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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 great fire
By Jim Murphy. 1995
An account of the conflagration that levelled much of Chicago in 1871. Chronicles events from the fire's outbreak and rapid…
spread to its extinguishment by rain, as reported by survivors and in documents of the period. Examines the origins, circumstances, and official failures that contributed to the disaster. Grades 5-8. A 1996 Newbery Honor Book. c1995.Cahill continues his study of civilizations, begun in "How the Irish Saved Civilization" (DC15036), with an extended look at the…
Torah. He shows how events therein, especially the Jews' belief in one God and their ability to look at reality in a whole new way, influenced civilization. Some strong language. Bestseller. 1998.The end of absence: reclaiming what we've lost in a world of constant connection
By Michael Harris. 2014
Only one generation in history (ours) will experience life both with and without the internet. For everyone who follows us,…
online life will simply be the air they breathe. Today, we revel in ubiquitous information and constant connection, rarely stopping to consider the implications for our logged-on lives. The author chronicles this massive shift, exploring what we've gained and lost in the bargain. He argues that our greatest loss has been that of absence itself -- of silence, wonder and solitude. Winner of the 2014 Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction. 2014.The fabric of the cosmos: space, time, and the texture of reality
By B Greene. 2004
String theory is a recent development in physics that, by positing that all which exists is composed of infinitesimally small…
vibrating loops of energy, seeks to unify Einstein's theories and those of quantum mechanics into a so-called "theory of everything." Greene offers a view of human understanding of space and time, beginning with Newton, moving through Einstein and quantum physics, and on to string theory and its hypotheses. c2004.The end of time: the next revolution in our understanding of the universe
By Julian B Barbour. 1999
This text describes the coming revolution in our understanding of the cosmos: a quantum theory of the universe that brings…
together Einstein's general theory of relativity - which denies the existence of a unique time - and quantum mechanics - which demands one. The author contends that only the most radical of ideas can resolve the profound conflict between these two foundational pillars of modern physics, and in this book he proposes it: there is, quite literally, no time at all. 1999.The empathy exams: essays
By Leslie Jamison. 2014
A collection of essays explores empathy, using topics ranging from street violence and incarceration to reality television and literary sentimentality…
to ask questions about people's understanding of and relationships with others. Winner of the Gray Wolf Press Nonfiction Prize. 2014. The empathy exams -- Devil's bait -- La frontera -- Morphology of the hit -- Pain tours (I) : La plata perdida ; Sublime, revised ; Indigenous to the hood -- The immortal horizon -- In defense of saccharin(e) -- Fog count -- Pain tours (II) : Ex-votos ; Servicio supercompleto ; The broken heart of James Agee -- Lost boys -- Grand unified theory of female pain -- Judge's afterword / A conversation with Leslie Jamison. Uniform title: Essays.How the amazing theories of relativity and quantum mechanics transformed our understanding of nature in the last century, and how…
new ideas, developed in seeking to unify the laws of nature, probably hold the seeds of a major upheaval in physics. 1999.The Harvey girls: women who opened the West
By Lesley Poling-Kempes. 1989
From the 1880s to the 1950s, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa…
Fe railway. At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque," they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region. Interviews, historical research, and photographs help re-create the Harvey Girl experience. The accounts are personal, but laced with the history the women lived: the dust bowl, the depression, and anecdotes about some of the many famous people who ate at the restaurants--Teddy Roosevelt, Shirley Temple, Bob Hope, to name a few. Winner of the 1991 New Mexico PressWomen's ZIA award. 1989.Science columnist for the Los Angeles Times elucidates the mysterious concept of nothingness. Discusses the Big Bang, black holes, string…
theory, vacuums, and zero while tracing their scientific history and the theories of experts in the field--from Isaac Newton to Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. 2001.The Hiroshima Maidens: a story of courage, compassion, and survival
By Rodney Barker. 1985
Japanese women who underwent surgery in the U.S. to repair the ravages caused by the atomic blast became known as…
the "Hiroshima maidens". The author documents the medical, humanitarian and diplomatic undertaking that brought them to the States. 1985.The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an experiment in literary investigation
By Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit͡ìsyn. 1973
Drawn from reports, letters, witnesses, and the Nobel Prize winner's own 11-year incarceration at Archipelago. This is an intense portrayal…
of the history of the Soviet prison system. Bestseller. 1973. Uniform title: Arkhipelag GULag, 1918-1956.The dogs are eating them now: our war in Afghanistan
By Graeme Smith. 2013
Graeme Smith’s highly personal narrative of Canada's war in Afghanistan and how it went dangerously wrong. This is a gripping…
account of modern warfare that takes you into back alleys, cockpits and prisons -- telling stories that would have endangered his life had he published this book while still working as a journalist. Winner of the 2013 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. 2013.The Dead Sea scrolls: the truth behind the mystique (The modern scholar)
By Lawrence H Schiffman. 2007
New York University professor, Lawrence Schiffman, discusses the Dead Sea Scrolls, the most important collection of Jewish texts from the…
centuries before the rise of Christianity. Only through efforts to understand what the scrolls can teach us about the history of Judaism is it possible for us to learn what they have to teach us about the history of Christianity, because Christianity came into being only after these texts were composed and copied. 2007.The devil's cinema: the untold story behind Mark Twitchell's kill room
By Steve Lillebuen. 2012
On the night of October 10, 2008, Johnny Altinger was heading to his first date with a woman he had…
met online. He was never seen again. Two weeks earlier, aspiring filmmaker Mark Twitchell, with a devotion to the television series Dexter, began a three-day shoot for his latest short film. His horror story featured a serial killer who impersonates women on an online dating site to lure unsuspecting men to his suburban kill room. But his script was actually the blueprint for a real-life murder. Includes violence and strong language. Winner of the 2013 Arthur Ellis Best Crime Non-fiction Award. c2012.The complete book of Jewish observance
By Leo Trepp. 1980
An encyclopedic introduction to the tradition and rituals of the Jewish religion that covers virtually all aspects of Jewish observance.…
Rabbi Trepp briefly describes the historical development of each rite and the divergent practices among Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jewry. 1980.The collected poems of F.R. Scott
By F. R Scott. 1981
Scott was a historian and lawyer, but foremost a poet. This collection, which was organized by Scott himself, shows both…
a reflective man and a public figure committed to human progress. Winner of the 1981 Governor General's Award for Poetry. 1981. Uniform title: PoemsThe compassion of animals: true stories of animal courage and kindness
By Kristin Von Kreisler. 1997
The author presents a collection of anecdotes to demonstrate that animals are capable of being kind and compassionate. She tells…
of animals that helped their owners during medical emergencies, of those that rescued people, and of others who assisted in providing emotional therapy. Her subjects include dogs, cats, pigs, horses, and even an iguana. 1997.The collected works of Billy the Kid (Vintage International)
By Michael Ondaatje. 2009
William Bonney, a.k.a. "Billy the Kid," killed his first man when he was twelve, and by the time he was…
twenty-one he had slain nineteen more. Drawing on contemporary accounts, period photographs, dime novels and his own imagination, Ondaatje imagines Billy's passage across the blasted landscape of 1880s New Mexico and the collective unconscious of his country. A synthesis of storytelling, history, and myth. Winner of the 1970 Governor General's Award for Poetry. 2009.The concubine's children: portrait of a family divided
By Denise Chong. 1994
Chong traces her family's history from China to Canada. Her grandfather left his wife and emigrated to Canada, accompanied by…
the concubine he bought in 1924. In Canada, they stinted and sacrificed to support his family in China. Chong tells of her grandparents and parents, and the visits she made to China to try to unite the strands of her family's past. Winner of the 1995 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award. 1994.