Canada Books

I have got to admit that Lau has been one of authors that I have been paying a lot of attention to for the unique material she keeps on pursuing and for her'frantic'work ethics that bears enormous works.
This collection of essays offered an unusually fulfilling reading experience. The clear, candid and artful on-going report on her life distinguished herself as a rare talent once again.
Lau this time benefitted the genre and eloquently articulated a couple of issues that she had not been specific about before; her pointing out the issue of racism in Canada she ran into as a Chinese second generation since very little and how the experience formed the psyche she always succumed to; she always felt inferior and had a trouble being self-confident even before trying. Her comment adds irreplacably valuable vocabularies to Asian-American experiences. From the early and uncommon 'independance' she acquired by sacrificing her childhood, the author established her life literally on her own refusing any conpromise no matter how her life got difficult. On the surface, that could give an impression that she was a rootless hybrid of an Asian-Canadian's English literature. However, readers are to discover how much she paradoxically got fixated by her past and childhood when she was not completed by the loss of the parental affection and understanding, which caused the pain she went through being caught between a cross fire of Chinese first generation immigrant parents and the world she struggled to adjust once she stepped out of the house that she walked away one day when she decided to seek for what she could not get inside of it. Her deprived peace in youth was an outcome of selfloath the society puched into her pshyce. She had to deny and leave her root behind to survive in this society where racism was the premise. I found the gutsy statement another landmark representation of Asian women doomed to assimilate until their identity vanish since Lau's former works always understated or subtle about the issue.
Those topics in this colleciton such as depression that she could not shake off and she ultimately chose to live with to just write for she could not be happy unless she wrote, or the recognition that her impossible relationships with men who give love only if transactions of ejaculation was processed, the fear and spiritual growth a trial brought about that was filed by her former lover, were neither cheerful nor easy. Stragely enough, though, they are truly encouraging. I tried to figure out what possibly made them sound so powerful; I should name her courage as one reason. Her writing never sounds like an idletalk-essay that people could read just comfortably and forget when they are done. Lau's words comes from her real pain. As she made it clear, she never minds sacrificing herself as a fuel to ignite fire of life of her writing. Even though it would cause another enormous pain, she is the fearless writer who knows what it takes to write. What could we do about it but applaude to her?

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who read Runaway and wanted to know what happened to Evelyn Lau. This book tells the reader about what has happened in the 10 years since Runaway was published. She discusses the long-term effects in her life of being a prostitute and the depression that she copes with. The language that Ms. Lau uses to describe her emotions, her perceptions and her thoughts is absolutely beautiful. In my opinion, she is one of the great writers of our time.

However, this book is not light reading. It discusses very serious issues and Ms. Lau is not afraid to explore her humanity within the essays that she writes. An excellent book!

but I really loved this book, and felt it needed a review.

It's a very quick read, and covers alot of Runaway: diary of a street kid. So some people may not like the repetativness of it.

She talks about depression, parents (and her relationship with them) her struggle with prostitution and more.

It isn't a happy read, but if like me, you do suffer from depression and like to read something you can identify with it's good.

She also talks about herself as a writer, why she writes how she almost stopped..
I'm a huge fan of evelyn lau and I wasnt' disapointed by this book.

A great presentation of what I expected to be an unexciting topic. Examines the workings of the political system in a highly readable way. I was not only well-informed after I read the book, but entertained as well!

This is excellent material if you are conducting any kind of serious research on NAFTA and its negotiations' development and outcome. It provides with a huge theoretical framework, every step of the process. If your line of work is game theory, this book will really help you (or at least it worked wonders for me). This is mandatory reference material for anyone interested in studying NAFTA.

Mayer rivals Grisham. He enfolds the strategy of NAFTA like a good murder-mystery. More proof that reality is more entertaining than fiction. It's a thriller, a nail-biter. I couldn't put it down!

excellent case examples - useful for training programs on diversity because you can give people real case examples with a very broad look at diversity and culture. works with different professions.

I teach a class on cultural competence and this book provided me with great case studies and lots of additional resources. Nicely written - very engaging style.

What a great collection of cases on how to work with people from various backgrounds! The book is full of useful approaches and references for helping people from different backgrounds and working together with other professionals in medicine, mental health, education, etc.

The towering 'INUKSUK' (ee-nook-sook) pictured on the cover of Mary Wallace's book introduces readers to a world of earth-bound 'signposts' in the arctic - - and MUCH MORE! In their varied forms the inuksuk may be intended as markers for caches of food, to advise hunters of directions, or to symbolize persons being memorialized. The last is an idea that could be used by students who want to follow the author's instructions for building a personal inuksuk. Another structure is shown serving as a road map to a traveler's next destination. It is not only a potential life-saver but makes a beautiful statement in the barren landscape.

Living in the Arctic means acquiring techniques for survival. Outsiders must acclimate themselves in a short time and this can be unsettling! For many decades the U.S. War Dept. funded studies in climatology, resulting in proper clothing & more nutritious feeding of troops. One more way in which we have benefited from the insights of our neighbors to the north.

"The Inuksuk Book" has many striking silk paintings with a gorgeous rainbow of colors that reflect the beauty of the 'Northern Lights' (Aurora Boralis). These inspire an admiration for the mystery of the far north. Contemporary photographs and those from earlier years also enhance the text. Teachers often expand a study unit to include Eskimo/Inuit art. How fortunate the young people who become acquainted with the figures beautifully sculpted from walrus tusks and soapstone. Amazing artistry is evident in works created during the long winters north of Hudson's Bay.

REVIEWER mcHAIKU marvels at the skills & imagination of the Inuit people and cheers author Mary Wallace for sharing.

This gorgeously illustrated book is one of the most appealing books I have read about the Far North. It highlights the ingenuity of a people who live in a demanding environment.

One of the things about the book I really enjoyed was the use of the Inuit alphabet to caption the beautiful pictures. There is a dictionary of sounds and words in the back, which can be used for kids to write their own names in Inuit.

There is also a guide to making your own Inuksuk in the back.

While hiking in the Canadian Rockies, we saw inuksuk along the trails. Their beauty and the fact that people had expressed themselves by creating art out of rock, rather than defacing the area, added greatly to our enjoyment of the outings.

When I found the book "Inuksuk," I immediately purchased it. After reading it, I purchased four more copies. "Inuksuk" can be read and looked at from many angles. It will be a perfect gift for friends with "soul" and for children who I hope will grow up with an appreciation of nature and art.

This book is much more than a field guide. The authors provide practical advice on eradicating invasive species, as well as fascinating histories of how the invasive plants got here in the first place. It's amazing how many of them were brought over for gardens! The guide is thorough, covering both terrestrial and aquatic species. Recommended for anyone with pesky invasive plant problems, be it a homeowner or a natural resource manager.

This book is an outstanding reference for homeowners, hikers, naturalists, and botanists trying to learn more about what plants are invasive in their backyards,neighborhood parks, and forests and what to do about them. I especially like the pictures -- most useful for identification. And not only can you learn to identify invasive plants, but the book has informative sections for each species on why that species is a problem and how to control it. I really liked the fascinating stories behind the plants. Once you take a look at this book, you will start seeing invasive plants everywhere.

Although I am not a professional botanist to point out technical errors I have found this book to be very useful. I wanted a book that could help me quickly identify plants along roadsides and disturbed habitats that are typically known to be invasive. I wanted a "picture" of how many of the plants were native. I have even identified very prolific invasives in nature preserves here on Long Island , NY. My interests also involve edible plants and this book helps me determine if the plant I am curious about has any edible parts because it allows me to identify the plant and then cross reference it in other books or on the internet once I know the species. Lots of photographs to help spot that plant you are looking for and they usually show enough features of the plant to help identify it. From an ecological standpoint I think it is great to have this book at the fingertips of those looking to restore natural habitats on their own property or our nature preserves. Finally!, a book that can assist us all with the massive problem of invasive plants.

Very pleased with my purchase and I hope to hear more of T.W. Kriner in the near future.

This is an extrodinate book. Once you pick it up, you can't stop reading it. When I started to read the book, I right away became more interested in the Niagara Falls. This book kept my imagination going the entire time. I recommend this book to anybody who is facinated by mystery, heroism, and tragedies of one of the most breath taking places on earth.

If you are tired of reading the same stories over and over again - about Niagara Falls, then this is the book for you. The book is packed with little known trivia in a well-written manner.

This book was recommended by my Dutch mother-in-law who loved the story as a young girl. It is a wondeful tale of animal and human, and teaches that we truely need each other to survivie. I enjoyed this more than any other man/wolf stories Ivé ever read.

I read this book as a child and have never forgotten it. Wrapped up snugly in my warm bed in England, having imaginary adventures in far off Canada. I also remember a further book called Son of Kazan. I have searched many times over the years to find either of these books, I am now 56 years old , and I am grateful to Amazon for making them accessable to me, I was beginning to think I would would never find them. I highly recommend Kazan to any child for an exciting and stimulating read.

An exciting and deeply moving story, Kazan is a must-read for anyone who loves and appreciates animals and nature. They story is told mainly through the eyes of Kazan, a dog who is one-quarter wolf, and this point of view truly enhances the sense of adventure. I felt an instant kinship with the author even though the story was originally written in 1914.

Martin has done a remarkable job of telling a very difficult story of the inter-relationships between the first people of Canada, the new world order people of European ancestry and the animals. I am Mi'maq and reading the history took be back to a time and an appreciation of what was a part of life. My hats off to Martin for telling a story that needed to be told!

This book is a great read for many reasons. One that may not get mentioned, but strikes me as important, is the demonstration of how social rules and the environment relate to economic markets. In short: the relationship of the native North American tribes to the fur markets was conditioned by their culture which went through a sudden, tragic, transformation.

Scholarly works are not supposed to entertain but Martin's interesting ideas about the cultural confrontation between the First People and the first Europeans makes for fascinating reading. He challenges several accepted views about Native population decline resulting from disease and warfare which are sure to spark disagreement; yet his logic is difficult to refute and the perspectives he offers provide new directions for research. Martin manages to avoid casting anyone into the roles of oppressor and victim by presenting the sequence of events as the result of rational decisions by both cultural groups. While anthropologists and sociologists will certainly find "Keepers" of interest, anyone who teaches cultural diversity or provides diversity training will also benefit from this work. General readers will enjoy asking themselves if their ancestors could have been involved in the events Martin describes.

This book provides an extensive key to amphibians and reptiles in North America. If you are studying herpetology, this book has many diagrams in it that really help with keying out dinstinguishing characteristics. Plus, the book is set up simply in plain English. Other keys that I have used were not as extensive as this one, and they were usually confusing. This key takes away all the ambiguity.

This breaks down characters for families very easily. The only draw back to this book is that it doesn't contain common names, but that can always be looked up. I recommend this book to any biologist or herpetologist. It also shows what the basic characters are with pictures.

This key is a must for anyone that is seriously interested in reptiles or amphibians. For instructors of Herpetology lab this book will prove to be invaluable, the illustrations and current phylogenetic classifications will aid in teaching.

This is not a book I would have chosen for myself. However, I just finished reading it for my bookclub and I must admit.....I couldn't put it down. I had borrowed it from my local library and I have just purchased it.....if you need to remember innocence and what it was like to be a child and carefree.....this is a must read.

An absolutely refreshing and captivating read that mere words cannot describe.

I can but echo the words of the gentleman who wrote the first review for this book. As a 41 year old business owner living and working in downtown Toronto, I rarely get moved by fairy tales. Kingfisher Days, is much more than that.

I too listened with great interest to the CBC's captivating production where the author warmly and intelligently read this wonderful book. I have attended a number of Soulpepper productions (the theatre company that she and her husband started), it is a soul expanding experience to see one of their plays.

The best part of being Canadian? Small things. Like the CBC's 'sometimes' greatness in bringing books like this to an audience starved for art that touches your soul. Like the Soulpepper theatre company, who does the same much more consistently. And like Susan Coyne, who if she had been raised somewhere else in the world, may never have written this wonderful book.

When I was young and we were new in this country, I sometimes wished that my parents and I would have emigrated to New York or Paris or some other 'exciting' place instead of Toronto. Reading Kingfisher Days, I am glad they did not.

I haven't read the book yet, but I've been listening to it being read by Susan Coyne herself on the CBC. Normally I have no time for fairy stories, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc., which I suppose makes me a grumpy old man, but I was totally entranced by the CBC production. Don't you love people who review a book without reading it! I would normally never do that but I couldn't resist. The reading on the air was more than wonderful, enough so that even though I am a rock hard cynic and a scientist I was totally captivated.