Canada Books

This is a phenomenal story. The author's 22-year passion of research results in a read that you don't want to put down. The fact that it is all based on reality makes it even more enthralling. This is a wild tale.

This would also be a useful read for anyone researching the history of the Canadian penal code and the 'ticket-of-leave' precursor to modern, more liberal ideas, about the potential for rehabiliation in criminals.

I'm very glad I got into this book - highly recommended.

The Big Red Fox is the story of Canada's most notorious bank robber.Also a fascinating look at the underworld.A behind the scenes look at how we are often manipulated by the media.A brilliant time capsule.And it's all true.This is a must read for all crime ,history or true story fans.Just could not put it down.

If you've read "Row to Alaska By Wind & Oar" by Pete and Nancy Ashenfelter, you will enjoy this book more. It's the same place only in 1937 and rowed by a woman just out of college using a dugout canoe and oars. The book was only recently finished having been a lifetime project for the author. But it's full of really nice B&W photos of the journey and enough detail that if you were planning this trip it would give you an idea about where the dangerous water lies and the kind of things you might want to bring. A great armchair adventure.

In 1937 one Betty Carey embarked on the ultimate adventure, rowing from Puget sound Alaska by dugout canoe but her adventure didn't end there. Her explorations of the Inside Passage and adventures with loggers, lightkeepers, fishermen, missionaries and other residents recounted in Bijaboji: North To Alaska By Oar creates an astounding adventure story armchair readers won't want to miss.

This was such a great addition to "The Best Hikes of Colorado" that I had previously purchased. These "superguides" are my favorite, by far. Everything is spelled out for you, the difficulty, the length of the ride, what you will see along the way and directions on how to get there. They even put maps of each area so you could go off on a different path and change your ride. I LOVE the removable pages and the plastic sleeve so you can take the page with you!

This is a must-have book for anyone who enjoys biking in Colorado! The maps are very well laid out, removable, with a plastic pouch included to store them in on your bike, and every great trail and road for biking is in there.

In BITE THE STARS, Eliza Clark draws her characters with bold strokes. Grace and her son, Cole, could be members of your own family, or perhaps the neighbors down the street. Though they don't speak of it, you know they've got troubles, and things don't seem to be getting any better. It would be easy to turn your back on them, tell yourself they're not worth the effort. But take a good look, because by knowing Grace you'll feel better about yourself. And maybe the next time you see her you'll stop and say hello.

Canadian author Eliza Clark's Bite the Stars is a gripping and emotional novel about Grace Larson, the mother of a brutal and violent criminal. Forced into premature labor by the violence of a tornado, Grace finds herself unable to cope with or understand her son Cole, a child who grows up to be as destructive as nature at its worst. As Grace watches her son's trail of destruction, she looks for answers in nature itself. Bite The Stars is recommended to a serious readership as being a poignant, gut-wrenching, compellingly thoughtful and thought-provoking narrative that will not soon be forgotten.

I really enjoyed this book; while there is a number of books about warbrides who travelled to the US, whis books gives a rare insight into the experiences of warbrides that travelled to Canada.

I read this book in about 4 nights straight. I couldn't put it down. I wasnt around back then, but this book made me realize just how lucky I am and how easy we have it in todays world compared to those times during and after the second world war. The stories of their experiences made me laugh one moment and cry in another.

This is a great book about South Park and its relationship to contemporary culture. Many of the insights end up surprising. There are three parts to this book. The first part mentions the impact of South Park on culture and how it became popular and widespread. The second part is about the show itself: the dialogue, sounds, characters, and visuals. The third part deals with the issues presented in the show. There was an extensive amount of research done for this book and it shows. The author is also not a fan, so the insights come from a more neutral perspective, which makes the book an even better read.

The author also spends a lot of time on the impact and popularity of the show, which is unlike most book about tv shows and culture. The characters chapter is long but still unusually short for a tv show and culture book. Most books about TV shows and culture devote and entire unit and at least 40 pages to talk about the characters. Because she only devotes a chapter, there could have easily been more said about the characters.

All in all, if you are a fan of South Park or like reading about popular culture, then you should read this book. It is entertaining, insightful, and enjoyable.

Just when I began to despair about finding a real fan resource for South Park, along comes "Blame Canada". The various edited volumes about South Park and philosophy (Arp and Hanley) seem to be collections of scholarly opinions that I am sure are important to some obscure university lecture series on philosophy, and Anderson's "South Park Conservatives" is really only of interest to militant Log Cabin Republicans. "Blame Canada" is well constructed, well written and thought provoking. As a fan, I find it a fascinating resource, more so because the author is clearly NOT a fan herself. Neither a sycophantic piece nor a knee-jerk condemnation, "Blame Canada" is accurate and dispassionate.

My favourite chapter in "Blame Canada" is the chapter on South Park and the internet. It documents a period of internet history that had nearly been lost, in which South Park featured uniquely as a pop culture window into the infancy of the internet. I myself, who came late to the South Park phenomenon, had been unable to track down the grass roots fan information that should have been available on the internet for any pop culture icon as important as South Park. Now I know that it is a result of the engulf-and-devour policy of Comedy Central towards "unauthorized" South Park content on the web, which is somewhat ironic considering the libertarian content of the show. I am left to wonder how much more of internet history is being lost forever as technology changes, web pages are updated without being archived, and corporate America exerts more and more control over internet content.

The most interesting aspect of "Blame Canada", however, is the theoretical framework in which Johnson-woods places the show. South Park is nothing if not carnivalesque, so it is an apt analysis. But more than that, through the Baktine analysis South Park fandom becomes legitimized, and South Park becomes as much (and as normal) a pop culture influence in its time as Star Wars or I Love Lucy were in theirs. It is refreshing to know that fan attraction to fart jokes is as old as fandom itself, and not some new aberrant form of entertainment that is a result of (or even responsible for) the moral decay of our society.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Blame Canada", and I am happy to recommend it highly to any South Park fan. It is a worthy read.

How Marie Martin, a widow, left her son to become an Ursuline and one of the first nuns to bring the Faith to Canada. The heartaches, the hardships, the savage Iroquois, the successes - told for children 10 and up.

Blessed Marie of New France is about the first missonary nuns of New France. When Blessed Marie gets to New France(Canada). She has many adventures!

Excellent book. Loads of valuable info and packed with humor.
Definitely earns two thumbs up!!!

This short guidebook to the West Coast Trial was a great asset to read before and during the hike. It takes you through all the stages of this 75Km hike, complete with suggestions of route choice, campsites, gear advice, and good general information for tackling this technically challenging hike. In addition, the authors have several humorous illustrations that will make you laugh (or cry) about the stages after you have completed them. I would strongly recommend giving this a look over before starting the WCT, and keep it along with your map during the hike.

If you liked the movie FARGO, well, that probably won't have any bearing on whether you like the Blood Girls. It will however help you gain some understanding as to how odd life can become in the ridiculously small towns that pepper the vast expanse of Northern US and Canada.

The town's denizens are a confusing mix of the painfully placid (spending way too much time waxing reminiscent about the old flour mill or a pot of delicious honeybutter), and religiously zealous (those characters in the book who are the Blood Girls and claim to be affected by stigmata - Jesus' bleeding wounds on the hands and feet). They only thing they all have in common is that they have gone crazy from living in what is the closest equivelant to a modern reincarnation of a Siberian outpost.

Cooke's poetic style (she has had at least 2 books of poetry published so far) makes for a narrative richer than a black forest fudge cake. Even details that others might consider excrutiatingly minute are dressed in their finest prose. This means that the story moves at the pace of maple syrup. But Cooke isn't here to rush you. There is after all no hurry.

This doesn't mean she can't surprise you now and again - and trust me there are a few big ones. In all, if you are a "gentle reader" (as Cooke wants you to be) and are patient, you are in for a potent dose of rural intrigue that may have you thinking twice before you take that next road trip....

If you liked the movie FARGO, well, that probably won't have any bearing on whether you like the Blood Girls. It will however help you gain some understanding as to how odd life can become in the ridiculously small towns that pepper the vast expanse of Northern US and Canada.

The town's denizens are a confusing mix of the painfully placid (spending way too much time waxing reminiscent about the old flour mill or a pot of delicious honeybutter), and religiously zealous (those characters in the book who are the Blood Girls and claim to be affected by stigmata - Jesus' bleeding wounds on the hands and feet). They only thing they all have in common is that they have gone crazy from living in what is the closest equivelant to a modern reincarnation of a Siberian outpost.

Cooke's poetic style (she has had at least 2 books of poetry published so far) makes for a narrative richer than a black forest fudge cake. Even details that others might consider excrutiatingly minute are dressed in their finest prose. This means that the story moves at the pace of maple syrup. But Cooke isn't here to rush you. There is after all no hurry.

This doesn't mean she can't surprise you now and again - and trust me there are a few big ones. In all, if you are a "gentle reader" (as Cooke wants you to be) and are patient, you are in for a potent dose of rural intrigue that may have you thinking twice before you take that next road trip....

This biography is a work of art: it's tough to blend this much biographical data, anecdotes, photos, and clippings into a coherent and interesting story. Yet, teacher-librarian-author Dublin has done just that; the book is engaging enough to pull in even reluctant young researchers. Kids who are sports fans will find it particularly interesting and inspirational, as Rosenfeld was an amazing athlete who had a wonderful sense of humor, team work, and fair play. The text is rich in ethnic (Rosenfeld was a Russian Jew) and feminist themes, as well. Book has T of C, timeline, suggestions for further reading, bibliography, and index.

An excellent biography of Jewish Canadian athlete Bobbie Rosenfeld. The writing is clear, simple, and interesting. Dublin deftly creates context so that readers understand the historical significance of Bobbie's achievements, including her impact on the women's movement. The book is chock-a-block with interesting quotes and amusing anecdotes that keep the reader engaged. Sidebars contain intriguing tidbits that are relevant to nearby text, usually providing background information or expanding on a topic mentioned in the body of the text.

The book comes from a strongly Canadian point of view, and will be particularly popular there, where the places and people named will be commonly familiar. However, the text is quite accessible to non-Canadian readers as well.

The list of resources at the back of the book is very thorough, and includes a timeline, lists for further information in print, video, and online formats, a bibliography of the author's sources, photo credits, and an index.

The large black and white photos are clearly reproduced and intelligently captioned.

This title was named a 2004 Sydney Taylor Honor Book. You can listen to an interview with the author on the podcast The Book of Life at www.jewishbooks.blogspot.com. Listen to the February 2006 episode to hear the interview with Anne Dublin.

Grades 3-7