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Sean Connery: from 007 to Hollywood icon
By Andrew Yule. 1992
Yule chronicles the life of super-celebrity Sean Connery, who rose from the slums of Edinburgh to become an enduring and…
successful screen idol. A minefield of contradictions, Connery is happily married, but with a history of conquests, and easygoing, but also unforgiving. 1992.As oil prices soar and suburbs continue to sprawl, Grescoe hits the commuter road in a global quest to understand…
and illuminate the challenges of the post-automobile age. Ultimately, Straphanger’s subject is the city, and it offers a global tour of alternatives to car-based living, told through encounters with bicycle commuters, subway engineers, idealistic mayors and disillusioned trolley campaigners. Along the way, Grescoe meets libertarian apologists for the automobile, urbanists who defend suburban sprawl, champions of buses, rapid transit and light rail, and planners fighting to liberate cities from the empire of the automobile. Winner of the Quebec Writer's Federation Prize, 2012. Includes violence and strong language. 2012.Steal away home: one woman's epic flight to freedom-- and her long road back to the South
By Karolyn Smardz Frost. 2017
Fifteen-year-old slave Cecelia Reynolds made her dangerous bid for freedom from the United States, across the Niagara River and into…
Canada. Escape meant that she would never see her mother or brother again. She would be cut off from the young mistress with whom she grew up, but who also owned her. Cecelia found a new life in Toronto’s vibrant African American expatriate community. Her rescuer became her husband, a courageous conductor on the Underground Railroad helping other freedom-seekers reach Canada. Widowed, she braved the Fugitive Slave Law to cross back into the United States, where she again found love, and followed her William into the battlefields of the Civil War. Finally, with a wounded husband and young children in tow, she returned to the Kentucky she had known as a child. But her home had changed: hooded Night Riders roamed the countryside with torches and nooses at the ready. When William disappeared, Cecelia relied on the support and affection of her former mistress - the Southern belle who had owned her as a child. Winner of the 2018 Speaker's Book Award. 2017.Smiley: a journey of love
By Joanne George. 2017
Smiley, a most remarkable Golden Retriever, was born without eyes. He was rescued from a puppy mill and has become…
a superb therapy dog, providing therapy to people all over the world through social media and television. This is his story. Winner of the 2018 Silver Birch Express Award. Winner of the 2019 Red Cedar Information Book Award. Winner of the 2019 Hackmatack Award for non-fiction. Grades 4-6. 2017. Smiley, the therapy dog -- Smiley and Joanne -- Smiley and Joanne's new family -- St. John Ambulance therapy dogs -- Smiley, the blind therapy dog -- Smiley, the celebrity -- Ways you can help.Stormy seas: stories of young boat refugees
By Mary Beth Leatherdale. 2017
The plight of refugees risking their lives at sea has, unfortunately, made the headlines all too often in the past…
few years. This book presents five true stories, from 1939 to today, about young people who lived through the harrowing experience of setting sail in search of asylum: Ruth and her family board the St. Louis to escape Nazism; Phu sets out alone from war-torn Vietnam; José tries to reach the United States from Cuba; Najeeba flees Afghanistan and the Taliban; and after losing his family, Mohamed abandons his village on the Ivory Coast in search of a new life. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 2018 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Honour Book Award. 2017.Sit how you want
By Robin Richardson. 2018
Plane crashes and automobile mishaps are the backdrop for female narrators who grapple with terror, anxiety, and powerlessness: "When I…
say I'm fine I mean the sky has opened / like an old wound under scurvy." In their grim wit, sinister straight talk, and sometimes violent bawdiness, Richardson's poems work as counter-charms against the lingering trauma of abusive relationships, both familial and romantic. The book embodies a belief in poetry as an instrument of change, a tool for transforming pain into exuberant verbal energy: "It is the thrill of ruination / makes us innovate." Winner of the 2019 Trillium Book Award for Poetry. 2018.At nine years old, Eugenie Clark developed an unexpected passion for sharks after a visit to the Battery Park Aquarium…
in New York City. At the time, sharks were seen as mindless killing machines, but Eugenie knew better and set out to prove it. Despite many obstacles in her path, Eugenie was able to study the creatures she loved so much. From her many discoveries to the shark-related myths she dispelled, Eugenie made wide scientific contributions that led to her being nicknamed Shark Lady. Winner of 2018 Forest of Reading The Blue Spruce Award. Grades K-3. 2017.Shirley Jackson: a rather haunted life
By Ruth Franklin. 2016
Still known to millions only as the author of the "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) remains curiously absent from the…
American literary canon. A genius of literary suspense, Jackson plumbed the cultural anxiety of postwar America better than anyone. Biographer Ruth Franklin reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the author behind such classics as 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'. Placing Jackson within an American gothic tradition of Hawthorne and Poe, Franklin demonstrates how her unique contribution to this genre came from her focus on "domestic horror" drawn from an era hostile to women. With its exploration of astonishing talent shaped by a damaged childhood and a troubled marriage, this is the definitive biography of a generational avatar and an American literary giant. Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for best critical / biography book. 2016.Stalin's daughter: the extraordinary and tumultuous life of Svetlana Alliluyeva
By Rosemary Sullivan. 2015
Born in the early years of the Soviet Union, Svetlana Stalin spent her youth inside the walls of the Kremlin.…
Communist Party privilege protected her from the mass starvation and purges that haunted Russia, but she did not escape tragedy--the loss of everyone she loved, including her mother, two brothers, aunts and uncles, and a lover twice her age, deliberately exiled to Siberia by her father. As she gradually learned about the extent of her father's brutality after his death, in 1967 Svetlana shocked the world by defecting to the United States. But she could not escape her father's legacy; her life in America was fractured; she moved frequently, married disastrously, shunned other Russian exiles, and ultimately died in poverty in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Winner of the 2015 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the 2016 British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, and the 2016 RBC Taylor Prize. Bestseller. 2015.Stormy weather: the life of Lena Horne
By James Gavin. 2009
Biography of African American singer/actress Lena Horne, born in 1917 Brooklyn, who first performed at Harlem's Cotton Club at age…
sixteen. Interprets Horne's multiracial family background in the pre-civil rights era as the reason for emotional conflicts in both her personal and professional lives. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. c2009.Stephen Colbert: beyond truthiness
By Bruce Watson. 2017
More than a comedian and improv genius, Stephen Colbert delights fans with his wit, audacity, and innovative uses of language…
and the media. In this biography, journalist Bruce Watson charts Colbert's development. 2017.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.Still me: A Life
By Christopher Reeve. 1998
Best known for his role as Superman, actor Reeve discusses his life and career before and after the 1995 horseback…
riding accident that left him paralyzed. Reeve has faith that his injured spinal cord can eventually be repaired and is active in raising funds for research. Some strong language. Bestseller. 1998.Somewhere in heaven: the remarkable love story of Dana and Christopher Reeve
By Christopher P Andersen. 2008
The author traces the inspirational story of the late celebrity couple's early marriage, describing their passionate shared years prior to…
Christopher's paralyzing accident as based on interviews with people who knew them best. 2008.Soul on the street: an autobiography
By William Roache. 2007
William Roache has been an actor on Britain's soap opera Coronation Street for over 47 years. In this autobiography William…
gives us an insight into what it has been like to play Ken for all those years. 2007.Spellbinder: the life of Harry Houdini
By Tom Lalicki. 2000
Life of the celebrated magician and escape artist. Born in Budapest in 1874, Houdini came to America in 1878. After…
his debut in a backyard circus, age nine, he developed ever more complicated tricks, entertaining the world with escapes from handcuffs, packing cases, and straitjackets. For grades 5-8 and older readers. 2000.Snakes and ladders
By Dirk Bogarde. 1978
Second volume of Dirk Bogarde's autobiography, covering the time between his experiences at an army camp at Catterick to his…
role as van Aschenback in the film "Death in Venice". Since 1947 he has starred in more than 60 films, especially during the 50s and 60s. In more recent years, he has become known as a writer. Sequel to “A Postillion struck by lightning”. 1978.Stan and Ollie: the roots of comedy : the double life of Laurel and Hardy
By Simon Louvish. 2001
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have remained, from 1927 to the present day, the screen's most famous and popular comedy…
double act. The author examines the duo from their early lives, to solo careers and through their serendipitous teaming at the Hal Roach Studios. 2001.Sisters: the story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine
By Charles Higham. 1984
Since you asked
By Pamela Wallin. 1998
Canadian media personality Pamela Wallin tells her story, from her birth in Wadena, Saskatchewan, to her role as host and…
producer of her television show. This book is her answer to the many questions asked about her life, as well as an examination of her own influences and aspirations. 1998.