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Showing 1 - 20 of 6243 items
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.The frigate Pallada
By Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov. 1987
The 19th century Russian author's account of an 1852-1853 journey from St. Petersburg around the Cape of Good Hope, up…
to Japan on the frigate "Pallada", concluding with an overland trek across Siberia. c1987. Uniform title: Fregat "Pallada".The end of the river: dams, drought and déjà vu on the Rio São Francisco
By Brian J Harvey. 2008
A biologist searches for a solution that will save many fish species from life-threatening dams. His adventures take him from…
a fisheries patrol boat on the Fraser River to the great Tsukiji fish market in Japan, with stops in the Philippines, Thailand, and assorted South American countries. Portrays fishermen, fish farmers, and even fish cops in a new light, as well as scientists, shysters, and some very drunk, hairy Brazilian men in thongs. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.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 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.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.The horizontal Everest: extreme journeys on Ellesmere Island
By Jerry Kobalenko. 2002
Ellesmere Island lays a mere 450 miles from the North Pole and has the highest peaks in the Western Hemisphere…
east of the Rockies. For more than a decade, Kobalenko has traced the routes of explorers and Inuits, and broken many new trails across the frozen terrain of Ellesmere Island. He investigates the motives and mistakes of the island's first explorers, searches for clues to the mysterious disappearance of scientist-explorer Dr. Hans Kruger and the murder of an Inuit guide. 2002.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 hill of Kronos
By Peter Levi. 1981
Greece as seen through the eyes of a sensitive traveller - English classicist, archaeologist, and former Jesuit priest, whose poetic…
observations about the land and its people are interspersed with personal narrative. c1981.The happy isles of Oceania: paddling the Pacific
By Paul Theroux. 1992
Renowned travel writer Theroux embarks on an exotic exploration of the Pacific Islands. From New Zealand to Hawaii, with stops…
in New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and others, he explores the lush landscapes, encounters unique wildlife, and lives among the fascinating peoples who have made Oceania their home. c1992.The gypsy in me: from Germany to Romania in search of youth, truth and Dad
By Ted Simon. 1997
The author recounts his 1500 mile journey, much of it on foot, through Eastern Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania,…
making personal connections with people in the turbulent region, and learning more about himself and his parents who had escaped from there years before. 1997.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 diamond that cuts through illusion: commentaries on the praynaparamita Diamond sutra
By Thich Nhat Hanh, Anh Huong Nguyen. 1992
The Buddha and his disciple Subhuti teach us how to cut through our dualistic ways of looking at the world…
in order to have a deeper contact with the wondrous reality that is inside us and all around us. 1992.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 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 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 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.