Canada Books

A great book for understanding what really shapes foreign policy and for also explaining todays foreign conflicts. Keylour covers everything from WW1 to the present reaching from the US, & Europe to Asia and the Middle East. If you want to know more than what CNN will tell you, check this book out.

The Twentieth Century World opens with a prologue that examines international relations at the outset of the twentieth century and sets the stage for the rest of the book. The book's three major sections then examine the period bracketed by the two world wars, which was characterized by German expansionist aspirations and attempts by the other major powers to contain them, the cold war era characterized by superpower rivalry, and the post-cold war era characterized by increasing disorder in international relations.

Author William Keylor is consistently strong in describing how geopolitical forces - geography, demographics, technology, and finance - affect national development and international relations. He shows that political arrangements need to be consistent with the operation of these forces to be successful. But he does not imagine that international relations are determined entirely by objective forces: he recognizes that ideas are important too. For example, because it holds itself out as a model of democracy, the United States is judged by the same ideals that it professes. The ideologies of democracy and national self-determination advanced by the United States have not eliminated its self-interested behavior but they have constrained it. Keylor also recognizes the role of leadership in international relations. For example, he describes how competent and farsighted leadership in many Asian countries has helped produce impressive economic growth over a period of many decades, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and exerting pressure on neighboring countries to adopt similar export-oriented policies.

In fact, I found his explanation of development processes in East Asia to be particularly illuminating. He describes how Japan pioneered a development path based on trade and government coordination of large, oligarchic export companies. Japan first specialized in textiles and other manufactures that relied on cheap labor. By postponing consumption and sustaining a high rate of savings and investment over an extended period of time, the Japanese achieved a comparative advantage in accumulating capital for investment in capital-intensive manufacturing industries. Finally, having developed a cadre of highly qualified scientists, technicians, and engineers, the Japanese became world leaders in high technology industry. This same developmental path was successfully replicated by the Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong), and is being followed now by the ASEAN countries.

The Twentieth Century World, now in its fourth edition, is suitable for lower-division undergraduate courses and will also be of interest to the general reader. It includes many useful and attractive maps but no footnotes. The book also includes a 23-page critical bibliography, two glossaries, and a detailed, reliable index. Since I finished the book a couple months ago, it has served me as a reference several times.

The Twentieth-Century World: An International History, by Dr. William R. Keylor, has been recognized as one of the foremost sources for a historical account of the twentieth century by several professors, students, and other applicable parties alike, and for good reason. There are several factors to take into account when determining the merit of such a text, including the tenability of the text, the efficiency of its organization, the cogency of its material, and its physical practicalities in terms of design and dimension, not to mention the price. This text is an assessment, in narrative form of twentieth-century world history which provides comprehensive coverage of affairs related to the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, all of which is up to date as recently as the year two thousand. Dr. Keylor presents the political, diplomatic and military history of the twentieth century while putting an appropriate significance on the effects of economics as well as on the bearing that geopolitics has over a country, both of which are often overlooked. In doing so, this text sheds light on important yet presumably subtle factors that have played important roles in the development of twentieth-century international history. While this account of international relations in the twentieth century is not only concise and depicted with convincing sensibility, Dr. Keylor manages to accomplish this with coherency and clarity, which substantiates a prepossessing flow from page to page. Perhaps one of the most appealing factors of this text is the language, which is straightforward and understandable without diminishing the quality of the material or compromising its effectiveness. In fact, this method likely affords Dr. Keylor to reach a wider audience that ranges from the individual with only an intermediate comprehension, to the educated and experienced history buff. Furthermore, another important element of this text is its ability to cover the history of the twentieth century concisely and clearly, in an intense analytical framework without boring the reader. This fact is among many of the others which separate it from many of its rivals.

This concrete account of international relations in the twentieth century stands out in its clarity and coherence. And unlike many history books, it's not BORING, perhaps because it offers more than merely a narrative account; it is also set within an analytical framework. My attention was thoroughly held as Professor Keylor imparted his insight into the struggle among the major nations in the world for power, prosperity and prestige. Everything seemed to click into place, and the chapters just flow into one another. As Paul Kennedy said of it: " ...The style is pleasing and extremely lucid, and the emphasis on economic and geopolitical trends is greatly to be welcomed... An excellent synthetic work, and one which can be recommended to students and to interested laymen alike."

Dr. Keylor portrays the political, diplomatic and military history of the twentieth century in the most understandable and straightforward language. He shows how history is responsible for what is currently happening around us, and why we should know the causes of the conflicts he writes about. He pays special attention to World War One, the rise of facism, World War Two, the rise of the Cold War, Latin America and the US, Africa, the Cold War in Asia, Israel and the Middle East, the triumph of and expansion of capitalism throughout Latin America and East Asia, the end of the Cold War, arms control and many other topics. The book is a very valuable reference for any student of law, international relations, politics or anyone else who wants to know more about the world that we live in.

The possibility of gathering mussels under the ice at low tide was absolutely amazing to me. I had never heard of such a thing or imagined it. What a wonderful world we live in! Andrews writes of young Eva's solo walk on the bottom of the sea and she does an intriguing job of it.

The illustrator,Wallace,enriches and expands the written story through his detailed pictures of the village and native life on Ungava Bay.

I hope Andrews & Wallace collaborate again and soon!

My children (1st & 2nd grade) really love this book. The premise had them leaping off the bed in amazement - "She goes under the SEA??? The ice is over her HEAD???? She goes by HERSELF????"

Every detail was interesting to them - the tools used to hack under the ice, the mother letting her child go alone, the small Inuit homes, Eva living in a land where no trees grew - and they had so many questions - most of which were answered by the end of the story.

We used the book to talk about:

1. mussels and how they grow & live,
2. tides, what causes them and how much the water level can vary between high tide and low tide,
3. the climate in northern Canada
4. the Inuits,
5. emergencies - what happens initially to our bodies when we are afraid, and what we should try to do so that we can get out of our emergency safely, and
6. pointillism and the artist Seraut, and we made our own pointillism art masterpieces with Q-tips and paint.

I did search the Internet for actual photographs of what Eva might have seen, but I couldn't find a single one! I couldn't find other references to the Inuit walking under the ice either. I would have loved to have shown those to my children.

This is one of the best books for young girls that I have come across. A young Inuit girl is sent under the ice at low tide to collect muscles for the family.. this time by herself. She gets distracted, the candles burn out leaving her in darkness just as she starts to hear the water returning. What an adventure. I buy this book as a gift whenever I need a present for a beginner reader girl.

It has been said that a good children's book is a good read for people of any age. This book is another example of the truth of that statement. It teaches people who don't live in the northern tundra on the seashore about what their life is like, and it does so in a way that you enjoy the learning.

My five year old son loved it; we read it over again a number of times. But the reason I knew it was such a good book was that I didn't dread reading it after several times. In fact, I looked forward to it.

"Eva Padlyat lived in a village on Ungava Bay in northern Canada. She was Inuit, and ever since she could remember she had walked with her mother on the bottom of the sea. It was something the people of her village did in winter when they wanted mussels to eat. Today, something very special was going to happen. Today, for the very first time in her life, Eva would walk on the bottom of the sea alone..." So begins Jan Andrews' tale of a young girl's first trip alone through the thick winter ice. In painstaking and intriguing detail she describes Eva's adventure; cutting a hole in the ice at low tide, descending to the dark ocean floor below, lighting candles to illuminate the sea bed, collecting mussels, and exploring this beautiful hidden world..... Ms Andrews' engaging tale, filled with history, mystery, drama, and suspense captures the imagination, and is rich in imagery and magic. Illustrator, Ian Wallace's quiet, dreamy artwork, in soft, textured tones, pulls the reader beneath the ice and right into the story. Perfect for youngsters 5-9, Very Last First Time is a fascinating and evocative experience that shouldn't be missed, and works well as part of a unit introducing the Inuit culture and way of life, or as a stand-alone for story time.

After reading "Vinland Discovery (The Unfinished Story)" by Mr. K. Budden, I am convinced that the true Vinland has indeed been discovered...in White Bay. This account, with demographics and actual artifacts,proves that Vikings did actually settle in White Bay. I would love to see the Newfoundland government assisting Mr. Budden in proving it to the WORLD!

Fascinating read! He has some really grand artifact findings and some great arguments especially with the demographics.

Quite the story to be told and to watch unfold. Let's see if the government will cough up a dig to find the truth of the site!!

"Definitely a book that answers questions and makes you ask many more. A great read! Can't wait for part two".
Ern Simms, St.Anthony, Newfoundland,Canada.

I enjoyed the book so much that I had to read it a second time. I think the theory put forward in this book makes more sense than the Viking site at L'Anse aux Meadows, with all it's shoals and breakers and not even an harbour and no trees for miles. The Vikings were very inteligent people and were great navigators. Common sense tells us that they continued to a more favorable place. Mr Budden,in Vinland Discovery-the unfinished story, tells us where.
Frank Slade,Korean war veteran
St. Anthony, Newfoundland.

"Definitely food for thought. You have some real good arguements.Well worth the read.You have definitely done your homework".
Mike Sexton,chief Viking enactor at the Viking site,L'Anse aux Meadows,Newfoundland.

Come on now, the title of the earlier review tells it all, except that Donald Theall isn't the one involved in the academic infighting.

It is also factually incorrect, since the entire sweep of McLuhan's work is more than amply covered in Theall's excellent biography.

As McLuhan's first PhD student Theall (along with McLuhan's first "partner" Ted Carpenter) presents a careful and nuanced perspective on the life and influences of McLuhan -- a rarity in a world where McLuhan has been used for everything short of selling pipe tobacco.

Let those who were outside McLuhan's life fight over him, Theall (and Carpenter) are clearly insiders and they give us the sharpest insight yet into the life of this towering intellect.

Biographies and accounts of the famous possess a certain fascination. Sometimes even flashes of illumination. But most are based on second-hand knowledge of authors attracted to the famous after attainment of fame. This is often too late because fame has a way of creating a type of trickster mythology obscuring its subject.

A rare few biographies are written by those who had close friendships with the famous before the hazy mythology of fame enveloped their subject. Here are the famous before they were "hijacked" and packaged by icon-making PR handlers, before their entrance onto world stages or tabloid pages. Reading these accounts is somewhat like watching scratchy old home movies that peek into the shadowy early years before later lives were illuminated by the bright flashes of the paparazzi cameras. These stories are often the most interesting, the most enlightening, the most instructive, and too, the most paradoxical and ambiguous.

These thoughts come to mind in reading the brilliant and fascinating book The Virtual Marshall McLuhan by Donald Theall professor emeritus, former president of Trent University and author of The Medium Is the Rear View Mirror. In the thick mythological haze which particularly surrounds the McLuhan legend, it is indeed a rare and insightful friendship.

With this in mind, Theall's book is still a funny hybrid genre not easy to place in traditional categories. Andrew Potter, a reporter for the Canadian National Post says it well in his March 24, 2001 review of the book "Rescuing McLuhan." Potter writes Theall's book "is not a biography of McLuhan, nor is it an application or elaboration of his views. It is perhaps best understood as an exercise in retrieval, an attempt to rescue McLuhan from McLuhanism and McLuhanites, from those who would portray him as the patron saint of the new corporate technotopia as well as from those...who would read him as an early voice in the wilderness, warning of civilization's demise."

* * *

In the summer of 1950, Donald Theall arrived at the University of Toronto as a graduate student. The director of Graduate Studies of the English Department attempted to warn Theall against doing a doctoral degree with an avant-garde, unorthodox professor at the University named Marshall McLuhan.

But Theall was not persuaded and decided to stay in Toronto to study under the iconoclastic professor rather than return to Yale. Theall writes "I felt that between the historically oriented University of Toronto Department of English and the avant-garde McLuhan I was obtaining a badly needed awareness of the study of literature in its historical context as well as within a new, broadly interdisciplinary context."

McLuhan embedded his teaching in literary history but also in the history of grammar, logic, rhetoric, and early theories of education. It was a history of inter-relationships between literature, the arts, and the everyday culture. Certainly a rare combination at the time and one that threatened the rather insular perspective of the English Department at the University of Toronto. When he arrived, McLuhan was the only lay member of the English Department, which primarily consisted of a handful of priests and three nuns.

The Marshall McLuhan that Donald Theall and his new bride Joan met in 1950 was a "charming, good looking, witty, fun-loving, highly intelligent devotee to the world of letters and traditional arts." More significant for what has come to be, notes Theall, McLuhan was a technophobe who often despised technology. In 1950 he did not own an automobile or a vacuum cleaner. And he did not type but used pen and ink and stored his notes in small boxes that had originally contained Laura Secord chocolates.

Toronto in the 50s personified McLuhan's technophobia. It was a boring, forgotten city of three-quarters of a million people. Theall calls it an "overgrown village" adding it was a "somewhat idyllic...still semi-colonial, marginally contemporary city...a sedate, stuffy city where on Sundays the major department store drew curtains across its windows, stores did not sell cigarettes, and people could not have wine or other alcoholic beverages with a restaurant meal ... There was no television; the only radio network, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)...was government owned."

Another close friend and collaborator of McLuhan in Toronto of the 50s was Edmund "Ted" Carpenter. In his short enlightening McLuhan memoir "That Not-So-Silent Sea" in the Appendix of Theall's book, Edmund Carpenter remembers Toronto as a "depressing" place, "not a joyous place at all." It had a meanness which was visible everywhere - in its architecture, its food. McLuhan once described it to Carpenter as the "cringing, flunkey spirit of Canadian culture" and "its servant quarter snobbishness." Leopold Infeld, one of Carpenter's friends, suggested it was "perhaps the finest city in which to die, especially on Sunday afternoon when the transition between life and death would be continuous, painless and scarcely noticeable."

* * *

Theall's book is a master memoir of a time and a person that no other McLuhan biographer can come close to. It is not an easy book and those interested in reading a McLuhan for Dummies are advised to steer clear of this book. But this book is the real thing... Judge for yourself about Donald Theall's book. For myself, it is a masterpiece from the apprentice of the master.

A Review
The Virtual Marshall McLuhan, Donald F. Theall
McGill-Queens University Press, 305 pp.
(with a historical appendix by Edmund Carpenter)

Everything about Marshall McLuhan is paradoxical. He knew this about himself and made much of it as an attention-getting strategy even to the point of appearing to be a trickster, an artist of sorts. Like a Dadaist or Surrealist, who were antagonistic toward middle class society in the avant garde Bohemian tradition of épater-le-bourgeois common to anyone wanting to gain broad attention, McLuhan `twitched the burghers' of establishment values far and wide almost globally. McLuhan noticed first and best how electric process was changing society and individuals.
I know of no one who understands McLuhan's electric and eclectic vision better than Donald Theall. As McLuhan's first and most important Ph.D. student and close associate from 1950-54, Theall was let in on the complex developments that produced the Explorations Group, the Ford Foundation study that led to Understanding Media, and the establishment of Toronto's Centre for Culture and Technology in the early sixties. Theall was privy to the developing relations between Harold Innis, Tom Easterbrook, Edmund Carpenter, Dorothy Lee and the rest of this historically significant association.
A true understanding of the coherence of McLuhan's vision is extremely rare. Theall brilliantly explains McLuhan's , unseemly, popularity with his understanding of the early virtualizing role of the intellectual in the electronic age:

Speaking about some remarks of the classical eighteenth-century father of capitalist economics, Adam Smith, ... McLuhan argues: "in this passage Smith does seem to sense that the new role of the intellectual is to tap the collective consciousness of `the vast multitudes that labour.' That is to say, the intellectual is no longer to direct individual perception and judgment but to explore and to communicate the massive unconscious of collective man. The intellectual is merely cast in the role of a primitive seer, vates or hero incongruously peddling his discoveries in a commercial market. (Theall. 208)

This is an example of the deep understanding that only Theall can bring to McLuhan's work. After McLuhan has described himself, to Ezra Pound, as "an intellectual thug,"

and gives his reason for being satirical and disinterested in society: "Everyman of goodwill is the enemy of society." (McLuhan, 1962, 269) This seems a deeply conservative view of one's fellow citizens - original sin as politics.
Theall sees McLuhan as a new kind of artist, who produces what Theall calls the "essai concrete," a poetic prose that captures the multiplexed meanings of the electric worldview. McLuhan , like Joyce is constantly punning - a strategy for multiplying meanings.. He was never definite or linear like a list of either/or oppositions (even though he was maddeningly dichotomous in some of his statements), so much as dedicated to a both/and approach to events - medium and message together.
Theall, is one of the few who know the deep scholarly background to McLuhan's critique of contemporary culture and he is incisive in his understanding of McLuhan's profound ambivalence in the face of traditional intellectual categories. McLuhan seems neither moralizing conservative nor countercultural guru. Being partly both, he transcended both in his electric odyssey, and toys with post-modernism by becoming beyond himself a virtual icon.
Theall, and very few others, perceives the darker side of McLuhan, his arcane knowledge which derives from his Cambridge Ph.D. studies in the hermetic tradition of the early grammarians - characters from Cicero to Blake through Cornelius Agrippa and Joachim de Floris. The Hermetic implications of the dissertation on Nashe show an earlier interest in such ideas.
In short, I know of no one better able to comment credibly on the multi-faceted genius of McLuhan: the artist, the satirist, the exploring pioneer of the electric world in all its complex diversity and amazing revelations.
Anyone who worked closely with Marshall McLuhan took their intellectual lumps. He was capable of great kindness and generosity but stood adamantly]
against any meddling with his work unless powerful new perceptions were presented to
him. Without mentioning Yeats and his famous reluctance to explain his poems because
("it tends to limit their suggestibility") McLuhan's position is deftly handled by Theall

who worked very closely with the master. "My canvasses are surrealist, and to call them theories is to miss my satirical intent altogether. As you will find in my literary essays, I can write the ordinary kind of prose any time I choose to do so." (Theall, 67)
The quite deliberate difficulties in McLuhan's writing are rooted in his taste for paradox and rhetorical play. The artful ambiguities that arise from this approach Theall is better than anyone to convey. He produces a brilliant insight: "The power of ambiguity to imply more than can be said and the power of juxtaposing items without comment to intensify observation are two strategies McLuhan had learned from Pound, Eliot and F.R. Leavis. (Theall., 68)
Some of Theall's best observations deal with McLuhan's proclivity for an allusive and aphoristic prose style that goes way back and is rooted in classical literature.
His knowledge of the obscurity of surrealism, modernist symbolisme, and high modernist post-symbolism ... reinforced and radicalized lessons he had learned earlier from Francis Bacon's observations about the advantages of a deliberately obscure, parabolic style - what Bacon called crypsis... . (Theall., 68)

The Virtual McLuhan has both scope and depth of understanding from perhaps the one scholar whose knowledge of McLuhan's genius is based on his own and his intimate almost filial relationship with the great men. The chapter "Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Modernism" is a first in bringing the darker McLuhan into fine focus. Fitted out in the robes of precursor it is possible to see McLuhan as Theall presents him as anticipating cyberspace, postmodernism and the Internet. His prescience is well marked and displayed by Donald Theall in this excellent, sine qua non, treatment of McLuhan the man and the multiplex and dynamic ideas which remain alive and are extended beyond the original in Theall's hands.

A Review
The Virtual Marshall McLuhan, Donald F. Theall
McGill-Queens University Press, 305 pp.
(with a historical appendix by Edmund Carpenter)

Everything about Marshall McLuhan is paradoxical. He knew this about himself and made much of it as an attention-getting strategy even to the point of appearing to be a trickster, an artist of sorts. Like a Dadaist or Surrealist, who were antagonistic toward middle class society in the avant garde Bohemian tradition of épater-le-bourgeois, McLuhan `twitched the burghers' of establishment values far and wide almost globally. McLuhan noticed first and best how electric process was changing society and individuals.
I know of no one who understands McLuhan's electric and eclectic vision better than Donald Theall. As McLuhan's first and most important Ph.D. student and close associate from 1950-54, Theall was let in on the complex developments that produced the Explorations Group, the Ford Foundation study that led to Understanding Media, and the establishment of the Centre for Culture and Technology at St.Michael's college in the early sixties. Theall was privy to the developing relations between Harold Innis, Tom Easterbrook, Edmund Carpenter, Dorothy Lee and the rest of this historically significant association.
Many commentators flirt with the ambiguities of McLuhan's vision but a true understanding of the coherence of this vision is extremely rare. Theall brilliantly links McLuhan's , at the time rather unseemly, popularity with his understanding of the very early virtualizing role of the intellectual in the electronic age:

Speaking about some remarks of the classical eighteenth-century father of capitalist economics, Adam Smith, ... McLuhan argues: "in this passage Smith does seem to sense that the new role of the intellectual is to tap the collective consciousness of `the vast multitudes that labour.' That is to say, the intellectual is no longer to direct individual perception and judgment but to explore and to communicate the massive unconscious of collective man. The intellectual is merely cast in the role of a primitive seer, vates or hero incongruously peddling his discoveries in a commercial market. (Theall. 208)

This is an example of the deep understanding that only Theall can bring to McLuhan's work. After McLuhan has described himself, to Ezra Pound, as "an intellectual thug," the prophetic huckster gives his reason for being satiric and disinterested in society: "Everyman of goodwill is the enemy of society." (McLuhan, 1962, 269) This is a deeply conservative view of one's fellow citizens - original sin as politics.
Theall sees McLuhan as a new kind of artist, a sort of poet who produces what Theall calls the "essai concrete," a poetic prose that captures the multiplexed meanings of the electric worldview. McLuhan follows Joyce in his unrelenting punning ambiguities - a strategy for multiplying meanings. There is never anything linear, logical or definite in the "probes" that Dr. McLuhan injects into situations. But it is never a matter of listing either/or oppositions (even though he was maddeningly dichotomous in some of his statements), so much as learning how to follow a both/and approach to events that most interests McLuhan in his Joycean and satiric posture.
Theall, being one of the few people knowledgeable of the deep background of scholarship behind McLuhan's contemporary façade, is incisive in his understanding of McLuhan's profound ambivalence in the face of traditional intellectual categories. McLuhan is neither fish nor fowl, neither moralizing conservative nor countercultural guru. Being partly both, he transcended both in his electric odyssey, and planted the first oar in the side of post-modernism by becoming himself another virtual self.
What is almost always missed except by a very few and Theall foremost, is the perception of the darker side of McLuhan, his arcane knowledge which derives from his Cambridge Ph.D. studies in the hermetic tradition of the early grammarians - characters from Cicero to Blake through Cornelius Agrippa and Joachim de Floris. The Hermetic implications of the dissertation on Nashe show an earlier interest in such ideas.
In short, I know of no one better able to comment credibly on the multi-faceted genius of McLuhan: the artist, the satirist, the exploring pioneer of the electric world in all its complex diversity and amazing revelations.
Anyone who worked closely with Marshall McLuhan took their intellectual lumps. He was capable of great kindness and generosity but stood adamantly against any meddling with his work unless powerful new perceptions were presented to
him. Without mentioning Yeats and his famous reluctance to explain his poems because ("it tends to limit their suggestibility") McLuhan's position is deftly handled by Theall who worked very closely with the master. "My canvasses are surrealist, and to call them theories is to miss my satirical intent altogether. As you will find in my literary essays, I can write the ordinary kind of prose any time I choose to do so." (Theall, 67)
The quite deliberate difficulties in McLuhan's writing are rooted in his taste for paradox and rhetorical play. The artful ambiguities that arise from this approach Theall is better than anyone to convey. He produces a brilliant insight: "The power of ambiguity to imply more than can be said and the power of juxtaposing items without comment to intensify observation are two strategies McLuhan had learned from Pound, Eliot and F.R. Leavis. (Theall., 68)
Some of Theall's best observations deal with McLuhan's proclivity for an allusive and aphoristic prose style that goes way back and is rooted in classical literature. His knowledge of the obscurity of surrealism, modernist symbolisme, and high modernist post-symbolism ... reinforced and radicalized lessons he had learned earlier from Francis Bacon's observations about the advantages of a deliberately obscure, parabolic style - what Bacon called crypsis... . (Theall., 68)

The Virtual McLuhan has both scope and depth of understanding from perhaps the one scholar whose knowledge of McLuhan's genius is based on his own and his intimate almost filial relationship with the great men. The chapter "Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Modernism" is a first in bringing the darker McLuhan into fine focus. Fitted out in the robes of precursor it is possible to see McLuhan as Theall presents him as anticipating cyberspace, postmodernism and the Internet. His prescience is well marked and displayed by Donald Theall in this excellent, sine qua non, treatment of McLuhan the man and the multiplex and dynamic ideas which remain alive and are extended beyond the original in Theall's hands.

Biographies and accounts of the famous possess a certain fascination. Sometimes even flashes of illumination. But most are based on second-hand knowledge of authors attracted to the famous after attainment of fame. This is often too late because fame has a way of creating a type of trickster mythology obscuring its subject.

A rare few biographies are written by those who had close friendships with the famous before the hazy mythology of fame enveloped their subject. Here are the famous before they were "hijacked" and packaged by icon-making PR handlers, before their entrance onto world stages or tabloid pages. Reading these accounts is somewhat like watching scratchy old home movies that peek into the shadowy early years before later lives were illuminated by the bright flashes of the paparazzi cameras. These stories are often the most interesting, the most enlightening, the most instructive, and too, the most paradoxical and ambiguous.

These thoughts come to mind in reading the brilliant and fascinating book The Virtual Marshall McLuhan by Donald Theall professor emeritus, former president of Trent University and author of The Medium Is the Rear View Mirror. In the thick mythological haze which particularly surrounds the McLuhan legend, it is indeed a rare and insightful friendship.

With this in mind, Theall's book is still a funny hybrid genre not easy to place in traditional categories. Andrew Potter, a reporter for the Canadian National Post says it well in his March 24, 2001 review of the book "Rescuing McLuhan." Potter writes Theall's book "is not a biography of McLuhan, nor is it an application or elaboration of his views. It is perhaps best understood as an exercise in retrieval, an attempt to rescue McLuhan from McLuhanism and McLuhanites, from those who would portray him as the patron saint of the new corporate technotopia as well as from those...who would read him as an early voice in the wilderness, warning of civilization's demise."

* * *

In the summer of 1950, Donald Theall arrived at the University of Toronto as a graduate student. The director of Graduate Studies of the English Department attempted to warn Theall against doing a doctoral degree with an avant-garde, unorthodox professor at the University named Marshall McLuhan.

But Theall was not persuaded and decided to stay in Toronto to study under the iconoclastic professor rather than return to Yale. Theall writes "I felt that between the historically oriented University of Toronto Department of English and the avant-garde McLuhan I was obtaining a badly needed awareness of the study of literature in its historical context as well as within a new, broadly interdisciplinary context."

McLuhan embedded his teaching in literary history but also in the history of grammar, logic, rhetoric, and early theories of education. It was a history of inter-relationships between literature, the arts, and the everyday culture. Certainly a rare combination at the time and one that threatened the rather insular perspective of the English Department at the University of Toronto. When he arrived, McLuhan was the only lay member of the English Department, which primarily consisted of a handful of priests and three nuns.

The Marshall McLuhan that Donald Theall and his new bride Joan met in 1950 was a "charming, good looking, witty, fun-loving, highly intelligent devotee to the world of letters and traditional arts." More significant for what has come to be, notes Theall, McLuhan was a technophobe who often despised technology. In 1950 he did not own an automobile or a vacuum cleaner. And he did not type but used pen and ink and stored his notes in small boxes that had originally contained Laura Secord chocolates.

Toronto in the 50s personified McLuhan's technophobia. It was a boring, forgotten city of three-quarters of a million people. Theall calls it an "overgrown village" adding it was a "somewhat idyllic...still semi-colonial, marginally contemporary city...a sedate, stuffy city where on Sundays the major department store drew curtains across its windows, stores did not sell cigarettes, and people could not have wine or other alcoholic beverages with a restaurant meal ... There was no television; the only radio network, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)...was government owned."

Another close friend and collaborator of McLuhan in Toronto of the 50s was Edmund "Ted" Carpenter. In his short enlightening McLuhan memoir "That Not-So-Silent Sea" in the Appendix of Theall's book, Edmund Carpenter remembers Toronto as a "depressing" place, "not a joyous place at all." It had a meanness which was visible everywhere - in its architecture, its food. McLuhan once described it to Carpenter as the "cringing, flunkey spirit of Canadian culture" and "its servant quarter snobbishness." Leopold Infeld, one of Carpenter's friends, suggested it was "perhaps the finest city in which to die, especially on Sunday afternoon when the transition between life and death would be continuous, painless and scarcely noticeable."

* * *

Theall's book is a master memoir of a time and a person that no other McLuhan biographer can come close to. It is not an easy book and those interested in reading a McLuhan for Dummies are advised to steer clear of this book. But this book is the real thing. I wrote a 6,000 word review of the book which was scheduled for publication in a publication that went out of business. I would be happy to send this review to anyone if they simply write me at jfraim@symbolism.org. Judge for yourself about Donald Theall's book. For myself, it is a masterpiece from the apprentice of the master.

If only a book like this was done for each salmonid species. Great photograhy, very interesting text. This is still the only stunning volume on salmon fly fishing as seen through the eyes of a master photographer. Bravo!!!!!

Of course I would like to review this addition, but since there is a limited supply here in the salt water environs of the Virgin Islands, it has been extremely difficult to find a copy. Therefore, please don't hesitate to send us one for our perusal and subsequent comment. Hope all remains well for you and Paula. Mollie and John

This book has some of the best photography that I have ever seen. I ordered it because it has a very special place in my heart. My father is in it,in the Margaree River chapter. Your description of him just warmed my heart and the photo did too. He is Willie Joe Chiasson and I am his daughter Ethel Clark (formerly Chiasson). I now live in California. I was so pleased and proud to see this and I cannot tell you how happy you made me as well as him. I would also like to send my regards and appreciation to whoever else was involved in putting it together, such as Mike Crockett. Do the three dogs in the book belong to Mike? They look like the are having the time of their life travelling around and playing in the rivers all over the country. I would love to hear from you please.

I WAS NEVER REALLY FOND FLYFISHING UNTIL I ORDER FLYWATER AND WATERMARK...I NOW AM MORE CURIOUS ABOUT IT. THE PHOTOGRAHY WAS ABSOUTLY PHENOMENAL!!! I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH INCREDABLY SCENERY BEFORE. WANT TO THANK MIKE AND GRANT FOR GIVING ME THAT OPPORTUNITY!!!!! LOVE FROM ST.JOHN USVI

Incredible photos from North Carolina, Virginia, and other East Coast venues. The stories that accompany the pictures are an extra treat. Any fisherman would love to receive this as a gift.

I would not recommend this book for anyone who has only a passing interest in the war of 1812, but for those who already know of the rudiments of the war and desire a more indepth analysis, then this book is fantastic. Graves leaves nothing to be guessed at. The narration is in great detail, almost to the point of being cumbersome, but in the end, it is all worth it.

This is an excellent study on the bloodiest battle of the War of 1812. For many years little was known about the series of battles fought along the Niagara Frontier in 1814. This book helps to correct that gap. A companion volume to the author's earlier title on the Battle of Chippewa, here again many myths are corrected.

Winfield Scott recklessly lead his well trained brigade against General Drummonds British posted on the bluff above Lundy's Lane. Unlike many accounts of this battle told in most histories, here Mr. Graves shows us that Scott marched his brigade up to the British position, deployed it, and allowed it to be shot to pieces! The British artillery tore Scott's brigade apart while it stood dutifully at attention awaiting Scott's word to advance. But Scott held back, fearful of being outnumbered, and affraid to retreat before a superior enemy. Most histories tell us that Scott recklessy attacked, but the in-depth study of the battle provided here shows us this was not the case. Scott advanced his brigade to contact, but did not commit it completely to attack. Only when Ripley's and Porter's brigades reinforced subsequently did the American's finally attack and carry the British guns. But Scott's brigade will play no part in this process until later.

One of the interesting things about this battle is how poorly both sides fought it. Scott was reckless to the point of mania, while Drummond was weary after the recent defeat at Chippewa. The British general had only to advance his line at any point during the battle and the American position would have been untenible. Why Drummond did not make use of his six light companies to screen his force and harrass the American advance remains one of the mysteries of the battle. The series of British counter-attacks which took place to regain their guns has also been wrongly described by many historians of the action. As the battle continued from late afternoon into night the fighting became more and more confused. If Drummond had properly deployed his skirmishers Brown never could have captured the British artillery. Instead, the Americans were allowed to gain a lodgement in the center of the British line and a bloody series of close range fire-fights took place, all to no avail in driving
back the determined Americans. Both sides would lose in excess of 800 men and the battle would become one of the greatest debacles of the War. Both sides would claim victory, even though neither really could justify it.

For sure the 1814 Niagara Campaign and its battles deserves more attention. It was this campaign and its battles at Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, and later the siege at Fort Erie which made the ameteur American army into a respected fighting force. If not for these two battles the New Republic would have been disgraced.
We can certainly learn a lot from studying this campaign. Andrew Jackson and New Orleans has been done over and over again. There is little to learn from this one-sided battle which saw Americans safely defeating British regulars from behind entrenchments. What makes Lundy's Lane important is that Brown's brigades went toe-to-toe against British professionals. They gave as good as they got, and could have done a lot worse. Winfield Scott emerges as a somewhat vainglory maniac, who nonetheless drilled his brigade to the point where it could fight like a European army. His colume attack later in the battle, while another dismal failure, illustrates that the American army, when well trained and officered, could perform European tactics. Scott, for all his faults and recklessness, deserves a lot of credit for this.

In sum, Graves has done a great job rescueing an important battle from the dust-bins of history. The narrative is vivid, smooth, and un-biased. Many prints and pictures enhance the text. This is the deffinitive work on this battle for many years to come. All War of 1812 buffs should have it in their collection.

Donald Graves is the authority on the campaigns on the Niagara frontier during the War of 1812. Of his three five books on the period and campaigns, this is the best one. It tells the story of a fight that was one of the fiercest fought on the North American continent, even though the numbers on both sides were very small. One British officer who participated, and who had experienced wwarfare in Europe during the period, said it was the hardest, most savage fight he had ever been in. Both sides literally shot each other to pieces, ending in darkness, confusion, and a very unsatisfying draw.

This book is highly recommended. It, along with Graves other books, and those by John Elting and Henry Adams, give the complete story of the War of 1812, the huge amount of territory over which it was fought by small 'armies', the drama, inexperience of the Americans that finally grew into budding professionalism, and the bright moments at sea when the yearling US Navy humbled the proud, seeminly invincible Royal Navy.

Well-written authoritative text that is easy to read, exciting narrative, well-researched and very reliable, this book is one of the best of its type, and the author is one of the best living militiary historians.

This is an excellent study on the bloodiest battle of the War of 1812. For many years little was known about the series of battles fought along the Niagara Frontier in 1814. This book helps to correct that gap. A companion volume to the author's earlier title on the Battle of Chippewa, here again many myths are corrected.

Winfield Scott recklessly lead his well trained brigade against General Drummonds British posted on the bluff above Lundy's Lane. Unlike many accounts of this battle told in most histories, here Mr. Graves shows us that Scott marched his brigade up to the British position, deployed it, and allowed it to be shot to pieces! The British artillery tore Scott's brigade apart while it stood dutifully at attention awaiting Scott's word to advance. But Scott held back, fearful of being outnumbered, and affraid to retreat before a superior enemy. Most histories tell us that Scott recklessy attacked, but the in-depth study of the battle provided here shows us this was not the case. Scott advanced his brigade to contact, but did not commit it completely to attack. Only when Ripley's and Porter's brigades reinforced subsequently did the American's finally attack and carry the British guns. But Scott's brigade will play no part in this process until later.

One of the interesting things about this battle is how poorly both sides fought it. Scott was reckless to the point of mania, while Drummond was weary after the recent defeat at Chippewa. The British general had only to advance his line at any point during the battle and the American position would have been untenible. Why Drummond did not make use of his six light companies to screen his force and harrass the American advance remains one of the mysteries of the battle. The series of British counter-attacks which took place to regain their guns has also been wrongly described by many historians of the action. As the battle continued from late afternoon into night the fighting became more and more confused. If Drummond had properly deployed his skirmishers Brown never could have captured the British artillery. Instead, the Americans were allowed to gain a lodgement in the center of the British line and a bloody series of close range fire-fights took place, all to no avail in driving
back the determined Americans. Both sides would lose in excess of 800 men and the battle would become one of the greatest debacles of the War. Both sides would claim victory, even though neither really could justify it.

For sure the 1814 Niagara Campaign and its battles deserves more attention. It was this campaign and its battles at Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, and later the siege at Fort Erie which made the ameteur American army into a respected fighting force. If not for these two battles the New Republic would have been disgraced.
We can certainly learn a lot from studying this campaign. Andrew Jackson and New Orleans has been done over and over again. There is little to learn from this one-sided battle which saw Americans safely defeating British regulars from behind entrenchments. What makes Lundy's Lane important is that Brown's brigades went toe-to-toe against British professionals. They gave as good as they got, and could have done a lot worse. Winfield Scott emerges as a somewhat vainglory maniac, who nonetheless drilled his brigade to the point where it could fight like a European army. His colume attack later in the battle, while another dismal failure, illustrates that the American army, when well trained and officered, could perform European tactics. Scott, for all his faults and recklessness, deserves a lot of credit for this.

In sum, Graves has done a great job rescueing an important battle from the dust-bins of history. The narrative is vivid, smooth, and un-biased. Many prints and pictures enhance the text. This is the deffinitive work on this battle for many years to come. All War of 1812 buffs should have it in their collection.

Graves knows his stuff and if you like military history, you will want to read this book. His research is impeccable and his writing style makes it seem as though you were reading a very historically accurate novel. The War of 1812 has been long neglected by historians and this, one of the largest and blodiest battles, is almost unknown despite taking place practically on top of Niagra Falls, Ont. This book corrects the situation and will certainly be the definitive work for years to come.

The only bad thing about Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy (FIFTH BUSINESS, THE MANTICORE, WORLD OF WONDERS) is that it had to end! Sparklingly clever, bawdy, poignant, erudite, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davies entertains in a wonderfully rich, old-world style.

A friend of mine (who recommended the books, and to whom I will be forever grateful) put it this way: "Reading Robertson Davies is like sitting in a plush, wood-paneled library--in a large leather chair with a glass of excellent brandy and a crackling fire--and being captivated with a fabulous tale spun by a wonderful raconteur."

This is the best novel of the century's best English language novelist. The plot is sure-fire (kid runs away with the carnival), the characters memorable (sideshow freaks, revealed to be--human beings! theater people, great and small, revealed to be--human beings!), the sins enormous (pederasty, pride, perhaps even murder), the virtues marvelous (love, devotion to love). The theme of this book, as with the other books in the trilogy, is search for self--the main character of this book lives four different lives during his life. This book works on every level; it reads well as a story, gives you something to think about, and stands up to any number of readings you'd care to give it. (I've given it at least five.)

The theme of the novel "World of Wonders" by Robertson Davies, is "search for self"(Warlton 4) Through ought the novel, there is a constant search for who the main character, Mangus Eisengrim, truly is. The majority of the novel is Mangus telling his life story. During this story, Mangus lives "four different lives"(Warlton 5) First he was born with the given name Paul Dempster, a Reverend's. At the age of ten he ran away with the carnival and became Cass Fletcher and controlled a mechanical card-playing machine as a carnival act. Later he named himself Fastus LeGrand and worked as a stunt double in a travelling play. He finally became Mangus Eisengrim, a world famous illusionist. Countless times during his story he asks the question, "Who was I?"(61).

At the beginning of Paul Dempster's life there was no trouble with who he was. He was born prematurely and so, right from the start, he was a survivor. He also was a Reverend's son, and his mother was known to others as a "hoor"(24). He knew exactly who he was, but anted to be someone else. After running away with the carnival, or as he said "The carnival ran away with me.", he recalls that he was "prepared to do anything rather than go home." At the carnival he became known as Cass Fletcher. This initial change in who he was was the first sign that there was a conflict with who he was.

His time spent as Cass Fletcher, roughly eight years, was the most conflicting time of his life. In the carnival Cass operated a card-playing machine called "Abdullah"(49). He would sit inside the machine spy on his opponent's cards and slip better ones into Abdullah's hand. At point in his life Cass spent most of his time inside this contraption, perfecting his spying and card slipping and when he ate, and that was seldom, he would do it inside Abdullah as well. He was almost never seen or spoken too. This neglect and abuse led him to believe that he was nobody. He mentions "I was Nobody... I did not exist.". At this time his "search for self" came to the most obscure solution possible. He believed himself to be Nobody. However, when he was seen and acknowledged, it was mostly when he was on stage as "Abdullah, the undefeatable card-playing machine". This caused him to think that when he was not Nobody, he was Abdullah. His answer to "Who [am] I?" was either Abdullah, an inanimate object and a machine to trick an audience, or nobody at all. It wasn't until he was about eighteen, when the carnival he was working for went out of business, that he escaped being trapped in Abdullah. He moved to France and became a street performer. His fake passport had "Fastus LeGrand" as his name. So finally he was no longer, and would never again be, Nobody.

Early in Fastus LeGrand's career as a street performer he was offered a job as an actor in a play called "Scaramouche"(162). He was hired as a stunt double for a man named Sir John. All Fastus had to do was walk a tightrope and juggle some plates, but he had quite a problem imitating Sir John. A fellow actor said that he couldn't "get Sir John's rhythm."(167). As he began to get the idea, he realized that he was again hiding from the audience as he had done with Abdullah.

Was this to be another Abdullah? It was, but in a way I could not have foreseen. Experience never repeats itself in quite the same way. I was beginning another servitude, much more dangerous and potentially ruinous, but far removed from the squalor of my experience with [Abdullah]. I had entered upon a ling apprenticeship to an [egotism].

Fastus had to become Sir John. Eventually he succeeded, so much so that he was later accused of eating Sir John. "You ate Sir John... You ate the poor old ham."(224). Another crisis in his identity. Fastus learned to walk, act, speak, move, stand and probably even blink exactly the same as Sir John himself. During Fastus's time with the play he was known to most as Mungo Fetch. The name was decided on by other actors who thought it sounded appropriate for a man whose job it was to copy someone else. Fastus LeGrand, the only name he picked for himself, was thought to be far too noticeable, and a stunt double was to be kept secret. Again he needed to be hidden from the world. But when Sir John retired, Fastus was no longer Mungo Fetch, nor Sir John. He was beginning to win himself back. Once again, he was known only by a single name. But "Fastus LeGrand was still not who [he] truly was, or who he was meant to be."(Pierce 318)

Soon after Fastus stopped acting in Scaramouche, he was hired to fix toys for an old rich man. It took months just to fix a single toy because of the minute tinkering took to perfect the movement. But there were hundreds of toys that needed to be fixed. So Fastus spent almost every waking hour of his time working on them. Thus, he had virtually no contact with the outside world. He was even given residence with his employer, so he didn't even have to leave the old mans mansion. Now, instead of hiding behind Abdullah or Sir John, he was hiding behind his work. It was during his time fixing toys that Fastus changed once again. As he continued fixing toys for the old man, Fastus met the old mans niece, Lisel, whom he fell in love with. Since Fastus LeGrand was not his real name and he didn't care for it much they decided to change it again. Fastus would by no means return to being Paul Dempster, and even less so did he want to go back to Cass Fletcher. So Lisel named him Mangus Eisengrim. Becoming Mangus was the "final conflict with who he was."(Pierce 553) Mangus was finally rid of his former lives and had come to the end of his search for self. He had answered the question "Who [am] I?". He lived life as Mangus and became a world famous illusionist and eventually returned to acting, since he had such a skill with imitating people. He was, from then on, Mangus Eisengrim.

I've just finished a Davies marathon: the whole Deptford trilogy in 3 days. I think it a testament to Davies' great storytelling ability that I could not put down any of the three books. I suggest reading them in close succession because the second book (The Manticore) sheds a lot of light on the other two books. It's interesting that in this book (the 2nd), we get 250 pages or so written from the point of view of a minor character: Boy Staunton's son. If you stop to think about it, the whole trilogy is structured around the question "Who killed Boy Staunton," so it shouldn't be surprising to read an account by his drunken son, the famous lawyer of his counseling sessions in Zurich. Rarely does one find such well-drawn characters these days in novels -- by the end, you'll feel like you've known Paul Demster for years, along with the simian Liesl, level-headed Ramsey and of course Demster's character, Eisengrim.

This book is a bit "deeper" than the first two as we find ourselves transported to an almost magic-realism portrait of myth and fantastical events in the World of Wonders. I actually enjoyed the first two books more although I still think this last book is a master work. Occassionaly Eisengrim's recounting of his life gets a bit tedious, but only because we are dying to resolve the mystery which finally gets solved in the closing pages. All in all, a memorable trilogy and a gripping read by one of the great 20th century writers.

Davies uses the 'accidental' revelation of a great magician's life--by the magician himself--to complete the Deptford Trilogy and answer the mystery: "Who killed...?" Davies is at his storytelling best here, spinning out a strange, fascinating life story that begins when a young boy is captivated by a carnival magic show. By far the best book of the trilogy, this novel stands brilliantly on its own and is head and shoulders above the two recent novels that use almost the same plot: Mr. Vertigo, by Paul Auster, and Millroy the Magician, by Paul Theroux

Hi to all,
Last summer, 03, visited the Yukon and only found the Yukon Travel Adventure Guide too late - in Whitehorse. From then on life became easier because the book is not only fun to read but also extremely informative.
Wish more bookstores down south would stock the guide book - or, maybe, the author needs a hand in marketing since the publisher (ITMB from Vancouver, BC)is less than helpful.
Anyway, its a way-to-go guide book especially since later in my travels through the Yukon and the North run into the author!!!
Amazing! I stayed at the Dawson City River Hostel (as neat a place as the come!) and talking to the guy working there and found out he also was the author....!!
Things like that only happen in movies.....no?!
Pete from way down South

There really is no better guide book covering the Yukon. Seems to be a bit dated but the info concerning the Yukon is still very accurate especially with the 2003 insert - certainly more accurate than other guide books claiming to have been updated their info in 2003!!!!
Do recommend the Yukon Travel Adventure Guide for anybody heading North to the Yukon.

I took this book with me to the yukon (in paperback form) and it was quite useful. The 1999 update, in the format of a 4 page insert, was helpful. However, due to the nature of the region, services opening and closing in a season, I found that when I arrived in July 1999 (with the 1999 update in hand) that some of the info was outdated. Regardless, it's an indispensible travel tool to this magnificent region.

after reading the book one thing is quite clear: my next trip will be to the yukon. It's more than a simple guide: it's a story-telling book, a who-is-who of the territory, a preperation to coming adventures, written in an entertaining, ironically style (see the bear-chapter) with lots of interesting details on how to do this and that and everything (and by the way even a complete, probably life-saving telephonebook) - read, go and enjoy !!

Found this book very up to date The author seems to be from the Yukon and knows what he is talking about. But...there are not enough maps.

I couldn't put this down once I started. It was delightfully and lovingly humorous, not unlike Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone gentle pokes at out-state Minnesota. (I ought to know; I grew up in that territory.) I think that you need some understanding of European academia to fully appreciate McCall's humour in these books, but I still recommend it to everyone. If you aren't familiar with the German university system now, perhaps these books will inspire you to learn more about it. And, then when fully enlightened you can re-read 2-1/2 Pillars of Wisdom.

Alexamder McCall Smith is probably best known now as the author of the wonderful series, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, but proving his immensely fine writing and observation skills are not simply a fluke, he has also written some other series. This is one, there are three books in here, Portuguese Irregular Verbs, the Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of reduced circumstances.

This series follows the adventures of Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Iglefled, author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs, (which has sold over 200 copies) and his friends (and arch rivals) Unterholzen and Prinzel - as they attend philology conferences, or establish themselves in the finely details pecking order of academia - all done in the best of good manners with almost no open hostility.

Truly this is a marvellous peice of writing. The story where - as friends, von Iglefeld, Prinzel and Unterholzen read a book on tennis and its rules and then decide that they can play and indeed will play - all they need to know of tennis can be gained from books after all.

It has been reviewed as cultivated pomposity, but there is also a marvellous edge of appealingness about them. I think we can all relate to their battles, their own pride and firm assurance in their very rightness. I think there appeal is not that they are pompous and ridiculous, but rather - there but for the grace of god go I!

If you like this series I am sure you will enjoy another author - E E Benson who wrote the Lucia series, another very finely observed series of books where the small politics of a isolated community dominate the actions of everyone. They are glorious good fun to read!

Highly enjoyable good-natured, good-humoured and good reading.

Contains three stories:
Portuguese Irregular Verbs
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

They are all funny, but The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs is absolutely hilarious.

Completely mad, and has a lot of in-jokes for academics, but enjoyable for anyone. Laugh 'til it hurts!

I read this book over a year ago, so I can't write all that I could have when I had just finished it. But I noticed there were no reviews of this book available, and that's a shame because this is a masterpiece of subtle (and not-so-subtle) humor about a stiff and pompous German professor and his colleagues, their interpersonal intrigues, and their various adventures. It's one of my few "keepers".

As with other books by this author, you can't judge this book by the description of the story, which I admit sounds dry. The same plot, implemented by another author, might have been a complete flop. But McCall Smith can take the most mundane or obscure story and bring it to life, adding twists of irony and color that entertain and charm the reader.

This book (which contains a trilogy, actually) is not the light and merry read that we're used to from McCall Smith's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series, but every bit as entertaining.

Any experience or knowledge that readers may have of German culture and customs will make this book even more of a delight to read -- unless, of course, you're a German without the ability to laugh at your own culture.

This is the road atlas I use the most. I wish I had had a copy on my cross-country trip earlier this year.

The large scale and large type edition gives a lot of detail without being cluttered or overwhelming. Even wayside stops (picnic areas) are marked. This balance was achieved by giving a lot of pages for every state. Even Rhode Island and Delaware have two pages each.

In addition to the master index and national mileage chart, every state has at least a local mileage chart and index printed next to the map. Almost every right-hand page has one. The large type makes it easy to read in a moving car, even if its dark outside and you're reading by the car's light or a flashlight.

Thanks to the spiral binding, this atlas is easy to handle. Now that I have two road atlases with spiral binding I wonder why I bothered with road atlases without spiral binding. Not only is it easier to use, wear and tear is less because I'm not folding it back on itself.

There are also descriptions of "travel adventures" provided by discover.com. Not necessarily very practical, but does inspire a little day-dreaming. This is the same exact set of descriptions that's in the smaller American Map Road Atlas of US, Canada and Mexico.

Because of the ease of use of this large-type edition, this is the atlas I keep in the car. My other atlas, the American Map Road Atlas of US, Canada and Mexico, which is also good, has been moved from the car to the bookshelf.

I highly recommend this road atlas.

This atlas does not cover Canada and Mexico.

petervtamas@mail.com

This is good road atlas that we frequently use for planning trips.

This atlas has a lot of detail. Even wayside stops (picnic areas) are marked. In addition to the master index and national mileage chart, every state has at least a local mileage chart and index printed next to the map.

Thanks to the spiral binding, this atlas is easy to handle. Now that I have two road atlases with spiral binding I wonder why I bothered with road atlases without spiral binding. Not only is it easier to use, wear and tear is less because I'm not folding it back on itself.

There are also descriptions of "travel adventures" provided by discover.com. Not necessarily very practical, but does inspire a little day-dreaming. This is the same exact set of descriptions that's in the large-print American Map Road Atlas of US

I recommend this road atlas, but I prefer the large-print version. However, I doubt you'll find a better atlas in this format.

This atlas covers Canada and Mexico. However, as it only covers 1 page for most of the provinces and 2 pages for Mexico, you'll probably want additional maps when traveling in these countries.

I have used the 2001 AMC Road Atlas for two travel seasons, across the US and Mexico. It is sturdy, easy to use, and up-to-date. I'm in the process of buying the new one, and I look forward to buying one every couple years as long as I travel.

I'll never go back to the old staple paradigm with all the advances of spiral binding at my fingertips.

Well illustrated, easy to read.

This is a high quality navigation tool.