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Showing 7081 - 7100 of 10391 items
By Chad Fraser. 2008
Most people think of Lake Erie, the shallowest and second smallest of the Great Lakes, as a sun-drenched, nearly tropical…
retreat. But it is so much more; mysterious, unpredictable, and known by mariners for its sudden violent weather and dangerous shoals, Lake Erie has been the stage for some of the most dramatic events ever to occur on the North American continent. From the earliest explorations of First Nations and French adventurers to the brazen rumrunners of the Prohibition era and beyond, this fascinating book takes the reader inside the remarkable personalities and harrowing events that have shaped the lake and the towns and cities that surround it. Based on thorough research, extensive travels, and firsthand accounts from the people who have lived, worked and made their names on the lake, Lake Erie Stories takes a fresh look at the history of what may be the most colourful of all the Great Lakes.By Peter Unwin. 2013
An amusing collection of lives and stories from the eccentric side of Canada’s history. A joyous romp through the back…
pages of Canadian quirkiness, Canadian Folk provides a fresh look at the saints, sinners, oddballs, and outright nutbars who have populated the Canadian landscape.They were perpetually northbound or south; they were inveterate walkers, or world class runners, millionaires in ill-advised Citroen half-tracks. The restless characters who spanned those miles and who fill the pages of this book were fuelled by the ambitions, the doubts, and the certainties of their times, a certainty that now seems unfathomable to us and frequently maddening. From doomed explorers to celebrated poets of cheese, this collection provides a fascinating look at the eminent and no-so-eminent characters who came before us and left their colourful mark on Canada’s history.By Jennifer Grainger. 2008
Located on the scenic north shore of Lake Erie, Elgin County was once home to over 40 vanished communities -…
filled with steam trains, ghosts, one-room schoolhouses, rowdy taverns, War of 1812 skirmishes and colourful characters, like Thomas Talbot. Jennifer Grainger chronicles the rise and fall of Elgin’s crossroad hamlets, lakeports and rail depots with contemporary photos, archival shots, and postmarks that remind us of the pioneers.By Joan Magee. 1984
By Mary Beacock Fryer. 1984
Battlefields of Canada encompasses nearly 300 years of history and features sixteen of the most significant Canadian battles as well…
as some of the most comic or bizarre. Profusely illustrated with sketches, photographs, and detailed maps, each chapter sets the context of the battle in terms of the struggle of which it was part, and then describes the hour-by-hour events. A brief conclusion to each chapter assesses the consequences for the victors and losers, assigning its place in Canadian history. A chronology provides a comprehensive list of every Canadian battle since the early 1600s.By Arlene Chan. 2013
The history of the Chinese community in Toronto is rich with stories drawn from over 150 years of life in…
Canada. Sam Ching, a laundryman, is the first Chinese resident recorded in Toronto’s city directory of 1878. A few years later, in 1881, there were 10 Chinese and no sign of a Chinatown. Today, with no less than seven Chinatowns and half a million people, Chinese Canadians have become the second-largest visible minority in the Greater Toronto Area.Stories, photographs, newspaper reports, maps, and charts will bring to life the little-known and dark history of the Chinese community. Despite the early years of anti-Chinese laws, negative public opinion, and outright racism, the Chinese and their organizations have persevered to become an integral participant in all walks of life. The Chinese Community in Toronto shows how the Chinese make a significant contribution to the vibrant and diverse mosaic that makes Toronto one of the most multicultural cities in the world.By Sam Allison. 2014
A provocative account of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders and its crucial place in history. The remarkable story of the men…
of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders moves from the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland, through the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution, to the War of 1812. Simon Fraser, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, raised the 78th Highlanders, a regiment that played a major role in defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham. Driv’n by Fortune tackles the myths embedded in nationalistic history and in fictional accounts of these Highland soldier-settlers who brought the Scottish Enlightenment to North America. The impact of the 78th Fraser’s Highlanders, which extended far beyond Scotland and the Canada of their times, is finally being told.By J Patrick Boyer. 2013
A young law clerk from England falls in love in 19th-century New York and reinvents himself in Canada. Quiet Isaac…
Jelfs led many lives: a scapegoated law clerk in England; a soldier in the mad Crimean War; a lawyer on swirling Broadway Avenue in New York. His escape from each was wrapped in deep secrecy. He eventually reached Canada, in 1869, with a new wife and a changed name. In his new home — the remote wilderness of Muskoka — he crafted yet another persona for himself. In Another Country, Another Life, his great-grandson traces that long-hidden journey, exposing Isaac Jelfs’ covered tracks and the reasons for his double life.By Roger Hall, Patrice Dutil. 2014
A modern look at a classic leader. Macdonald at 200 presents fifteen fresh interpretations of Canada’s founding Prime Minister, published…
for the occasion of the bicentennial of his birth in 1815. Well researched and crisply written by recognized scholars and specialists, the collection throws new light on Macdonald’s formative role in shaping government, promoting women’s rights, managing the nascent economy, supervising westward expansion, overseeing relations with Native peoples, and dealing with Fenian terrorism. A special section deals with how Macdonald has (or has not) been remembered by historians as well as the general public. The book concludes with an afterword by prominent Macdonald biographer Richard Gwyn. Macdonald emerges as a man of full dimensions — an historical figure that is surprisingly relevant to our own times.By Christopher Mccreery. 2012
A celebration in medals of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years as our monarch. On the occasion of the diamond jubilee…
of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne as Queen of Canada, Canada has followed a long tradition of recommending to Her Majesty the institution of a commemorative medal to mark this auspicious milestone. Commemorative Medals of The Queen’s Reign in Canada, 1952-2012 examines in detail this element of the Canadian honours system.This short and accessible work provides the reader with an interesting and informative study of the honours that have recognized nearly a quarter of a million Canadians over the past six decades. Fully illustrated in colour, the book recounts the history and development of the commemorative medals awarded during The Queen’s 60 years as monarch.By Julie H Ferguson. 2006
For the first time, Sing a New Song tells the stories of four Canadian bishops who pushed the envelope and…
changed the world. All have faced severe opposition; one was involved in the only Anglican schism in Canadian history; two jeopardized their careers; and one was voted the sixth most important person of the twentieth century whose world view has transformed the wider society. Over the last 150 years, George Hills, David Somerville, Douglas Hambidge, and Michael Ingham adopted unpopular causes with their eyes wide open. They were the men who fought for and won rights for aboriginals, women, and gays and lesbians. In finely drawn and thoroughly researched biographies, Julie H. Ferguson weaves the bishops’ impact on society into Canada’s history while delivering compelling insights into their personal and spiritual lives. Meet this quartet of sharply contrasting and fearless bishops in Sing a New Song.By Steve Pitt. 2008
Commended for the 2009 Best Books for Kids & Teens Canadian World War II pilot Charley Fox, now in his…
late eighties, has had a thrilling life, especially on the day in July 1944 in France when he spotted a black staff car, the kind usually employed to drive high-ranking Third Reich dignitaries. Already noted for his skill in dive-bombing and strafing the enemy, Fox went in to attack the automobile. As it turned out, the car contained famed German General Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, and Charley succeeded in wounding him. Rommel, who at the time was the Germans’ supreme military commander in France orchestrating the Nazis’ resistance to the D-day invasion, was never the same after that. Author Steve Pitt focuses on this seminal event in Charley Fox’s life and in the war, but he also provides fascinating aspects of the period, including profiles of noted ace pilots Buzz Beurling and Billy Bishop, Jr., and Great Escape architect Walter Floody, as well as sidebars about Hurricanes, Spitfires, and Messerschmitts.By Mary Beacock Fryer. 2004
Celebrated as the saviour of Upper Canada, Major General Sir Isaac Brock was a charismatic leader who won the respect…
not only of his own troops, but also of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and even men among his enemy. His motto could well have been ’speak loud and look big.’ Although this attitude earned him a reputation for brashness, it also enabled his success and propelled him into the significant role he would play in the War of 1812.By Grant Karcich. 2013
Until now the story of this trail, its beginnings, its purpose, and its significant place in Ontario’s history, has been…
poorly defined. The story of Scugog Carrying Place, the ancient aboriginal trails connecting Lake Ontario with Lakes Scugog and Simcoe and the Kawartha lakes is a multifaceted one. In tracing its documented history from the 1790s to the 1850s, author Grant Karcich unravels mysteries; explores the lifestyles of early First Nations; provides background on local archaeological sites; and introduces the intrepid early surveyors, fur traders, missionaries, colourful characters, and entrepreneurial immigrant settlers from both the newly formed United States and the United Kingdom. In their wake come the demon whiskey, devastating plagues, competing world views, saddlebag preachers, and ultimately the marginalization of the First Nations people.The Scugog Trail assumes a significant role in the transition of the land, from forest to agriculture to villages, towns, and industrial centres. Long-forgotten cabins, cemeteries, and a cartographic mystery involving the infamous Cabane de Plomb add to the mystique. The trail bore witness to the development of communities, such as Oshawa, Harmony, Columbus, Prince Albert, Port Perry, Seagrave, Cannington, and Beaverton, whose stories also unfold. Scugog Carrying Place is a must read for history buffs, genealogists, archaeologists, and anyone with roots in this part of Ontario.By Christopher Mccreery. 2008
Commended for the 2009 Best Books for Kids & Teens For more than 40 years Canadian orders, decorations, and medals…
have been used to recognize exemplary citizens for their outstanding contributions to our country and to the world. Although Canada is a relatively young country, we are fortunate to have one of the most comprehensive honours systems in the world. With the Order of Canada at its centre, the Canadian honours system includes the Victoria Cross, Star of Courage, Order of St. John, General Campaign Star, Canadian Forces Decoration, and a wide variety of other awards. From the honours of New France to the many British medals awarded to Canadians prior to 1967, the various elements of the modern Canadian honours system are explained. This short book, rich with illustrations and photos, provides an easy-to-understand overview of Canadian honours, who has received them, and how they are bestowed. The book also includes a wearing guide.By Alan Bowker. 2014
Ottawa Book Award 2015 — Shortlisted Between 1918 and 1921 a great storm blew through Canada and raised the expectations…
of a new world in which all things would be possible.|The years after World War I were among the most tumultuous in Canadian history: a period of unremitting change, drama, and conflict. They were, in the words of Stephen Leacock, “a time such as there never was before.” The war had been a great crusade, promising a world made new. But it had cost Canada sixty thousand dead and many more wounded, and it had widened the many fault lines in a young, diverse country. In a nation struggling to define itself and its place in the world, labour, farmers, businessmen, churches, social reformers, and minorities had extravagant hopes, irrational fears, and contradictory demands. What had this sacrifice achieved? Whose hopes would be realized and whose dreams would end in disillusionment? Which changes would prove permanent and which would be transitory? A Time Such As There Never Was Before describes how this exciting period laid the foundation of the Canada we know today.By George E Clarke, Benjamin Drew. 2000
In the early 1850s, white American abolitionist Benjamin Drew was commissioned to travel to Canada West (now Ontario) to interview…
escaped slaves from the United States. At the time the population of Canada West was just short of a million and about 30,000 black people lived in the colony, most of whom were escaped slaves from south of the border. One of the people Drew interviewed was Harriet Tubman, who was then based in St. Catharines but made several trips to the U.S. South to lead slaves to freedom in Canada.In the course of his journeys in Canada, Drew visited Chatham, Toronto, Galt, Hamilton, London, Dresden, Windsor, and a number of other communities. Originally published in 1856, Drew’s book is the only collection of first-hand interviews of fugitive slaves in Canada ever done. It is an invaluable record of early black Canadian experience.By Garry Toffoli, Arthur Bousfield. 2010
Royal Tours 17862010 is a penetrating look at the tours of 11 royals who were or would be monarchs, viceroys,…
and commanders-in-chief of Canada. Leaving California in 1983 to tour British Columbia, Queen Elizabeth II said she was going home to Canada. Since its pioneer days, the Royal Family has made the country home through tours of public service, naval and military duty, and residence. Beautifully illustrated, featuring photos from the June/July 2010 tour of the queen, Royal Tours 17862010 is a captivating look at how these tours shaped Canada and the royals themselves, with an eye for the significant, interesting, and humorous. Included are the young naval captain who became King William IV, the long Canadian residences of Queen Victorias father and daughter, those who would be kings and governors general, the triumph of the first reigning monarchs tour, and the current queens six decades of regular presence.By J Patrick Boyer, Donna E Williams. 2013
How emigrants were lured to Ontario’s Muskoka in the 1870s in a vain attempt to farm the Canadian Shield. When…
the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontario’s Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the district’s poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters. The story in Hardscrabble also takes readers to Britain, where emigration philanthropists urged their government to send the country’s poor to Canada, then follows these emigrants as they left the familiar behind to make a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The initial romance of living off the land was soon dispelled as these hapless souls faced clearing the land, building shelters, and sowing crops in desolate, remote locations. Donna Williams’s extensive research leads her to conclude that Muskoka’s experience epitomizes the wrongheadedness of placing already poor people on remote land unsuited for farming.By Dan Soucoup. 2005
During the Great Depression, promoter, salesman, and pilot Richard Thorne McCully became an aviation pioneer, capturing much of the Maritime…
region from the air. Along with photographer Harold Reid and pilot Marty Fraser, McCully spent the early 1930s flying over Atlantic Canada. The photographs they took offer a rare glimpse into prominent homes, vibrant businesses, churches, farms and waterfronts that are no longer standing or have been significantly altered. Each photo has been annotated with the natural features, architecture, streetscapes, industries, sporting events and other pastimes, and colourful characters depicted.These unique bird’s-eye views from 1931 to 1939 capture the feeling of that first day in May 1931 when McCully’s small twin-engine took off from the tiny Moncton airport.