Canada Books

If you think you'll ever want to plan a trip either by car or motorcycle to the great state of Alaska, this book is a must-have. Not only does provide everything you could ever ask for, it comes in a small package that packs away nicely.

I recently rode my motorcycle up the Alaska Highway and space was pretty limited. I photocopied pages out of various other books, but brought this one along intact.

It stayed in my tankbag every day, was brought out at every meal, and was pored over in hotel rooms at night. I'm also a writer, and my Adventure Guide to the Alaska Highway became my de facto notebook on the trip -- post-it notes of every color peek out from its pages; notes line the margins.

There are a finite number of places to stop along the Alaska Highway; most guidebooks will give you pretty much all of them. What makes this one different is its tone. The authors obvious enjoy both the road and writing about it. Personal anecdotes are lightly sprinkled into the text, giving the impression that yes, the authors know what they're talking about. I learned little bits of history about the areas I rode through; not so much that it weighed down the book, but just enough to pique my interest and send me scampering to the library once I got back.

Also, the book is laid out very well. The font is easy on the eyes; bold section headers made it easy to find what I was looking for, even while balancing the book on my tankbag after pulling to the side of some gravelly road in the middle of nowhere.

While the Milepost will give you every pullout and scenic view on the highway, this book is great reading about what to do, and what to see on your way. The information is very accurate and intresting. In this book, when you look up a certain place you end up reading on and on.

I took this book with the AAA guidebook on my trip to Alaska, read the AAA intro on the plane there and read only this book for the rest of the trip. We traveled more than 2,000 miles on the Alaska Highway. This book has been a great companion and guide book wherever we go. I even did some more reading on the plane back home because the writing was interesting. It may be partly because Alaska is such an interesting subject; but the book is definitely fun to read.

My 10 year old and I both enjoyed this book. We had gone to see the polar bears in Churchill a few years ago. Accurate facts and pictures. A fun way to learn about the bears, the region, and the enviornment.

Polar Bear Puzzle is a great addition to the other Adventures of Riley books. I have had the pleasure of meeting the author and illustrator and am very impressed with the clever illustrations that combine real photos with the drawn characters. Our grandchildren love the book. I especially appreciate the inserts that give facts on each page. The kids all seem enthralled with the story and information. It is a great combo of story and informational text.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Reviewed by Leslie Granier and Nicholas Lopez (age 5) for Reader Views (12/07)

This book tells the story of how the number of polar bears is decreasing due to increased temperatures on the Earth's surface. Riley, a nine-year-old boy, travels to Canada to visit his uncle who does whatever he can to help the polar bears, including giving them medical checkups. During this trip, Riley learns the importance of people doing whatever they can to stop global warming so as not to endanger polar bears and other species that rely on cold temperatures and ice formation for their survival.

The cover of the book indicates it is suited for age four to eight. Nicholas, who is five-years-old, really did not understand many of the concepts. He could not see how recycling a newspaper can help save the polar bears. He thought it was "scary that Riley got so close to the mean, hungry bear," but "it was nice he wanted to help him find food."

There are many interesting facts presented by scientists and members of ecological groups throughout "Adventures of Riley: Polar Bear Puzzle." I think older children (8-11) will be more interested in this book's content because they have some scientific background and can relate more to cause and effect. They are also better able to organize recycling projects and influence their parents and other adults to change their harmful habits and develop ways that are safer for all life forms. The story has an important message for people of all ages and should be utilized in classrooms to help the next generation become more aware of possible problems that may arise in the future.

I have to take exception to Jon Shell's editorial comment about the author. It is totally irrelevant and disrespectful of the thoughtful and compelling treatment Mr. McArthur gives to Canada's airline industry.

However, that said, I actually had the opportunity to meet Mr. McArthur at a book signing. He has a very strong grip, an icy stare and a boyish shock of blond hair reminiscent of Robert Redford circa 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. I suspect Mr. McArthur will go far in the entertainment industry.

I bought this book the first day out and read through it in about 3 days. I found it quite exceptional for its historical perspective, but not particularly insightful. The author spends the entire book trying very hard not to put any editorial spin on anything which doesn't really make it very readable, but becomes a great reference material down the line.

My initial thought when I finished reading it was that this book may become the Canadian equivalent of "Hard Landing", the book by Thomas Petzinger which has become the de-facto mass market textbook on the impact of US airline deregulation.

This book is definitely a must-have for industry professionals and hardcore airline affectionados, but a casual reader is probably better served to wait for the paperback or deep discount.

I don't know much about this book, but that Keith McArthur is one sexy dude. Did you see that jacket photo? Whoa...

Everyone claims to be an expert on airlines. Frankly-some of these so called "airline history" books are dead wrong. The Canadian saga has been going on for about as long as the Star Wars series, except here thousands of people's livelihoods and the economic wealth of a nation are at stake. Air Monopoly is balanced, well told and VERY interesting.

I adored this book. Elisabeth has a way of capturing the details of life in this unique but exact way, ah! I love the way this woman thinks. It is so honest it's enthralling. I was so caught in this story, I thought about it during breaks from reading and am still thinking about it now that I've finished. Like it's my own tragic (but not so much) life. Exciting, very exciting in this sort of interior way.

Kay Oleski, the protagonist of Elisabeth Harvor's All Times Have Been Modern, flames across our radar and we had better be prepared to tackle relationships, writing, urban life, and affairs of the heart.

We follow Kay's journey from a luminescent young teen to the years when she becomes a woman who bears children, entertains dissidents, houses militants and is the imperfect housemate of a self-made political opportunist.

Kay struggles with the age-old dilemma of womanhood. How to re-invent and yet stay attached to the present. Her love of good literature overpowers her desire "to be a good revolutionary."

Relationships end and time moves quickly on.

Harvor is brilliant at fleshing out character and motive. Her dialogue is fresh and thought-provoking as seen through Kay's inner and outer voice. I would unabashedly compare her talent for creating full-blooded characters to Woolf or Plath. She has the same swift grace of language and deeply moving inner monologue of reproach.

Harvor is an amazing story-teller. I was reading into the wee hours to find out how Kay's complex, confusing, emotionally full life would turn out.

Highly recommended.

Raised by fairly bohemian, artsy parents, Kay meets Polish émigré Alexander Oleski at a young and tender age. The entire courtship takes place by mail. [A process no less dangerous in real life, than in novels...]
Their marriage isn't really horrible, but neither is it able to build anything that will sit well upon its shaky foundation. It ends.
Kay moves on with her two young boys, and her dreams of becoming an established writer. She's appeared in The New Yorker, and written a novel.
Kay lands a job, and begins a relationship with one of the handsome architects there.
Pretty much the perfect guy. Galbraith. Will this relationship now prove to be all that Kay wants and needs?
I won't say a word more about it, except to say that the Boulanger quote plays into all that happens between Kay and Galbraith.

In art [and what is more artful than good love?] should problems regarding age and history, in a word, generational-distance, hinder the true recipient of art, namely, the individual? Further, if one person genuinely appreciates the art [the love] and the other person genuinely appreciates the art [the love] does it follow that the two of them together will appreciate it [the love, the art] twice as much as they would if they consider it [the love, the art] separately?
Also, if it is true, [in art, and in things artful] that "all times have been modern," shouldn't the most important consideration always involve what is being experienced right now, in the present tense, rather than in what will or may be experienced in the future, by the recipient[s]..... of art? Of love?
These are the kind of questions that our protagonist asks herself in this story, even if she is not aware that she is asking them, in this way.
It's dang good, and as a whole, this book reminds me of the idea that love and power displace each other. That is to say that love has very little to do with control. Much more to do with the loss of it.
To me it is a story of emotional perseverance and resilience.
Kay's.
Adjustment to disappointment, as well. It speaks to the idea that no life is lived perfectly, and that while our own may seem as though it is lived in sort of a matte finish way, there are flecks of technicolor in it, all over the place.
Also, that good sex is among the greatest privileges of a well-lived life.
Also, that good sex may mean different things to different people, often very different things even between the very two people that are enjoying "it" with each other.
Also, that to be in love is to be caught in a web or cycle of freedom and dependence. Not that these words are necessarily antonyms of each other, but, rather, the coupling of them points toward the fact that there is no such thing as real "love" that doesn't involve possible rejection. No such thing as real love that does not include a measure of vulnerability to the partner's whims and and caprices. In love there exists the constant interplay and exchange of dependence and independence. Love itself threatens the balance of these things.

This is a mature novel, fully gestated. It's not one of these love-story-type novels, written by authors that seem compelled to birth preemie after preemie every six months or so. In fact, if I am understanding the Acknowledgments page correctly at all, this book was twelve years in the making. It's fully cooked. Good stuff.
Good because it provides no easy escape from the complexities of love.
Good because there aren't any.

Kay Oleski, the protagonist of Elisabeth Harvor's All Times Have Been Modern, flames across our radar and we had better be prepared to tackle relationships, writing, urban life, and affairs of the heart.

We follow Kay's journey from a luminescent young teen to the years when she becomes a woman who bears children, entertains dissidents, houses militants and is the imperfect housemate of a self-made political opportunist.

Kay struggles with the age-old dilemma of womanhood. How to re-invent and yet stay attached to the present. Her love of good literature overpowers her desire "to be a good revolutionary."

Relationships end and time moves quickly on.

Harvor is brilliant at fleshing out character and motive. Her dialogue is fresh and thought-provoking as seen through Kay's inner and outer voice. I would unabashedly compare her talent for creating full-blooded characters to Woolf or Plath. She has the same swift grace of language and the same deeply moving inner monologue of reproach.

Harvor is an amazing story-teller. I was reading into the wee hours to find out how Kay's complex, confusing, emotionally full life would turn out.

Highly recommended.

Anybody who enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" will love this book. Macdonald is a master storyteller, and paints a vivid picture of life in the '80s with wit and pathos. This writer's turn of phrase is second to none. She is a stunningly original new voice in Canadian fiction.

It's nice to see a novel that actually has something to say and is not boring about saying it. I used to live in Toronto and can identify with the mood and the results. I highly recommend the book.

Ann Rand must be turning over in her grave. But are we sure that we are not getting egoism mixed up with true altruism?

This book is VERY impressive. I heard Ms. Macdonald on the radio and thought she sounded bright, witty, and observant. I went out and bought her book immediately. It turns out I was right. This book manages to capture the essence of the enigma of charity. How much must we suffer for our charitable deeds to be valuable? What's more, the book explores other important social and philisophical themes while still maintaining an immensely compelling narrative involving credible and complex characters. And, Ms. Macdonald's style is unique. Her use of language is deft and entertaining. Her sense of humour is just devine. Read it. Read it soon.

This book is great. I saw the cover and bought it on a whim. I was surpised at how quickly I got caught up in the story and the characters. The author's style is unique. Her writing is sophisticated in its use of language yet witty and insightfull. I can't wait for her next one.

This book was aswesom. I just loved it. I would read it more then once. This book to me would be for mostly just the girls. You really get into Pam's life when reading this book. This book was sad and parts funny. But altogether a good book. Reading about the character and what all happened in her life like this, it touched my heart! I loved reading about her father and his new girlfriend and her nana. How her best friend went weird and turned back and wanted to be her friend again. A popular girl at school has a boyfriend who whice Pam falls in love with. It's a vvery exciting book. A thriller and a book to read over and over again!!!!! ASWESOME BOOK!!!!!!

Dear Katherine Holubitsky,

I want to say that I have enjoyed reading your story, "Alone at Ninety Foot". I liked it because it was very sad. It reminded me of my friend's grandmother. I realized how it feels to lose someone special. My friend's and Pamela's actions were the same. It made me want to read the story even more. It is very depressing knowing that you can't replace a loved one. Therefore my opinion on the story is that it is very touching. You can go through a lot of pain and grief losing a loved one.

I like to commend youfor such a good job on organizing the story. The character development was great. It made the story easier for me to understand. I like how you organized the character's roles.

In conclusion, I want to say thank you for doing a great job and letting me to enjoy a wonderful novel.

Truly yours,
Manly Lau(Francis Libermann Catholic High School)

Have you ever felt lonely? Have young ever lost someone you love? Katherine Holubitsky takes you through the exciting life of Pamela Collins. For being Katherine Holubitsky first book it is really good. The book has lots of wonderful characters like Pamela who is the principal character, her father, the boring girl friend of her father, and the other people at school.
Pamela is about 14 years old. She likes to sped most of her time at a mountain called Ninety Foot, she likes these place because she uses it as a hiding place when she escapes from school and it also reminds her of her mother. For Pamela this mountain is special but for the other people in town no because lots of people have gone missing and lots of murders have take place in there. Pamela is affected because of her mothers death how jumped of a bridged because of the depression of her lost child. After the sad death of her mother Pamela finds out that her father is dating a women but for Pamela these is not a problem because he doesn't last much with her. After one more women Pamela's father ends up with a women, which results to be a banker and a nerd.
Pamela at school is a lonely girl who doesn't likes to socialize just with her friends. Pamela has problems with the most popular girl at school because she is very stuck up. Pamela hates to hear stories about people dieing or committing suicide because it reminds her of her mothers death. Pamela is having problems because she is experiencing the development of her body. During the book Pamela struggles during her teen-age life.
I like this book because it made me read and read until a finish it. I also liked it because it has good descriptions. I hope you read this book.

The main character is very real, a junior high girl coping with the suicide of her mother. She has a normal circle of peers, who can be supportive or just plain mean. Dad is starting to date which creates another set of challenges. Excellent story - think our Girls' Book Club will love it.

Edward Carey again manages to write a wonderfully gripping novel. I am not going to go through the whole plot outline of the book as it is all here for you anyway, but the story of Alva and Irva Dapps is more than just a story about twins. It is a story of lonliness and longing, desire and duty, and really it really shows that one seemingly insignificant event CAN have a great impact on society. This novel really takes the readers through an excercise of emotions. Carey makes the reader join in with Alva's tense desire to broaden her horizons, yet we also feel deeply for the pain felt by Irva. After reading this book we are almost able to taste the Entralla buns, and smell the plasticine on our fingers. Reading the story of Alva and Irva and their atmospheric home of Entralla is an opportunity that should not be missed.

Alva and Irva Dapps, eccentric twin sisters, never had an easy life. Their father died the day they were born, when his scandalous malfeasance at the post office was abruptly discovered. Their mother was oddly reclusive. The girls themselves, strangely symbiotic, struggled with their sense of identity, and even more so, with their sense of place. And their city, Entralla, somewhere in--perhaps--Europe, is somehow symbolic of all places, all home-towns, and all sense of belonging. Somehow the twins become involved in making plasticine models of the buildings of Entralla, all the buildings, creating a gigantic model of the entire city. And somehow this comes to have cosmic importance, later, as certain tragic events take place.

The book is written alternately as a guidebook for tourists coming to Entralla, and as the memoir of Alva Dapps, the more outgoing of the two sisters. It comes complete with a detailed map, recommendations of where to stay and where to dine, which trolley bus to take to which destination; and the sad inner struggles of two odd and lonely girls who never belong anywhere.

Author Edward Carey is imaginative and insightful,but he doesn't always make things easy for his readers. Sometimes the account becomes almost too fanciful, too strained, even for the surreal medium in which he is working. The writing drags at times, especially in the travel guide sections. It was not easy for me to finish this book. However, it was certainly worth doing. Take the book for what it is, an extended meditation on the sense of place, an inquiry into what it means to belong--and you will find the book strangely moving and thought provoking. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

This is a story of place. And it is one I found particularly touching. You will feel the same if you've ever walked aimlessly through a city's streets as you wondered what it would be like to live there, or - if you lived there - wondered what it would be to leave. Edward Carey has found the perfect metaphors for the alternate yearnings, to stay or go, in his characters Irva and Alva. But reducing them to symbols would be unfair. The warmth of Carey's writing prevents that. The real brilliance of his story, though, lies in how he manages to illuminate every emotional aspect of how we regard the places we are and may go, and he does so in such an unforced and natural way that we've hardly realized the depth of his contemplation by the book's end. His touch is light, but the feeling is strong.

The context of a guidebook for the unreal city of Entralla, complete with a street map and a recommended tour, frames the diary of Alva, the identical twin of Irva. As the twins grow up, they grow increasingly apart. Alva longs to travel and Irva turns inward. Alva's threat to leave her sister and their city plays out as the essential betrayal of anyone wanting to abandon their home. But Alva finds a reason to stay a while as she attempts to turn her sister from the retreat into herself, the smallest place there is. They take on the task of miniaturizing the city in plasticine; Alva documents the outside in photographs and measurements while Irva remains inside and sculpts. The tiny buildings "may not have been mathematically accurate, but they were, let there be no doubt about this, emotionally precise." It is emotional accuracy that matters.

"Miniature things move people." In Carey's world and in real life, it is because the perspective granted by things reduced focuses the emotions we associate with those things. Occasionally we are even made aware of the hundreds of other lives happening immediately around us. When Alva's and Irva's sculpture is reluctantly displayed to a scarred populace, both the smallness and the significance of the peoples' lives are somehow simultaneously grasped. These oppositions of place are difficult to hold in the same hand.

When the writer of this guidebook is revealed, the significance of small lives is once again emphasized and along with it the unavoidable bitterness of travelling alone in a vast world. This final revelation is devastating and beautiful in a novel full of contradictions. I don't ever expect to read any other book that so perfectly evokes my own feelings towards the places I have been.

Carey's first book, Observatory Mansions, already had me waiting on the edge of my seat for the next one. Alva & Irva did not let me down. His characters are once again lacking in sanity, and as the book progresses, so does this trait. I would say Alva and Irva is a little more solemn than Carey's first novel, but certainly a good read. The last portion had me talking out loud and murmuring, "Oh god. Oh my God. Oh no!" You don't believe the lengths the characters go to to secure themselves against their fears and angers until you are on to the next shock. I am certainly eager for Carey's third.

I'm really happy with the service because even though it was an international shipped, it arrived only one week later and in great conditions.

An excellent textbook from the American Psychiatric Association edited by Alan F. Schatzberg and Charles B Nemeroff, who have worked together on numerous titles such as the Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care. Dr. Nemeroff is Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuropsychopharmacology, from the American College of Neuropschopharmacology published by .

For graduate students, medical students, residents or professors - anyone interested in psychopharmacology should have this book! The reference section alone is worth it's weight in gold. There is simply no comparable text that is as comprehensive and readable. The reviews of both the basic science as well as the clinical literature is a remarkable feature, and is extremely well integrated.

This is a must have book for any psychiatrist. It's a great source of information, covering almost all psychotropics.

Ksiazka uczy - nietuzinkowego spojrzenia na Ameryke i inne kraje, spojrzenia takze na Polske z jej dobrej strony. Autorka potrafi ocenic ludzkie dokonania. Wiele watkow historycznych podanych w niezwykle przystepny sposob, czyli ksiazka naprawde uczy. Autorka robi to w sposob lekki, przystepny. Wielkim oddechem byla dla mnie opowiesc o Ingrid Bergman.

Polecam kazdemu, kto interesuje sie swiatem, ludzkimi doswiadczeniami, historia i jej zagmatwianiami. Podoba mi sie, ze Autorka rozmowcow pokazuje jako zawsze waznych i traktuje ich zawsze z szacunkiem. Nigdy nie wysuwa siebie na pierwsze miejsce, prowadzi rozmowe w taki sposob, nie by pokazac siebie czy swoje sady, ale swoich bohaterow. Jakze czesto w innych wywiadach rozmawiajacy chce pokazac swoja wiedze czy przekoanc do wlasnego sadu, jakze czesto po prostu sie madrzy. Nie zauwazylem tego zjawiska w tej ksiazce. Autorka kieruje uwage czytajacego na swojego rozmowce, nie siebie.

Bardzo ciekawa jest rozmowa ze slynnym w Polsce dr Burzynskim. Dopiero teraz zrozumialem istote jego walki z amerykanskimi korporacjami. Jestem po jego stronie w 100 procentach!

Ksiazka jest niezwykle zrodlowa i przy tym interesujaca. Dowiedzialam sie ciekawych informacji o roznicach w architekturze amerykanskiej i europejskiej, o drodze, ktora przebywali polscy emigranci docierajacy roznymi drogami do Stanow Zjednoczonych. Moi rodzice wyemigrowali w latach 80-tych,na moja sugestie, przeczytali te ksiazke. Powiedzieli ,ze pozowlila on im jakby uporzadkowac wiedze na temat innych, ich poprzednikow. Dowiedzieli sie wiele o trudach, na ktore napotykali wszyscy. Zaimponowaly im nazwiska rozmowcow, pani Zofii Korbonskiej, Andrzeja Pomiana. Moje spostrzezenia: Jakie bogate maja Polacy zyciorysy! Najpiekniejsza jednak niespodzianka dla mnie byl rozdzial o wielkiej aktorce Ingrid Bergman napisany na podstawie m.in, nieznanych jej listow. Jest to aktorka znana moim rodzicom, ale ja ja polubilam po "Casablance" i innych filmach takze. Rozdzial pokazuje w piekny sposob jej zycie, jest wrazliwosc i jakby smutne czesto zdarzenia, ktore ja napotykaly. Stala mi sie blizsza. Ksiazka nauczyla mnie doceniania historii.

It is a collection of conversation with people who are interesting. It teaches the appreciation for history, good fortune, knowledge and also good luck. Many parts show the history of the latest years, including World War II. The chapter based on Ingrid Bergman's letters to her cousin brought me a feeling of great admiration for a beautiful person and talented actress,

W skiazce mozna znalezc wiele cennych mysli, spostrzezen i stwierdzen dotyczacych zarowno niedawnej przeszlosci, jak i terazniejszosci. Autorka utrwalila w polskiej literaturze dorobek i osiagniecia niezwyklych emigrantow. Calosc konczy opowiadanie mzeza autorki o jego zmarlej ciotce Ingrid Bergman, slynnej aktorce filmowej.

This is a much overlooked classic now days. Mr. Mowat has given us a vivid first hand account of his expierences during WWII and this book ranks at the top of such works. Not only do we get a first hand view of the actual fighting (found in many/most accounts), but we also see the other side of the war. The horrible loneliness and boredom. Mr. Mowat is an acute observer of human nature, something he uses with a cutting edge in this book. For this amature historian of this period, and those just passingly interested, this is a good read and I highly recommend it.

Outstanding and emotionally wrenching memoir of the Sicilian and early part of the Italian campaigns. The book start off with hijinks and comedy, but progressively descends into despair and terror. Highly recommended.

Farley Mowat impressed me with his writing years ago. Even more impressive is the fact he is still prolific and as sharp as ever. I thought I'd re-visit this book before starting one of his new ones. I enjoyed it as much as the first read, for so often I find things I missed. He has a journalistic style when he writes that isn't dried-out like some of the non-fiction I read. Farley has the talent to write about real events while retaining the entertainment flavor fiction readers love. I believe this is why so many readers who like a variety of genres say they turn to Mowat when they need to appease their appetites for great nonfiction story-telling. I highly recommend Farley Mowat's books.
Chrissy K. McVay - author

Mowat developed into a fine writer, and you can see that he was destined to record his generation's fight with the Germans. He's that classic "writer guy" immortalized in so many books and movies.

Unlike most of those, he is utterly real, and thus, believable. The result is that the non-battle portions of the book are just as gripping as the battle scenes, and there are plenty of fine examples of both.

When his unit is sent to scale the cliffs behind the Germans, it is fabulous reading. I had never heard of the assault on Assoro, so following Mowat as he leads the men climbing up the cliff, I had no idea how it would come out.

It's better than fiction - as it should be. I'm now going on to read more Mowat!