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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 damned: the Canadians at the battle of Hong Kong and the POW experience, 1941-45
By Nathan M Greenfield. 2010
Fall, 1941. Almost 2,000 members of the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers were sent to bolster the British garrison at…
Hong Kong, but in the seventeen day battle for the colony following the attack on December 8, the Canadians suffered grievous losses. The second part of their story describes how the Canadians survived the horrendous conditions of Japanese POW camps. Some descriptions of sex, explicit descriptions of violence and strong language. 2010.The Dionne years: a Thirties melodrama
By Pierre Berton. 1977
In 1934, Canada hit the international headlines when Elzire Dionne gave birth to five identical baby girls in northern Ontario.…
Berton examines the exploitation of the famous five by the media, commercial interests and government which created a rift in the Dionne family. 1977. (Reissue)The curse of the narrows: the Halifax explosion, 1917
By Laura MacDonald. 2005
On December 7, 1917, in the heart of the World War I, two ships collided in Halifax harbour. The resulting…
explosion killed over 2,000 people and injured some 6,000 more. Macdonald presents the whole story of how the military, volunteers and ordinary citizens united to organize one of the most complex relief efforts in North American history. Descriptions of violence. 2005.The blind mechanic: the amazing story of Eric Davidson, survivor of the 1917 Halifax Explosion
By Marilyn Elliott, Janet Kitz. 2018
Eric Davidson was a beautiful, fair-haired toddler when the Halifax Explosion struck, killing almost 2,000 people and seriously injuring thousands…
of others. Eric lost both eyes-a tragedy that his mother never fully recovered from. Eric, however, was positive and energetic. He also developed a fascination with cars and how they worked, and he later decided, against all likelihood, to become a mechanic. Assisted by his brothers who read to him from manuals, he worked hard, passed examinations, and carved out a decades-long career. Once the subject of a National Film Board documentary, Eric Davidson was, until his death, a much-admired figure in Halifax. Written by his daughter Marilyn, this book gives new insights into the story of the 1917 Halifax Explosion and contains never-before-seen documents and photographs. Winner of the 2019 The Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award (Non-Fiction). 2018.The black grizzly of Whiskey Creek
By Sid Marty. 2008
1980. Many citizens of Banff, Alberta, valued living in a place where wildlife grazed on the front lawn, but none…
were expecting bear attacks that summer. During the massive hunt that followed, Banff was portrayed as a town under siege by a killer bear, and the tourists stayed away. The pressure was on to find and destroy the Whiskey Creek mauler, but he evaded park wardens and struck again - and again. When the fight was over, the hard lessons learned led to changes that would save the lives of both bears and people in the coming years. Some descriptions of violence, some strong language. 2008.Tecumseh & Brock: the War of 1812
By James Laxer. 2012
At the turn of the nineteenth century, the British Empire is at the height of its ascendancy; Napoleonic France is…
struggling to maintain its position as a world power; the incumbent American empire is quickly expanding its territory, while the Native peoples struggle to establish their own confederacy. Laxer focusses on the Native struggle for nationhood and sovereignty; the battle between the British Empire and the United States over Upper and Lower Canada; and the unlikely friendship and political alliance between Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh and Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. 2012.The Acadians: in search of a homeland
By James Laxer. 2006
In 1604, a small group of migrants fled political turmoil and famine in France to start a new colony on…
Canada's east coast. Their roughly demarcated territory included what are now Canada's Maritime provinces, land that was fought over by the British and French empires until the Acadians were finally expelled in 1755. In the absence of a state, what defines an Acadian today is elusive, and while their community, centred in New Brunswick, is more confident than ever, it is entering a contentious debate about its future. Some descriptions of violence. 2006.Sword of the spirit, shield of faith: religion in American war and diplomacy
By Andrew Preston. 2012
A richly detailed account of how religion has influenced American foreign relations, told through the stories of the men and…
women - from presidents to preachers - who have plotted the country’s course in the world. Winner of the 2013 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. 2012. If you request this book on CD it will be on 2 or more CDs. You must play the first CD to the end before playing the next CD.Sex is a funny word: a book about bodies, feelings, and YOU
By Cory Silverberg, Fiona Smyth. 2015
A comic book for kids that includes children and families of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities, this is an…
essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers. Much more than the "facts of life" or "the birds and the bees," it opens up conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about boundaries, safety, and joy. The follow up to the Lambda-nominated "What Makes a Baby". Winner of the 2016 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction. Grades 2-4. 2015.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.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.Shorty, an aviation pioneer: the story of Victor John Hatton
By James Glassco Henderson. 2004
Having survived the First World War in the trenches, Shorty Hatton started his aviation career in a near-fatal crash of…
an Avro 504K and ended it with another Avro aircraft, the Arrow. In the intervening years he was a military, bush, and test pilot, he taught fledgling aviators at Camp Borden, he was the first to fly new air mail routes in an open cockpit plane, and he tested newly-built Hawker Hurricanes before they joined the Battle of Britain. Some descriptions of sex. 2004.Settler education: poems
By Laurie D Graham. 2016
In the stunning poems of "Settler Education", Graham explores the Plains Cree uprising at Frog Lake -- the death of…
nine settlers, the hanging of six Cree warriors, the imprisonment of Big Bear, and the opening of the Prairies to unfettered settlement. In ways possible only with such an honest act of imagination, and with language at once terse and capacious, she reckons with how these pasts repeat and reconstitute themselves in the present. Poems from this book won the 2013 Thomas Morton Poetry Prize. 2016. Uniform title: Poems.Sans faire d'histoire: anecdotes méconnues qui ont fait le Québec
By Anne De Léan. 2014
" On connaît l'histoire avec un grand H du Québec contemporain. Maintenant, découvrons celle qui est juste derrière, celle qu'on…
connaît moins, qui surprend, qui vous fera rire et réfléchir. Saviez-vous qu'Elizabeth Taylor a contribué à l'implantation du mariage civil au Québec? Qu'une femme de chambre a aidé à démasquer un véritable espion allemand en Gaspésie? Que la Pologne a accusé le Québec de vol de biens culturels devant l'ONU? Sans faire d'histoire, ce sont de courtes anecdotes historiques de notre 20e siècle. Aussi invraisemblables qu'elles puissent paraître, elles n'en sont pas moins 100% véridiques. Alimentées des souvenirs de certaines personnalités qui ont elles-mêmes contribué à l'histoire, elles sont toutes rigoureusement fouillées, mais ne se prennent pas au sérieux. Ni dans leur ton ni dans leur présentation! " -- 4e de couv.René Lévesque: 4. L'homme brisé, 1980-1987
By Pierre Godin. 2005
Ce quatrième et dernier volet de la grande biographie de René Lévesque s'ouvre le surlendemain du référendum perdu de mai…
1980. Cet échec, René Lévesque allait le payer très cher. Après leur face-à-face de novembre 1981, Pierre Trudeau lui impose une constitution si inacceptable qu'il refuse de la parapher. René Lévesque affronte ensuite un parti déboussolé qui enterre référendum et association avec le Canada. En 1984, il saisit la main tendue par le nouveau premier ministre canadien, Brian Mulroney. Il est prêt à donner une dernière chance au fédéralisme. C'est l'épisode du " beau risque " qui cristallise la scission à l'intérieur du parti. En janvier 1985, c'est le burnout et la détresse psychologique. À soixante ans, il paraît fini. Dans une ambiance de conspiration et de révolution de palais, il s'accroche jusqu'au jour où il jette l'éponge avant que le parti qu'il a mis au monde ne lui indique plus brutalement encore la sortie. 2005.Rag cosmology
By Erin Robinsong. 2017
In this time of ecological precarity, "Rag Cosmology" is an urgent invitation to reinvent our modes of engagement with the…
environment we not only inhabit, but are. Refusing the lamentation that leaves us as resigned witnesses to devastation, "Rag Cosmology" counters fatalist narratives with the pleasures of ecological entanglement and engagement. Tracing relationships between seemingly irreconcilable things--economy and ecology, weather and lust, bills and inner voices, wages of avoidance and wages of listening--these poems offer the intimate and lush language of thought that yearn for an imaginative reinvention of how we understand what we are part of and what we are losing. Winner of the 2017 A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry (QWF). 2017.Nouvelle-France: ce qu'on aurait dû vous enseigner
By Gilles Proulx. 2015
" Ce n'est pas d'hier que Gilles Proulx sonne l'alarme : les Québécois sont de plus en plus ignorants de…
leur histoire, oublieux de leurs ancêtres et inconscients du travail colossal que ceux-ci ont accompli pour poser les fondations du Québec d'aujourd'hui. C'est pour corriger ces tristes lacunes qu'au-delà des faits de guerre et autres dates marquantes, l'auteur de Nouvelle-France raconte avec verve les actes de bravoure de Madeleine de Verchères, qui sauva les habitants de son fort d'une attaque iroquoise, les découvertes de Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, explorateur de la Louisiane et fondateur de La Nouvelle-Orléans, ou la ténacité extraordinaire dont ont fait preuve Louis Hébert et sa famille, premiers colons de Nouvelle-France. Avec l'irrévérence et la passion qu'on lui connaît, Proulx se fait fort de redonner à ses lecteurs, jeunes et moins jeunes, la soif d'apprendre leur histoire. Cet ouvrage est une édition entièrement revue du livre à succès paru en 1992 sous le titre Ma petite histoire de la Nouvelle-France. " -- 4e de couv.