Canada Books

I was so engrossed by this book. Not only is it a fabulous story of a relationship between a child and young man and a story of survival under extreme conditions, but also an indictment of the Myanmar regime, as the author interviewed some who had been imprisoned by the generals and incorporated that information in the book. While hard to read at times, because of the imprisonment descriptions, the book is beautifully written and totally captivating.

Karen Connelly is a superb author, she brings both skilled craftsmanship of story-telling, and a penetrating evaluation of the human soul that soars beyond the confines of the cage. We live in a world where we are all connected, and, it is critical in a time where we cannot save Teza, or other cruel victims of repression - that we remember. The story of Teza is replayed in Burma every day, but as well, in far too many places in our world. We cannot save all victims of terror - but - thanks to Karen Connelly, we can at least not forget - we can keep them in mind, we can share the feelings of their terror, and rejoice in her story that reminds us that the human spirit can overcome both terror and the cage. Until Burma is free, until there are no more victims of repression, at least let us remember Teza's soul and spirit and song, as taught to us by Karen Connelly. You will as well be rewarded by discovering as incredible new author.

If you're interested in getting both a historical and emotional understanding of what's happening in Burma (Myamar, as the generals have named it), then THE LIZARD CAGE is a must read. It will not only help you understand why it is so difficult to get aid into the country after the tragic hurricane, but it will also inspire you the way THREE CUPS OF TEA has done.
However, even if you don't care about the effects of the hurricane on the long-suffering Burmese people, you will want to read this book for its fine imagery, meticulous characterization, and exploration of humanity and compassion. It's a classic, great novel along the lines of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. (Yes, it really is that well-written).
The Laguna Book-Worm

This book is amazing. I think we owe a great debt to Karen Connelly for writing this novel which eloquently exposes the brutality of the military regime in Burma while celebrating the beauty of Burmese culture, food and buddhism. This book is a great contribution and has the potential to entertain through its strong writing and story line while educating readers about the reality of life in Burma. On a grand scale, Connelly has found a way to write beautifully and inspiringly about humanity with all its darkness, flaws, hope and gentleness. Well Done!

This is one of the most compelling and haunting stories I've ever read, and I've read a LOT! I would say that this is in my top 20 all time favorites. If you have ever read Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, then you will understand what this book is about. No matter how desperate, how demeaning, how hopeless the situation, you are always free to choose your attitude. The author, Karen Connelly, can magnify even the most insignificant detail into an entire day's focus for the main character. Very Zen. You will not soon forget this book once you've read it.

I have used this book since 1992, both as a student and as a provider. My past editions have been well thumbed through and open imediately to the charts I used most. It is invaluable in the decision making process of changing pills or starting OCPs. The ability to safely manage side effects and fine tune women's health is found in this book. I highly recommend this to the student and experienced practitioner. Well worth the money, many times over. Not sure I would want it in a PDA format.

I daily use this handbook in my practice and have bought every edition since the 7th. Every question is answered. Allows sense to be made of oral contraceptive choice and adjustment without relying on big pharma's propaganda.

This book has clear guidelines for prescribing oral contraceptive agents. It provides a section on bothersome side effects, causal factors and options. The section on contraceptive activity is good as is the composition and identification section. Very helpful, easy to use and it takes the guesswork out of oral contraception.

Consistent in it's format, easy to use,concise and up to date. Recommended to all medical personnel managing patients on oral contraceptives. I have purchased the last three editions over the last 7 years and have not been disappointed.

An excellent reference guide and teaching text for every clinician who has a personal relationship with patients of reproductive age. The book fits in a lab coat pocket and has a unique design, which enables the user to find critical information quickly and easily. It is strongly recommended to physicians, residents, nurse practitioners and all other medical professionals in an OB/GYN clinic or teaching hospital. The 11th edition includes the new patch, ring and all new pills available 9/02.

An excellent book. From Brazil, I am able to confirm the magnificent dancers. I owned a northern dancer's grandson.
Congratulations to the author.

Fernando A. T. Távora
Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

Northern Dancer by Muriel Lennox is a vibrant narrative which portrays a fascinating era with emphasis on a mesmerizing focus of the horses as well as the peripheral people! If you enjoy equine sagas or simply appreciate fine writing, this superlative volume will capture your interest and imagination!

As a horse trainer and owner I have found this book very interesting and entertaining.

This book is very well written and informative. As well as the life-story of this remarkable animal it provides an insight into the history and workings of the racing industry. At times it brought a tear to my eye! I have a Northern Dancer horse and I look at him with a new dimension of knowledge.

Although I was not old enough to remember Northern Dancer, he was won of the greatest thoroughbreds of this century. Not only in racing its self, but as one of the most influencial stallions of our time. This book allows everyone who knew of The Dancer to remember him. To either help the people to remanise of his great life as they saw him in '64, or for some, to learn of his great accomplishments, and not so golden moments that they never got a glimpse of. But the one thing this book gives everyone, is to learn of the real Northern Dancer. His 'misfit' life as a yearling, his great character and temperment, and his relationship with the people most close to him. He touched alot of people and still does. He is the greastest Canadian horse to step on any track and probibly ever will. Muriel Lenox did I great job in revieling Northern Dancer to us. Her words made me chill when he won the Derby, feel dispair when he lost the Belmont and cry when he died in 1990. But I would like to thank Muriel for what she gave me, a real look at the life of my favorite horse of all time. Northern Dancer will always be a great horse, not only as a horse himself;but as well as his legacy. Such stallions like Storm Cat, Danzig,Nureyev, Nijinsky II and so many more are leaving the Dancer mafk on racing today. This is a great book and at is a must read for any horse lover or fan of racing.

I feel that this book is a very well written book. It has pictures that follow the plot of the book and this helps younger children. I know that many children would relate well to this book because they do not like to see their toys locked up in a box. When I read this book it reminded me of when I was younger and I had a bear that got put in a box and I went and got it! So I feel that this is a good book to read to younger children from toddlers to third graders.

One day, Bramwell Brown remembers his friend Old Bear who was put away in the attic. Bramwell and the other stuffed animals decide to get him back.

What follows is a series of failed attempts to reach the attic until finally one succeeds and the toys are united.

I like this story because it does show the process of thinking through a problem as well as perseverance (even when Duck thinks there is no hope). As with many children's books there are a few logic problems, but overall it reads very well.

Look for the other Little Bear stories as well.

"I knew it was going to be a special day." said Bramwell Bear to himself. -Duck, Rabbit, Little Bear, and Bramwell Bear struggle to capture their long lost, and forgotten friend, Old Bear. Old Bear has been stored in the attic for a while because the children played roughly with him.

Old Bear's friends are really caring friends, especially Little Bear, my favorite character. Little Bear climbs from the airplane into the attic and recovers Old Bear. -True friendship.

I remember reading this book plenty of times 11 years ago, and always treasuring it. If you like cute books with good illustrations and a group of brave, loving stuffed animals, you should read this book!

From the first day I brought this book home, my daughter has loved it. "Old Bear" was one of the first phrases she said. This book teaches that by trying new ideas and working together, you can accomplish anything. It's a wonderful life lesson for toddlers, with captivating drawings and warm, loveable characters. I would highly recommend this book, along with any others by Jane Hissey, to all parents.

Every morning our eighteen month old daughter starts the day by exclaiming 'Old Bear!' - the cue that one of us must read it with her without further ado. If it's not left in her cot at night, she often says, 'Oh dear, Old Bear?'. In short this book really wins the toddler vote. Our toddler learnt how to wobble by reading this. She also learnt the meaning of 'sad'. Old bear is a story of lasting friendship, teamwork among stuffed toys, and a daring airborne rescue bid. Contrary to one review, the pictures are not 'sugary-sweet', Our very discerning daughter loves them, and actually, so do I. We have found that we've read the book so often that the words are imprinted in our memories - but amazingly we don't mind. All together now: 'One day the toys were sitting by the window when they remembered their friend Old Bear...'

Victoria Cope's family gets a home child, Marianna Wilson, to help around the house, with Vic's mother carrying a baby and all that. Marianna and Victoria find out where Marianna's brother Jasper is and about him being treated very unfairly by a mean villain, Carl Stone. Before you know it, the whole Cope family is trying their very hardest to save Jasper, to be able to have him in the friendly Cope household. Read this book to find out if they save him and their great adventure hiding him illegally from family outsider.

Orphan at my Door is one of the greatest books of all time.

This was an amazing book! Definately one of the best Dear Canada books. I read it in one day, but the only reason was because I started it in the morning and read it until 1 o'clock in the morning! It was a totally amazing book! Just WOW

My daughter and I were caught up in the suspense, the hopes, the tears. What a beautiful book, again, from Jean Little. My daughter (almost 8) says it is the book ever, and she wants to start back at the beginning and hear it again.

This book is one of the Dear Canada series, which are historical novels, written in diary format, about fictional girls during different periods of Canadian history.

Victoria Cope, who lives in the town of Guelph, Ontario, begins her diary on her eleventh birthday. Because her mother is unwell, her father decides the family will take in a Home Child, an orphan from England, to help with the housework. The girl who joins their household is a small, quiet twelve-year-old named Mary Anna Wilson. Through Victoria's diary, we learn of Mary Anna's plight -- her mother died, and she has been separated from her younger brother and sister. Victoria also tells of the daily life for a young girl in Canada in 1897 and her decision to try and help Mary Anna find her family.

This was the first book I read in the Dear Canada series and I loved it. It was very well written and keep me interested the entire time. The characters of Victoria and Mary Anna were very realistic and likable, and their stories showed how very different life was for rich children and poor children in the late 1800s. This book is still one of my favorites from the series and I'd highly recommend it to young readers who enjoy historical fiction in diary format.

I cannot say enough about Dorothy Dunnett's Series, THEY LYMOND CHRONICLES AND this one from the series THE HOUSE OF NOCCLO. All the books are great reads and I truly loved this one. I am on THE UNICORN HUNT, now and am enjoying it just as much. I will keep reading until I have finished all her books and then find some other good authors. These are filled with terrific characters that just grab you as well as lots of information from history that I am drinking in.

niccolo continues to learn how to use his power, and how to mittigate its impact, as he searches for meaning and love and fun

On this, the third chapter in the Niccolo series, we fin Nicholas has been "kidnapped" by the 'presumptuous' King of Cyprus who is actually trying to recover his kingdom from his sister.

Nicholas is able to help the king and at the same time obtain franchises in his dye works and sugar fields. He meets with Katelina, the mother of his only child, only to lose her once more after they reconcile. Finally, once the island is secure to King Zacco, Nicholas is allowed to return to Venice, where he faces once more his rival family, the de St Pol and Riberac.

In this chapter of the story the author makes great use of description in her scenes and they are so vivid! the characters, the settings everything is so masterfully blended with reality and fiction.

I loved this book and I have already started the fourth chapter. Good!

Ah, the frustrating pleasure of reading a Dorothy Dunnett novel :-) Her writing is dense, her plots are complex, and her characters (especially the male ones, which IMO are infinitely easier to like than the female ones) are nothing short of psychological studies. Often, while reading this book, I felt like I was way in over my head. And yet, I kept going, and the reward of Dunnett's writing, and her story, are well worth the effort, in my view.

In this third part of the eight-part Niccolo series, Nicholas is kidnapped and taken to Cyprus to fight with King James for control of the island, against his legitimate half-sister Carlotta. We meet the engaging courtesan Primaflora, who becomes Nicholas's mistress. We also see some old friends, such as Tobias the physician and Captain Astorre and the faithful Loppe. We meet Nicholas's cousin Diniz, and are reacquainted with the vengeful Katelina van Borselen.

But the vortex, as always, is the dynamic, ingenius, amazing Nicholas vander Poele. In this chapter of the story, we see how Nicholas deals with the stress of so many demands. We see how he deals with the love of two women whom he does not love in return, and the guilt associated with that. We follow him as he tries to play two sides (and sometimes more) of a dangerous game, all so that he can come out the winner. Nicholas is difficult to understand, but fascinating to read about. And in Race of Scorpions, Dunnett ensures that readers will not fail to follow him into his next adventure.

This is the third book in the House of Niccolo series. We join Nicholas as he is trying to move to a new stage of his life after the tumultuous events of Trebizond. Alas, Nicholas and his skills are too well known and he is being courted by many while still being hunted by his enemies.

During this particular journey, Nicholas becomes involved in the battle for Cyprus between the Lusignan 'Scorpions' Carlotta and James. At the same time, Nicholas becomes involved in all manner of affairs and events and also discovers some truths along the way.

Highly recommended. Lady Dunnett brings the history of this period alive while at the same time continuing to develop an enigmatic hero whose skills and abilities (and possibly an occasional flaw) are magnificently showcased.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This Atlas is fine for my purposes. I've used Rand McNally for a long time and this one didn't disappoint.

Rand McNally 2009 Road Atlas: United States / Canada / Mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico)

As always, Rand McNally has an easy-to use atlas! I've been using their atlases for years, and this one doesn't disappoint!

A consistant excellent product that stays up to date. The plastic cover is really a "must have" because it keeps the atlas in good condition.

I gave this atlas to my brother for his birthday and he was thrilled. He loved it. It's a good, complete atlas and relatively easy to get through. It should take the stress out of road travel!http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0528942018/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

When I was a kid, I loved every time that my family bought a new Rand McNally Road Atlas. As soon as I could, I would sit down with the atlas and trace rides across country, from state to state. Or I would look for strangely named communities or. . . . I would spend an hour or so at a time just going through those glorious maps.

More recently, this is my annual Christmas gift to my son (wonder if love of atlases has a genetic basis?). But I still will grab his copy when he's not around and go through it, just as so long ago.

This Atlas has taken on a more contemporary flavor. Now, there is a web site that you can go to on road construction. Plus other web sites listed to provide the road warrior with more information.

It's fun to revisit my home territory via the Atlas. I was born in Kewanee, Illinois, so I can go to the Illinois map and trace (once more) how I would get to my mother's hometown (Bradford, IL), and the different routes I could take back and forth, including lesser used routes.

Or just open randomly to a map. I just did that and got Texas. Given the recent hurricane (Ike), it is illuminating to take a look at the Galveston-Houston area, as well as checking out the path that the hurricane took. An atlas gives you a grounded sense of the world around you.

So, anyhow, here's to the 2009 Atlas!

This is a great primer for researchers. Basic research techniques are explained and detailed. Lots of tips and tricks. Some of the techniques are a little too detailed like how to compose a letter and create a manual filing system but all in all a very worthwhile book. Also some of the information is a bit dated but most of it is timeless. I'm certain that I'll be referring to it for many years to come.

This book was purchased as a textbook for a research class. Had I known this valuable and helpful information, much of my past research time would have been shortened and to the point. Especially great is the rational behind the suggestions and the reviews of important points.

Everyone seems to agree that this book is the standard text in genealogical research. The reason for this is the inclusion of sufficient detail to be useful without sacrificing scope and breadth of coverage. Prior editions gave short shrift to the computer revolution in genealogy. The third edition remedies this. Why not five stars? The writing fails to inspire. Granted this is a textbook on a sometimes dry and technical topic. The author also provides the right approach to the topic by focusing on story telling, basic research and avoiding beginners pitfalls. But I am still looking for the genealogy book that takes the topic to a high level. Genealogy is not just about correct principles, accurate research or even the stories that Val Greenwood encourgages us to write. Genealogy is about identity, individual, familial and national. If we are satisfied merely to explore our curiosity and to get the facts straight, then this is a dead science. No one seems more qualified than Val Greenwood to lead us into this deeper meaning. Perhaps a next edition or thinner separte volume will take us there.

Since its first edition in 1972, and especially with the completely revised and greatly expanded 2nd edition in 1990, this comprehensive work has become the standard guide and textbook in the pursuit of U.S. genealogical research. Beginning with the background to research -- what "research" actually means, specialized terminology, basic principles, library fundamentals, and all the rest -- Greenwood teaches you, with great clarity and many examples, how to identify what information you need, how to go about locating it, and how to organize it once you've found it. The second, much larger part of the book, leads the reader through the use, analysis, and interpretation of all the major sorts of documents and records out there: Compiled sources (including a discussion of the nature of compilations), vital records, census returns, wills and probate records (and how to become comfortable with legal terminology), local and federal land records, civil and criminal court records, church records, records relating to immigration, military records, and cemetery and burial records. He discusses the nature of abstracting, clears up common misconceptions about court records, points out the limitations of the census, and presents a largely rewritten discussion of the standards of evidence. When the 2nd edition came out a decade ago, the author thought his book would probably never need another major revision, just minor updates. But that was before the personal computer and Internet revolutions forced him to rethink his position, and this edition includes an entirely new and rather lengthy chapter on the appropriate use of the computer in genealogical research and also on its built-in limitations. He also took the opportunity to add a chapter on the legal issues relating to women's property rights, and (of course) made all those minor corrections and updates he had expected. Bluntly, if you can afford only one how-to book for your home genealogy shelf, get this one.

An excellent reference recommended for libraries building basic collections on genealogy. Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide To American Genealogy, 3rd Edition provides important updated links between computers and genealogical research, including chapters on property rights of women, new insights on the evaluation of genealogical evidence, and updated information on the 1020 census.

This book covers a period just prior to internet prevalence and the digitally connected world. This book is one that any adult on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) scale will readily identify with as it addresses issues people on the spectrum contended with prior to being able to find one another and understand living with "undefined differences."

Donna Williams' early life reads like a Dickensian classic. She survived poverty, prostitution, homelessness and the abuse that so often accompanies these societal obstacles in a person's life. She has traveled extensively from a geographical perspective as well as a diagnostic one. It was only when she had long reached adulthood that she was formerly diagnosed with autism.

Many people with autism born during the Baby Boom were misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and other unrelated conditions. Bad placements and inappropriate placements were very much the order of the day for many years. It is only in recent times, thanks to pioneer experts such as Donna Williams, Jerry Newman and Tony Attwood that these misperceptions about autism can hopefully be laid to rest.

Donna Williams, as with probably everybody on the a/A spectrum likens autism to sociology (learning about how humans behave and interact and what general expectations are) and feeling like an alien for not having this inborn, instictive and intuitive knowledge. People on the spectrum will certainly be able to identify with her experiences and how she describes them as well as her feelings regarding same. I like the way she describes her client-doctor relationship with her therapist, Dr. Marek. It sounded like a dance, of sorts where each was dancing timidly around the other, trying to figure out what step to take next.

Like the Bronte Sisters who created wonderfully creative, diversely populated fictional towns, Donna Williams sets out to create such an "Autistitopia" (Autistic Utopia).

Sheer luck and an unlikely friend come through like the Cavalry for her. Her first manuscript was left in England. A stranger found it and forwarded it to her. From there, an agent contacts her, expressing an avid interest in her work. That was the first quantum stride forward that transformed Donna Williams from a private citizen into a leading expert and scholar in matters relating to autism and treatments. This book is a shining beacon of hope and a ray of strong sunlight. WE NEED THIS BOOK!

It's 1994 in a world where most people don't yet have email or internet and the undiagnosed adults on the Autistic Spectrum born in the 1960s and earlier still don't know each other exist, often believing they are the only one's like themselves in the entire world.

After a life of abuse, domestic prostitution, homelessness and poverty Donna Williams has wandered her way back to Australia and finally found the answer to 'what kind of mad am I'. The words of her childhood like deaf, psychotic, disturbed now get swept aside with a formal diagnosis as Autistic as she stumbles upon and enters into therapy with an eccentric an innovative psychologist, Theo Marek and they try to understand each other with astoundingly different language, concepts, realities and 'normality', viewing each other as one might an alien.

Having finally discovered the population she has been kept from all her life, Donna develops a small town dream and determines with her IQ of under 70 to become a teacher and change and advance the world of Developmental Disabilities and how those with them are treated in Special Education and beyond.

But the manuscript of her first book remains in a tea chest in England, a copy of it left with a stranger who unknown to her has forwarded it on. And soon a fax arrives through the post from a literary agent with a copy of that book in his hands. The book she wrote only for herself, filled with darkness and shame and surreal idiosyncracy of her previously undiagnosed Autistic world is set to become an international bestseller and propel the woman terrified of being 'known' out of the shadows and straight into the limelight as one of the most famous people ever diagnosed with Autism in the world.

An incredible, uplifting book.

Donna Williams was diagnosed with autism as an adult, after many misdiagnosises. In her past, she faced child abuse, homelessness and prostitution. Now, that she began to realize her problems had a definite basis, she began to do something about them. Although her behavior was considered "antisocial" and eccentric, her insight into the human condition is remarkable. She has worked as a teacher of special needs children, and received awards for her "do-goodness." In this book, she casts aside the "characters" and poses that have made up her world, and begins to relate to people as herself, not as how she imagined they would want her to. Eventually, she began to publish memoir, which was picked up and published internationally. Her triumphs both in the professional and personal spheres will have you cheering, as she fights to master autism. "I will not let it control me" she writes, and she hasn't.

There are many books written about autism. While we can learn from researchers and professionals, we gain a whole new perspective when we listen to someone who has autism describe what it's like. Donna Williams is a bright, articulate young woman who freely shares insight into what it's like to live in the world of autism.

The first book was an amazing journey for me, and to read the second book was just as wonderful as the first. It left me wondering if there was a third book. A must read!

Nice book. But in this edition, there is no chapter title on each page, so it's a little difficult to track the chapters.

There is at least one author who may remind you of Stephen Leacock, namely Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame, but Leacock should be recognized as the ultimate master of quaint, bucolic humor. Leacock, who died in 1944, became arguably the most prominent Canadian humorist of his day (and probably of all time). What is ironic about that claim is that Leacock worked for most of his life as a professor of economics. We do not usually equate economics with humor, preferring to think of that profession as one of bow ties and supply and demand charts. Throw that presumption out the window and pick up a copy of "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town," Leacock's best known work available through the New Canadian Library series.

For me, one of the funniest sections of the book was the introduction written by Leacock, where he gives you some background about himself and his profession. This short piece of writing quickly gives you an idea of the type of humor you will find in the actual sketches: a very sly, very quiet and clever type of humor that often takes a while to sink in. Leacock does not rely on rim shot jokes or manic posturing in his writings. Instead, he creates the fictional Canadian town of Mariposa and populates it with small town archetypes that are wonders to behold.

All of the characters are hilarious in their own way: Mr. Smith, the proprietor of the local hotel and bar, full of schemes to earn money while trying to get his liquor license back. Then there is Jefferson Thorpe, the barber involved in financial schemes that may put him on the level of the Morgans and the Rockefellers. The Reverend Mr. Drone presides over the local Church of England in Mariposa, a man who reads Greek as easy as can be but laments his lack of knowledge about logarithms and balancing the financial books of the church. Peter Pupkin, the teller at the local bank, has a secret he wants no one to know about, but which eventually comes out while he is courting the daughter of the town judge. All of these characters, and several others, interact throughout the sketches.

Leacock has the ability to turn a story, to make it take a crazy, unexpected twist even when you are looking for such a maneuver. That he accomplishes this in stories that rarely run longer than twenty pages is certainly a sign of great talent. By the time you reach the end of the book, you know these people as though you lived in the town yourself, and you know what makes them tick.

Despite all of the crazy antics in Mariposa, Leacock never lets the reader lose sight of the fact that these are basically good people living good lives. There seems to be a lot of feeling for the citizens of Mariposa on the part of Leacock, which comes to a head in the final sketch in the collection, "L'Envoi. The Train to Mariposa," where he recounts traveling back to the town after being away for years, with all of the attendant emotions that brings as recognizable landmarks come into view and the traveler realizes that his little town is the same as when he left it years before.

I suspect there is a historical importance to "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town." These writings first appeared in 1912, a time when many people living in the bigger Canadian cities still remembered life in a small town. In addition to the humorous aspects of the book, the author includes many descriptive passages concerning the atmosphere and layout of Mariposa, something instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up in such a place. Nostalgia for the simpler life of the small town probably played a significant role in the book's success.

I look forward to reading more Stephen Leacock. While much of the humor in the book is not belly laugh funny, it does provide one with a deep satisfaction of reading clever humor from an author who knows how to tickle the funny bone. You do not need to be Canadian to enjoy this wonderful book.

no hype. i couldn't stop laughing as i was reading this. and i mean laughing out loud. in a cafe. with everyone staring at me. but i didn't care. and i couldn't help it if i did. it's just too hilarious.

Like the heading says, this is the funniest book I've ever read. Leacock was a comic genius and this is his best work. Buy it, read it, love it.

Perhaps the finest comment about Stephen Leacock in the last half century is that "he is a
Will Rogers for the 90's."

Rogers, of course, is one of the most beloved of American humorists -- he was killed in
1935 when his plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska. Leacock died on March 28, 1944.
Like Rogers, he had been Canada's favorite humorist for decades.

Sunshine Sketches is about Orillia, Ontario, Canada, where Leacock had his summer home
on Brewery Bay (he once wrote, "I have known that name, the old Brewery Bay, to make
people feel thirsty by correspondence as far away as Nevada.") His home is now maintained
as a historic site by the town of Orillia. I lived there for almost 30 years, and the people of Orillia are still much the same as Leacock portrayed them in 1912.

These stories about various personalities in town were printed in the local newspaper in the
1910 - 1912 era, before being compiled into this book which established Leacock's literary
fame. The people portrayed really lived, though some are composites; the events are of a
kindly humorist looking at the foibles of small town life. Once they came out in book form
and soared to national popularity, everyone in town figured the rest of the country was
laughing at them because of Leacock's book and he was royally hated in Orillia to the end
of his life.

Gradually, and this took decades, Orillians came to recognize that genius had walked
amongst them for several decades. (It's hard to recognize genius when your own ego is so
inflated.) Orillia now awards the annual "Leacock Medal for Humor" -- Canada's top literary
prize for the best book of humour for the preceding year.

Leacock died when I was six, but I did know his son, who still lived in town. I delivered
papers to the editor of the "Newspacket," Leacock's name for the Orillia Packet and Times
(where I worked) and the rival Newsletter. The Packet had the same editor in the 1940's as
when Leacock wrote about him in 1910.

But the book is more than Orillia; it is a wonderfully kind and humorous description of life in
many small towns. The American artist Norman Rockwell painted the same kinds of scenes;
it is the type of idyllic urban life so many of us keep longing to find again in our hectic
urban world.

Leacock realized the book was universal in its description of small towns, and in the preface
he wrote "Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of
them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square
streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels, and everywhere the
sunshine of the land of hope."

True enough, which gives this book continuing appeal nearly a century after it was written.
All great writing is about topics you know, and as a longtime resident Leacock knew Orillia
well. As for Leacock himself, he wrote, "I was born at Swanmoor, Hants., England, on Dec.
30, 1869. I am not aware that there was any particular conjunction of the planets at the
time, but should think it extremely likely."

He says of his education, "I survived until I took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
1903. The meaning of this degree is that the recipient of instruction is examined for the last
time in his life, and is pronounced completely full. After this, no new ideas can be imparted
to him."

In reviewing Charles Dickens' works in 1934, Leacock wrote what could well be his own
epitaph: "Transitory popularity is not proof of genius. But permanent popularity is." The fact
his writings are still current illustrates the nature of his writing.

In contrast to the sometimes sardonic humor of modern times, Sunshine Sketches reflects
Leacock's idea that "the essence of humor is human kindness." Or, in the same vein, "Humor
may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic
expression thereof."

Granted, this book is not what he recognized to have widespread appeal to modern readers.
In his own words, "There are only two subjects that appeal nowadays to the general public,
murder and sex; and, for people of culture, sex-murder." Yet, anyone reading this will
remember scenes from it for much longer than anything from a murder mystery.

In today's world, where newspapers almost daily track Prime Minister Tony Blair's dash to
the political right, Leacock wrote, "Socialism won't work except in Heaven where they don't
need it and in Hell where they already have it."

He described his own home as follows, "I have a large country house -- a sort of farm
which I carry on as a hobby . . . . Ten years ago the deficit on my farm was about a
hundred dollars; but by well-designed capital expenditure and by greater attention to
details, I have got it into the thousands." Sounds familiar to today's farm policies ?

It's what I mean by this being a timeless work.

Leacock himself noted, when talking about good literature, "Personally, I would sooner have
written 'Alice in Wonderland' than the whole of the 'Encyclopedia Britannica'." This is his
'Alice' and it well deserves to be favorably compared to Lewis Carroll's work.

By all measures, it is still the finest Canadian book ever written.