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The great escape: the untold story
By Ted Barris. 2014
On the night of March 24, 1944, eighty airmen crawled through a 400-foot-long tunnel, code-named "Harry," and dashed from Stalag…
Luft III, the infamous WWII German POW camp. It became known as The Great Escape. The breakout had taken a year to plan, involved 2,000 POWs, and prompted a massive manhunt across occupied Europe. All but three escapees were recaptured, and on Hitler’s orders, fifty were murdered. The author recounts this battle of wits and determination through the voices of those involved, assembles original interviews, memoirs, letters and diaries to reconstruct the Great Escape’s untold story. Bestseller. 2014.The golden spruce: A True Story Of Myth, Madness And Greed
By John Vaillant. 2005
In 1997, when a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an Alaskan island north of the Canadian border,…
they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. The author braids together the strands of this mystery and brings to life the historical collision of Europeans and the Haida and the harrowing world of logging. Canada Reads 2012. Winner of the 2005 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. Bestseller. 2005.The end of elsewhere: travels among the tourists
By Taras Grescoe. 2003
Taras Grescoe plunges into the ruts where the tourists are thickest, starting at the tip of Spain's Land's End and…
finishing, nine months later, on the soldier-patrolled beaches of China's End of the Earth. Along the way, he crosses the entire Eurasian landmass, experiencing all sorts of travel such as all-inclusive resorts, pilgrimages, and bus tours. Some descriptions of sex and violence, some strong language. 2003.The end of diabetes: the eat to live plan to prevent and reverse diabetes
By Joel Fuhrman. 2012
The New York Times bestselling author of "Eat to Live" and "Super Immunity", and one of the country's leading experts…
on preventive medicine, offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse diabetes - without drugs. Bestseller. 2013, c2012.The clouded leopard: travels to landscapes of spirit and desire
By Wade Davis. 1998
Davis examines the link between the diversity of our biological landscape and cultural diversity. He argues that the more we…
destroy the biological landscapes of the Earth, the more we cause diverse cultures to assimilate with the more mainstream cultures. Davis uses his travels around the world to illustrate his argument and shares stories of his time spent with a variety of peoples throughout the world. c1998.The green labyrinth: a journey to the Amazon
By Sylvia Fraser. 2003
Sylvia Fraser recounts her journey to Peru to learn about shamans and ancient practices. The centre of her journey revolves…
around learning about ayahuasca, a plant medicine that is said to transport a person from this plane of reality into another one. 2003.The Greek for love: a memoir of Corfu
By James Chatto. 2005
They arrived as tourists in Corfu, Wendy from Canada and James from England. They enjoyed the sun, an idyllic beach,…
olives, fresh apricots and marinated lamb, and long evenings of storytelling at the local taverna. But what captivated James and Wendy was the way the islanders embraced them, and how their deep connection to Corfu and its people sustained them through tragedy just as it had carried them into love. Some strong language. 2005.The circus at the edge of the earth: travels with the Great Wallenda Circus
By Charles Wilkins. 1998
The author travelled over three-thousand kilometres in Canada in order to get the inside story on life with a travelling…
circus. He vividly describes the seductive freedoms and horrific risks of traditional circus life. He also shares the lives of the circus performers and their motivations for becoming a member of a travelling troupe. 1998.The boy on the beach: my family’s escape from Syria and our hope for a new home
By Tima Kurdi. 2018
Alan Kurdi's body washed up on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea on September 2, 2015, and overnight, the political…
became personal, as the world awoke to the reality of the Syrian refugee crisis. Tima Kurdi first saw the shocking photo of her nephew in her home in Vancouver, Canada. Tima recounts her idyllic childhood in Syria, where she grew up with her brother Abdullah and other siblings in a tight knit family. A strong willed, independent woman, Tima studied to be a hairdresser and had dreams of seeing the world. At twenty two, she emigrated to Canada, but much of her family remained in Damascus. As Tima struggled to adapt to life in a new land, war overtook her homeland. Caught in the crosshairs of civil war, her family risked everything and fled their homes. Tima worked tirelessly to help them find safety, but their journey was far from easy. Although thwarted by politics, hounded by violence, and separated by vast distances, the Kurdis never gave up hope. And when tragedy struck, Tima suddenly found herself thrust onto the world stage as an advocate for refugees everywhere, a role for which she had never prepared but that allowed her to give voice to those who didn't have an opportunity to speak for themselves. Bestseller. 2018.The bookseller of Kabul
By Åsne Seierstad. 2003
Two weeks after September 11th, award-winning journalist Asne Seierstad went to Afghanistan to report on the conflict there. In the…
following spring she returned to live with an Afghan family for several months. For more than 20 years Sultan Khan defied the authorities - be they Communist or Taliban - in order to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the Communists, and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. But while Khan is passionate in his love of books and hatred of censorship, he is also a committed Muslim with strict views on family life. 2003.The ballad of Danny Wolfe: life of a modern outlaw
By Joe Friesen. 2016
In 2008, Danny Wolfe, a Winnipeg Aboriginal man, was 31-years-old and awaiting trial on two counts of first-degree murder in…
at the Regina Correctional Centre. In spite of his young age, Danny had found himself in and out of correctional facilities since his teenage years, sometimes even finding his own way out. Now, fifteen years after his last break out of prison, Danny was orchestrating a bigger escape from a jail where the notion was inconceivable. This biography traces the early years of Daniel Wolfe's life, from his birth in Regina to his mother Susan Creeley, a First Nations woman; to his first brush with the law at the age of four and then his subsequent arrests; to the birth of the Indian Posse--the Aboriginal street gang in Canada that would eventually claim the title of the largest street gang in North America with over 12,000 members (from BC to Ontario, and even Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona) and Danny at the helm; to Danny's death in 2010. Bestseller. 2016.Strength of conviction
By Tom Mulcair. 2015
The inside story of Thomas Mulcair's rise from modest beginnings to the threshold of power. Discover the man behind the…
headlines, who he is, how he thinks, and the struggles he faced - from fighting sexual misconduct, to protecting our environment, to his work alongside Jack Layton leading the NDP to a historic breakthrough in Quebec. Bestseller. 2015.Stephen Harper
By John Ibbitson. 2015
Stephen Harper has made government smaller, justice tougher, and provinces more independent. Those who praise Harper point to the Conservatives'…
skillful economic management, the reformed immigration system, the uncompromising defence of Israel and Ukraine, and the fight against terrorism, while critics accuse the Harper government of being autocratic, secretive and cruel. Ibbitson explores Harper’s suburban youth, the forces that shaped his tempestuous relationship with Reform Leader Preston Manning, how Laureen Harper influences her husband, his devotion to his children--and his cats. Ibbitson explains how this shy, closed, introverted loner united a fractured conservative movement, defeated a Liberal hegemony, and set out to reshape the nation. Bestseller. Winner of the 2015 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. 2015.Seven fallen feathers: racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city
By Tanya Talaga. 2017
Over the span of ten years, seven high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of…
miles away from their families, forced to leave their reserve because there was no high school there for them to attend. Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest, and struggle with, human rights violations past and present against aboriginal communities. Bestseller. Winner of the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize and the 2018 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. 2017.Sahara: a natural history
By Marq De Villiers, Sheila Hirtle. 2003
Description of the world's largest desert landscape and its inhabitants. Discusses the geography, natural cycles, and resilient life-forms of the…
sandy wilderness stretching across the broadest part of Africa. Covers the history of the Sahara's indigenous people--Berbers, Moors, and Tuareg--and the ancient kingdoms of past civilizations. 2003.Red, white, and drunk all over: a wine-soaked journey from grape to glass
By Natalie MacLean. 2006
To learn about all aspects of wine, MacLean interviews everyone from grape growers in Burgundy to upstart zinfandel producers in…
Sonoma Valley. Every encounter incorporates vivid descriptions of tastings and colourful personalities. Also includes an explanation for 103 different shapes of glassware, solid research, and commonsense advice. 2006.Red China blues: my long march from Mao to now
By Jan Wong. 1996
Born in Canada, Jan Wong began a rocky six-year romance with Maoism when she went to China in 1972. In…
this memoir, she describes leaving China as she became aware of the harsh realities of the communist system, and returning to China in the late 1980s as a reporter. She covered the crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the capitalist reforms of Deng Xiaoping. 1996.Precious cargo: my year driving the kids on school bus 3077
By Craig Davidson. 2016
Tells the story of one year in the author's life - driving a school bus full of special-needs kids. Shows…
us how his evolving relationship with the kids on that bus, each of them struggling physically as well as emotionally and socially, slowly but surely changed his life along with the lives of the precious cargo in his care. Bestseller. Canada Reads 2018. 2016.Poets and pahlevans: a journey into the heart of Iran
By Marcello Di Cintio. 2006
Di Cintio prepares for his journey to Iran by taking lessons in Farsi, researching Persian poetry and sharpening his wrestling…
skills. Once there, he talks politics with men in tea houses, wrestles, and visits sites and shrines associated with great Persian poets, learning that poetry is loved and quoted by everyone from taxi-drivers to students. The mosaic of incidents, encounters, conversations, sights, smells and moments creates a detailed impression of a country and society that will challenge preconceptions. 2006.Paris 1919: six months that changed the world
By Margaret MacMillan. 2001
Analyzes the failure of the Versailles Peace Conference after World War I. Focuses on the nationalistic goals of American president…
Woodrow Wilson, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George - the author's great-grandfather - as they reorganized the defeated empires and created the League of Nations. Foreword by Richard Holbrooke. Bestseller. Winner of the 2003 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. Canada Reads 2012. 2001. Uniform title: Peacemakers