But this is also the most insightful book I have found about Clinton and the Clinton Administration in the areas in which Clinton was most successful, personal relations and trade policy.

...read this book. It is a decent primer for US residents who want to learn more about our oft-neglected neighbor. Warning: Mr. Blanchard is quite liberal, and liberal policies (US & Canadian) are treated matter-of-factly. His conservative successor as governor of Michigan (John Engler) has, in most people's opinions, done a better job. Interested conservatives will still enjoy the book--just keep a few grains of salt handy.

Canadians might get a kick out of a quintessential "American discovers Canada actually exists and is also pretty neato" story.

If you're Canadian, you really need to read this book. If you're American, you really need to read this book. James J. Blanchard has seen our Canadianisms and helped us to do the unthinkable, define ourselves. From coast to coast and beyond, the essence of what we are leaks out on these pages. It is fitting that an American should expose our mysteries and histories. Not that we are hidding them, we just seem to have a hard time accepting them. We remain the True North, Strong and Free. Thankyou James Blanchard.

Excellent book for travel to BC. We have used other Moon Books on travel and have been very pleased with all of them

This was the first of the Moon books I'd ever used and I was very impressed. There was a ton of useful information on general Canadian travel, but the bulk of the book is devoted to the various regions and the best of what there is to see and do. In places like Vancouver, where there are lots of museums, he discusses these; on Vancouver Island he tells all you'll need to know about water activities; in the Okanagan Valley he chooses his favorite wineries, etc. I'd been to BC previously, but visited a few great spots that I wouldn't have found without this book. The author concentrates on 3 or 4 places to stay and a similiar number of restaurants in each town and he has obviously done his research well as I couldn't find fault with the recommendations that cover all price ranges.

Also importantly, the book is very well organized and the maps were very helpful. I also liked the thorough bibliography.

I know of no better book to my home province of British Columbia than this Moon guide. On my travels as a semi-retired geologist, I also carry copies of the Lonely Planet and Frommer's book and have reviewed both of them and others at Amazon.com, but Moon Handbooks British Columbia stands alone for its usefulness. The other books have their good points, but this one encapsulates everything one needs to enjoy the wonders of the province, whether it's their first trip or they live here. It covers every single corner of BC and is thorough and up to date.

The Moon guide is cleverly written and arranged to appeal to all budgets. The bulk of the text relates to towns and parks of BC, with informative coverage of everything from museums to fishing opportunities and wildlife viewing. Each section ends with details of the best places to stay and recommendations for dining. If you're camping out or RVing I'd suggest also getting a campground guide, but the Moon book suggests at least one campground in each town, each of which the author has obviously visited. Motels are also detailed, and over previous editions I'm yet to find fault with the author's choices. Ditto for bed and breakfasts and restaurants.

In my opinion, thois is definitely the best allround guidebook for British Columbia

This is indeed a terrific guidebook for B.C. Previous editions, however, included Banff and Jasper National Parks, which admittedly are in Alberta, not B.C., but are usually included in Canadian Rockies travel itineraries. There's no excuse including Yoho (which is just over the border) but not Banff and Jasper, except to sell more books. So this is not an improvement.

I've used Moon Handbooks for years and they are simply the best! I have the Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Alberta, and now the British Columbia book, and I've never been disappointed. These books include the usual stuff, such as lodging, restaurants, and recreation, but they also include local history and cultural information that makes them far superior to most guides. Buy a Moon Handbook that covers the state you live in--you will be surprised at how much you can learn. If you're going traveling, they are indispensable.