Canada Books

The other reviews have been spot on, this is a page turner extraordinaire--delightful moments, amusing stories, amazing adventures in days of yore.

If you've read Farley Mowat, you know him as a passionate defender of the beautiful "Others" with whom we share our planet. This book is a joy-filled description of his early life and formation as a nature-lover. We hear of the wild beauty of Canada, the Quixotic plans his father devised and his mother endured, and the daring adventures which will become the foundation for his later writings. Although a light-hearted story overall, Farley does not avoid the difficult times, including a powerful depiction of the effect of the Depression on the Canadian provinces. It is a love song to the strength of character and perseverence of our northern cousins, as well.

When the book ends, the reader, like the writer, wonders if there will ever be such a wonderful time again. Sheer delight.

I've been a big fan of Farley Mowat's literary style since I first read Never Cry Wolf back in junior high school. Even as a 9th grade Earth Science teacher, I show the silver screen adaptation of this great novel. Born Naked, however, is of different 'stuff' than Never Cry Wolf. Here is a book written in a light, easy-to-read fashion that highlights his early years in this great world. We, the readers, are along for the ride when he travels to the Arctic on a research mission with his uncle, or when he makes his daily rounds to inspect the nests of local birds in Saskatchewan. This book is written in a truly entrancing style. I had a very difficult time putting it down. There are some questionable portions in it dealing with his discovery of his own sexuality, but they are far outweighed by the sense of awe and discovery he felt as a youngster. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, or anyone that wants to experience the childhood they only dreamed about

I enjoy all of Mowat's books, but this one is particularly good. His style is conversational, his humor is biting. Clearly a man who does not suffer a fool lightly. Farley Mowat is a national gem. Buy the book...

Canadian author Farley Mowat's Born Naked is a must-read glimpse into the author's much self-written about life. It's hilarious, it's poignant and a must for any Mowat fan.

I received this book as a new bride almost 31 years ago. I would like to give it to some new brides this year. Any ideas where I can get new copies?

I received a copy of this book in 1974 and I can say it has been the most used book of my whole collection. A family favorite, my children have had me order a copy for each of them (boys too.)

I was given this book 30 years ago as a wedding gift. This is the most comprehensive book I have found on the market for the new bride. It covers everything - and I mean everything. What a wonderful idea for the new bride. I'm purchasing several copies to pass along to my daughters and others. I hope the writers will revisit this publication and release a revised version. This is a must have book.

Linnett

I received this book in 1974 as a wedding gift and if is by far my favorite cookbook. Some of the exceptional recipes include; pineapple upsidedown cake, pecan pie and beef stew (all recipes that I have rec'd complements on).
My daughter is 21 and soon to be married and I have decided to buy her a copy of this book for her.
If nothing else book is worth it just for the 3 above recipes!

This book is the best handbook for new brides. It gives helpful ideas about everything from buying insurance to menus and receipes for those first meals. The PERFECT shower gift.

THis book was so so helpful when I found out my daughter was dyslexic and gifted. This man's journey is amazing and inspiring!

I always thought everybody struggled like I did until I read this book. For the first time in my 37 years of life, things made sense. His struggles, fears and victories were all things I could relate to. It was as if I was looking in a mirror. I took the 71 question quiz at the end of the book and scored high on all but two questions. I always thought dyslexia was the inablility to read because of transposing letters. Now I know it is far more than that. I have purchased a copy for each of my loved ones in hopes they will be able to understand me and my learning disorder. Best of all, I can use Abraham Schmitt as proof that I don't have to stay within the walls of my fear and limitation. I highly recommend this book to every school teacher, everyone who struggles with surmountable odds or fear of any kind, and people like me, who label themselves "a stupid genius". Not only is it an eye-opener about dyslexia, but it is an unforgetable story about an unforgetable man.

Dyslexia was not the only barrier Abraham Schmitt faced. Dr. Schmitt also had to adapt to the modern world of the mid 40's after having lived his whole life in a German-dialect Mennonite community that had not evolved in 200 years. His willingness to take large risk, leave behind his community, language and culture while doggedly working towards a college education is beyond admirable. His chronic fears and anxieties over being perceived as an idiotic 'peasant' are wrenching; as are the accounts of the cruel treatment he frequently received. There were thoughtless people, and beautifully caring people who are marvelously drawn in this book. His biography shows the miracles that will, faith, and determination to find your 'place' in the world, can acheive. It needs to be required reading for the chronically discouraged.

I could not but help reading this book over night.As a teacher in junior high school in Taiwan, I am quite accoutomed to kids have the same problems as Abraham described in this exotic book. I am absorbed by his tremendous effort to overcome his hereditary setback and use his right brain hemisphere to achive great success in a society designed by and for the left brain people. And I learned an important lesson in this book, a word in time is really a great help to people around you. Without the encouraging words, Abraham might have given himself in his early life when he felt frustrated and embarrassed. After reading this book, I am deeply concerned that I can help my students with my words just like those wonderful guys in Abraham's life who gave him kind concern and help. And those concern and help turned out to be a blessing to a poor yound man and make him be someone. Gee, that's great.Everyone needs someone else to encourage him, and everyone can be someone else's lucky-giver.

This book is excellent. I couldn't put it down. It is refreshing but sad to see how a dyslexic person struggles through even the smallest tasks. Mr schmitt tells about his dyslexic life. He is the brilliant idiot--he holds several college degrees but can't tie his shoes and can't teach school. Anyone who knows someone with a learning disability will enjoy this book. It will bring a better understanding of what a learning disabled person has to overcome--and provides proof positive that it can be done! It is a truly sad but remarkable journey that Mr. Schmitt will take you on if you read this book. You will laugh and cry and your heart will break. But such a happly ending.

The Canadian and the Skeena are both prominently featured in a Railway Map Guide for Western Canada recently published by Way of the Rail Publishing company founded by VIA's Vancouver based activity coordinator Chris Hanus.

The full-colour oblique perspective map includes charts of cities and towns, a speed table to determine the speed of a train and an interpretation of railway signals and signs. "In my job as an activity coordinator, I saw first-hand that our rail passenger guests wanted to know the names of the awe-inspiring peaks, canyons, water falls, and other scenic highlights along the route," explains Chris.

The map guide has received rave reviews and Chris is already working on future publications, including a scenic railway guidebook which would include the entire VIA network. The Railway Map Guide for Western Canada is available through Amazon.com and on board the Canadian.

The Canadian and the Skeena are both prominently featured in a Railway Map Guide for Western Canada recently published by Way of the Rail Publishing company founded by VIA's Vancouver based activity coordinator Chris Hanus.

The full-colour oblique perspective map includes charts of cities and towns, a speed table to determine the speed of a train and an interpretation of railway signals and signs. "In my job as an activity coordinator, I saw first-hand that our rail passenger guests wanted to know the names of the awe-inspiring peaks, canyons, water falls, and other scenic highlights along the route," explains Chris.

The map guide has received rave reviews and Chris is already working on future publications, including a scenic railway guidebook which would include the entire VIA network. The Railway Map Guide for Western Canada is available through Amazon.com and on board the Canadian.

The Canadian and the Skeena are both prominently featured in a Railway Map Guide for Western Canada recently published by Way of the Rail Publishing company founded by VIA's Vancouver based activity coordinator Chris Hanus.

The full-colour oblique perspective map includes charts of cities and towns, a speed table to determine the speed of a train and an interpretation of railway signals and signs. "In my job as an activity coordinator, I saw first-hand that our rail passenger guests wanted to know the names of the awe-inspiring peaks, canyons, water falls, and other scenic highlights along the route," explains Chris.

The map guide has received rave reviews and Chris is already working on future publications, including a scenic railway guidebook which would include the entire VIA network. The Railway Map Guide for Western Canada is available through Amazon.com and on board the Canadian.

This award-winning guide features a visually striking topographic rendition of the western mountains, via the integration of GIS, 3D visualisation and graphic design software. The main side depicts the passenger railway lines between British Columbia and Alberta and the reverse focuses on northern BC between Prince Rupert and Prince George, with two pannels devoted to mileage charts along the rail lines. The 32 x 19" map is sold in a sturdy hardcopy foldout format measuring 9.5 x 4', easily handled by the map-unfolding challenged.

Cartographically, the most intriguing component is the terrain representation which uses the free 'GTOPO30' elevation data (1 km resolution) and features a hillshaded oblique perspective combined with hypsometric tints, in natural greens through yellows to browns. The illumination is from the east, and the perspective resembles Tanaka's orthographic relief method, described using GIS software by Kennelly and Kimerling (2002). This approach pits enhanced visual appeal against some topographic concealment in steep terrain compared to conventional hillshading (see website).

The website gives further information on the map guide's construction involving the combination of Arc/Info, World Construction Set and Photoshop software, with final layout in Adobe Illustrator. Minor criticisms concern the ancillary information: the neatline is divided in a seemingly redundant one-inch grid numbered 1-19 vertically, and A-Z then A1-E1 horizontally (since it is 32" wide). The lack of a scale bar is perhaps justifiable given the mileage charts on one side, and the guide's function as a topological perspective.

It is a fine cartographic work, with sales already in the thousands, and this where railways are used more for freight than public transportation! Main roads and ferries are included to enable this attractive guide as a road map of western Canada for both tourists and trainspotters.

An activities coordinator for VIA Rail's flagship train, the Canadian, Hanus provides a topographical rendering of the western Canadian countryside with names of the scenic highlights. The hardcover map folds out to 36 x 20 inches, and includes railway museums and tourist lines, as well as ideal photo locations.

I read this book while in Scotland. I have a good friend from Glasgow and I felt as though she was reading the book outloud to me. It is written in the accent of Glasgow and takes a page or two to get used to the writing - but adds charm to the book. Buddha Da is a wonderful novel that touches a subject at the heart of family life, as one member of the family develops a spiritual direction unfamiliar to the others. The question of whether to support this individual's quest or try to pull him back into the family is what a daughter and wife grapple with. A wonderful read - I recommend it!

I like this novel so much that I'm going to use it as a set book in a college class. It's original, touching and funny--full of the compassion and insight that its main character, Jimmy, seeks. After a few paragraphs I settled into the Glaswegian dialect easily. It's hard for a teacher to find a well written novel that isn't depressing. This is the only one on my short list (Brian Moore's Feast of Lupercal and Keneally's Passenger were others, but Donovan gives the reader at least as much as either of these and is in print).

At first, I was afraid of the Scottish dialect in which this is written, but after three pages it failed to register any longer except as how these characters talked and thought. Don't miss this book because of the dialect -- I almost did and I would have greatly regretted it.

Buddha Da weaves together the story of three members of a family -- Da, Ma, and Anne Marie, their daughter -- and does it seamlessly into a story of fallout, faith, hunger, and redemption. It is just about a flawless book, flawlessly told. I don't know the last time I found a book as dramatically pleasing and logically coherent and consistent as Buddha Da. It is a masterpiece I will recommend to everyone interested in Buddhism, family life, or just good fiction. I look forward to the author's next book.

OK. First of all, understand that this book is written entirely in phoenetically spelled Glaswegian dialect. And for the first few chapters, it can stand in the way. And then you get the rhythm. And then it doesn't matter. And you have achieved what the quirky main character in this book, a Glasgow house painter named Jimmy, is trying so hard to achieve--simplicity and clarity.

The charming and very quirky story revolves around a working-class family in Glasgow, Scotland. The dad (or "da," as they say), Jimmy, owns the house-painting business with his brother John. His wife, Liz, his sweetheart since she was 14, is a secretary. Their only daughter, Anne-Marie, is herself 14, and simply loveable--the most centered character in the book.

Sensing some sort of inner turmoil, Jimmy is drawn to the local Buddhist center (we are talking about a working class beer drinking simple soul whose previous idea of humor was to moon for the video camera) and finds a sense of self he never had before. As he earnestly seeks to immerse himself in this new way of being, he becomes increasingly neglectful of his family--up to and including declaring to Liz that he must be celibate from now on! The story is told first person from alternating points of view, and the reader is sympathetic to all of them (at least I was).

The disarming simplicity of the tale, and the work it takes to overcome the dialect, mirrors Jimmy's immersion into Buddhism, and is simply brilliant. This is a completely different kind of book, and well worth reading. I loved it and recommend it with the caveat that it is a book that takes some work.

Its seldom that a book comes into my world that is different in almost every conceivable way from anything you have read before. Buddha Da maybe be one of the most unique works of fiction that I have ever worked my way through.

Basically the book is a mere snippet in the lives of a Scottish Family. The father becomes immersed in Buddhism and changes to the extent where his marriage breaks down. Not the happiest outcome in the world but the storyline is not the strength of this book. The entire thing is written in a series of monlogues, each character expressing how they are feeling about things and discussing the latest events. Rather than Donovan trying to explain to you how her creations are feeling she allows them to do it directly to you - amost as if they are each working on personal diaries and you are diary they are writing on. This angle allows you to get really quite deeply into the characters and makes you feel like much more of a fly on the wall than is typical.

The barrier to many Americans reading this book however is going to be the language the monologues are in. They are written 'with accent' and much of it is phonetic.

"At the coffee break the wumman came ower and sat beside me. She wis tall wi her hair cut dead short and she'd these big dangly earings jinglin fae her lugs. It wis hard tae work oot whit age she wis; could have been anythin far thirty-five tae forty-five. She wis dressed in black wi a flowery-patterned shawl thing flung ower her shooders."

What folk need to understand is that familiarity to a Glaswegian accent is something that is common to almost all people in the world and is as foreign to an Englishman living in London as it is to a resident of San Deigo. A little effort is required to read the first few chapers but after a while you forget about the lack of real words and instead literally hear your characters - Donovan by forcing you to acknowledge the accent brings her characters to life.

Its a good enough book to give it a shot at any rate. Is this a rave review? Nope. Frankly I thought that Anne Donovan did a fine job with the adults in the book but the character of the daughter was something unreal. It was like Donovan has been an adult to long to set herself inside the mind of a child and I thought the character and the things she achieves are just a little boring and lifeless. Fortunatly she isnt in the book often enough to spoil it completely however I'm not sure she really needed to be in there at all - a couple of years older and she may have been a more interesting subject to deal with but alas ...

DK's popular eyewitness travel guides provide a superb resource for planning and enjoying a trip to Canada. The guide combines narrative, maps, photos, and diagrams to capture the highlights in each region of Canada. Examples include historical sites, city zoos, beautiful natural scenary, uniquely Canadian institutions such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy and Museum, and Canada's excellent provincial museum system. Combined with local maps, this guide allows visitors to find and enjoy their choice of a variety of attractions. The guide includes tips on navigating Canadian customs, airports, dining, accomodations, and money. This reviewer utilized the guide for a multi-day trip on the Trans-Canadian Highway, picking out interesting sites to visit during each day's travel.

This guide is highly recommended to anyone planning a visit to Canada, a very worthwhile destination.

This another great guide in the Eyewitness line. Offers lots of great information in addition to all of the great photos. All of the great graphics contained with in this book are what makes so good.

Canada is the world's 2ND LARGEST COUNTRY, only Russia is larger.

The one guide that covers the world's 3rd largest country at it's best. Experience Canada's great cities and spectacular scenery as no other guide book can describe them. An added benefit to the seasoned traveller, a must for the first time visitor to Canada.

I've visited Canada twice, and am entertaining the idea of moving there permanently, so I'm trying ro read and learn as much as I can about the country, and so far haven't found a better guide than this one.

While it's not really a history book, it does have some information of the country's past and present, including timelines, events and reknown people. As for it's travel guide side, well, it's quite excellent. As all DK Eyewitness guides, this one divides the country into 13 areas: Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick-Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Quebec City and the St. Lawrence river, Southern and Northern Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, The great lakes, Central Canada, Vancouver and Vancouver Island, The Rocky mountains, Southern and Northern British Columbia and Northern Canada. For each one you get information on sites, places of interest, museums, places to stay, places to eat, street walking tours, and as usual, great cut-aways, floor plans and reconstructions, plus a whole lot of pictures.

If you're visiting Canada, you can't miss with this guide.

This is a great dictionary, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners.
It's more suited for advanced learners of English. There's just one thing I don't like about it: you cannot find pronunciation of all words. :(
4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

The title may say "Canadian" but this dictionary is equally useful to Americans and other users or students of North American English. British and American English dictionaries often give little coverage of the other's special vocabulary (slang, idioms, regionalisms, bureaucratic terminology, etc), this Canadian Oxford Dictionary covers American, British and of course Canadian vocabulary. Even regionalisms are covered and lablelled as such. This dictionary has extensive geographical and biographical entries (covering the world). The IPA sytem is used and a handy IPA reference chart is printed on the bottom of each and every page. Each word entry includes etymological information. This dictionary also treats its readers like adults and does not shy away from `naughty` language. The appendixes are Canadian oriented. The paper, printing and binding are of a high quality and the dust jacket is attractive. The above mentioned features coupled with a low price make this dictionary a great buy.

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary was written by five Canadian lexicographers and originally published in June 1998. Wordsmiths regard this work as the Cadillac of Canadian dictionaries and the foremost authority on current Canadian English. It encompasses 130,000 entries, including 2,000 Canadian words, 500 Canadian regionalisms, 1,200 Canadian place names, 800 Canadian biographies and 300 Aboriginal people and cultural entries.

The book is well bound, with an Oxford blue hardcover made of a synthetic material called Kivar 5 which has gold foil stamping, called blocking, emblazoned on the spine and is protected by an attractive removable dust cover. The paper is high quality 30-lb lightweight bone white stock called Rampart Opaque. This type of paper allows the dark black text done in Swift font to be more legible and pleasing to the eye. The pages are thumb indexed and have attractive blue speckling on the outside edges.

This dictionary is of such a high quality both in content and construction, that it should be considered a mandatory reference book in every Canadian home, classroom, library and office.

Two other fine Canadian dictionaries are the:

IP Nelson; and
Gage.

The Oxford Canadian English dictionary is a must for all exchange students spending some time in beautiful Canada, and for everyone who wants to have a handy reference book and dictionary at home. It helped me enormously in my Canadian culture course, giving me information about Canadian people and events; for example, about Joyce Wieland, Greg Curnoe, the October crisis, but it also served me as a 'normal' dictionary. Terms and expressions are explained in an understandable manner so that non-native speakers of English have a chance to familiarize themselves with such words as 'draft dodger' or 'nuclear family'. The Oxford Canadian English dictionary is the best dictionary I've ever seen, and I can only recommend it to everyone who works with English or is interested in getting to know the English-speaking world.

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary was written by five Canadian lexicographers and originally published in June 1998. Wordsmiths regard this work as the Cadillac of Canadian dictionaries and the foremost authority on current Canadian English. It encompasses 130,000 entries, including 2,000 Canadian words, 500 Canadian regionalisms, 1,200 Canadian place names, 800 Canadian biographies and 300 Aboriginal people and cultural entries.

The book is well bound, with an Oxford blue hardcover made of a synthetic material called Kivar 5 which has gold foil stamping, called blocking, emblazoned on the spine and is protected by an attractive removable dust cover. The paper is high quality 30-lb lightweight bone white stock called Rampart Opaque. This type of paper allows the dark black text done in Swift font to be more legible and pleasing to the eye. The pages are thumb indexed and have attractive blue speckling on the outside edges.

This dictionary is of such a high quality both in content and construction, that it should be considered a mandatory reference book in every Canadian home, classroom, library and office.

What a beautiful job Nancy and David Muenker have done to introduce visitors to the Front Range of Colorado. Those who live in the area will also find it enhances their knowledge and enjoyment of places they see all the time.

Oval black-and-white portraits of Leadville's pioneer Tabors, colorful photos of homes, such as the Baca House, of museums evolving from mansions, and of cabins, and helpful walking maps throughout to guide us to the famous and sometimes hidden spots in Georgetown, Old Colorado City, Pueblo, and Black Hawk, to name a few, are exceedingly enticing to out-of-staters.
No stone is left unturned from history highlights to current admission charges. The capsule stories, such as "Denver's Mother of Charities," "Desk-beds," "Bubbling Waters," and "Spud Dudes" are priceless.

I've lived in the heart of Colorado's Front Range for over 30 years but I learned fascinating things about familiar areas, and enjoyed being introduced to some new places. This slim guidebook is packed full of historical info and peppered with fun facts. Outstanding photos, concise writing and a snazzy lay-out combine to make this a very usable guidebook. If you are a Front Range "local" this is a great book to have on hand when out-of-state family and friends descend. It's also a good resource for parents looking for close-to-home family outings. Although you can enjoy Colorado Front Range History Explorer as an armchair traveler, this book makes you want to get out and explore.

Whether visitors, residents or long time dwellers in Colorado, folks will find this handy guide a big help in understanding the colorful history of this region. This is a perfect book to take along on a car trip - and the size is convenient. Lots of interesting factoids, gorgeous photos, and great walking-tour maps. The authors make it easy to digest historical information. It's presented in a concise and friendly manner (not like your old history textbooks!). I definitely recommend this to anyone who would like to know a little more about the people and events that shaped the Front Range.

This book is very well organized and user friendly. Each section includes great details of the history, followed by well written articles on what there is to see and do today. Special areas of interest to me are railroads and mining. The book has certainly peaked my interest in all the beauty of the Colorado front range. Both the writing and photography are top quality.

This book is an excellent tool for planning a Colorado vacation. I plan to do just that in 2003.

I have not yet finished reading this book,but I have allready spend a lot of hours studying the huge amound of pictures concerning this unit and her vehicles and reading about her history.
Early war pictures with "doorknocker" 37mm AT gun, Ferdinand and Jagdpanther. This book is a musthave for everyone interested in WW2, modelers, and armoured vehicle enthousiasts.
And the stories and pictures of the men who served in it make it extra worth buying.

Great book,the follow up book to 653th Schwere Panzer battalion by the same author,packed with rare and never seen before photos,over 500 pages,700 photos,30 odd pages of brillant colour art work,20 pages of organisation charts,one fanastic book at a bargin price right now.

this book is about as detailed as anyone could expect and covers the unit in great depth - well worth getting though the price of it seems to vary a lot from one supplier to the next

Another Fedorowicz gem, nicelly put together! Karlheinz Munch does not disappoint. The photos in this massive 650 page book are great, some 700 of them, plus color plates.
You can follow the unit in different operations on day by day acounts, as well as unit history . A good book for historic and armor enthusiats This book is a welcome addition to my Library.

Five stars isn't enough for this mammoth book. If you're an enthusiast of German armor, this is a must-have volume. It's huge, filled with fantastic photos, veterans' first-hand reports, combat reports, you name it, it's in here. Worth every nickel!

Niamh has a special gift indeed, a poet's genius for word-smithing

As I read the passage on the subtle anatomy, Niamh Clune's descriptive style evoked images of a most lucid inner world shaped by shadow and light. Thanks to the chapter on Initiation, I have a new understanding of the so-called "nervous breakdown" I experienced last year. While reading this book I have actually experienced a sense of heightened awareness and energy rising up within my body. This book takes you on a truly amazing physical, mental and spiritual adventure.

This astonishing book is a new teaching for the coming age. In it, Niamh Clune shows her spiritual and mental maturity as the spiritual teacher capable of bringing a very difficult message to us all. At last a spiritual book that encourages us to really take note of the shadow side of reality. Paradoxically, this may be our only hope.

Niamh has a unique gift, the essence of which she has now expertly encapsulated in print. The Coming of the Feminine Christ is an amazing book. It puts in one place all the information you need to begin to understand and develop your own spiritual and emotional being. It is a map and a guidebook that can light the way to the liberation of your soul. I'm not exagerating. Anyone who comes to it with an open heart and mind will not fail to take something amazing away with them. I've read it half a dozen times already and each time I find something new in it. This is a book to carry with you. it is the bible for the 21st century.

I have just finished reading 'The Coming of the Feminine Christ' by Niamh Clune. Its a profound, heady magical, mystical mix of visions, poetry, myth and insight about human relationships, and the need to awaken our hearts and value our feelings as much as our intellects. I particularly like the gut-churning descriptions of the 'psychic dance' between men and women, and the 'negative mother' complex within each of us that makes us sabotage ourselves. The writing is intense and powerful, and I have found it very helpful in thinking about how to have 'right relationships', and be much more aware of how I relate to other people. Its a book to go back to and dip into again and again. I'm organising a reading group with some of my friends so that we can talk about Niamh's book in more depth. Its had a big impact on me.