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Showing 1 - 20 of 37540 items
By Donald N Thompson. 2008
Delves into the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world - artists, dealers, auction houses, and wealthy collectors. If…
it's true that 85 percent of new contemporary art is bad, why were record prices achieved at auction in 2006 and 2007? Explores money, lust, and the self-aggrandizement of possession in an attempt to determine what makes a particular work of art valuable while others are ignored. 2008.By Stuart Laidlaw. 2003
A vivid portrait of what modern industrial farming is, what it is doing to the environment, to farmers, to the…
plants and livestock we eat, and to us as consumers and as citizens. The author takes us from the dairy farms of Pennsylvania to Canada's prairie wheatfields, from the tomato greenhouses of southern Ontario to the potato fields of P.E.I. All along the way, he shows us food's secret ingredient - its hidden costs. 2003.By Naomi Klein. 2000
As big companies such as McDonald's, Nike and Wal-mart keep getting bigger, consumers are becoming more wary of their attempts…
to force ready-to-wear lifestyles upon us. Klein discusses the growth of the corporate logo, and the resistance to the attempts of the big companies to move into every aspect of our lives. 2000.By Naomi Klein, Debra Ann Levy. 2002
By Robertson Davies. 1996
A collection of Robertson Davies' reflections on books, reading, and writing. These essays, book reviews, and other writings, taken from…
a selection which he had planned to publish before his death, reveal Davies at his vintage best. 1996.By Jane Jacobs. 2000
Jacobs examines the similarities between the growth and change that occurs within an economy, and the growth and changes that…
occur within nature. She argues that through the study of systems found in nature we can better understand economic development.By Naomi Klein. 2007
Klein assails economist Milton Friedman's free-market precepts, as their exponents have applied them to a series of formerly state-dominated economies…
since 1975. She condemns reform programs of the last three decades that have aimed to separate the state from the economy; the process of market liberalization has created a "disaster capitalism complex," consisting of corporations that thrive on catastrophe. Some descriptions of sex and strong language, descriptions of violence. 2007.By Alberto Manguel. 2006
An account of Manguel's astonishment at the variety, beauty and persistence of our efforts to shape the world and our…
lives, most notably through something almost as old as reading itself: libraries. The result is both personal and wide-ranging: a study of the mysteries of libraries, a thorough analysis of their history throughout the world, and an esoteric celebration of reading. 2006.By John Metcalf, Claire Wilkshire. 2003
Includes interviews with and commentaries from eight Canadian writers. Listen in to Terry Griggs on where stories come from, Michael…
Winter on writing Newfoundland, and K.D. Miller on being 'an actor who writes'. Also features short stories by these authors. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2003.By Sherry Simon. 2006
Taking the perspective of a walker moving through a landscape of neighbourhoods and eras, Simon experiences Montreal as a voyage…
across languages. Using literary passages from the colonial era till today, she traces a history of crossings and intersections around the familiar sites and symbols of the city, describing the development of social relations between linguistic communities, through translations. 2006.From the ageing oilfields of Saudi Arabia and the United States to the Canadian tar sands, from the shopping malls…
of Dubai to the shuttered auto plants of North America and Europe, from the made-in-China products on the shelves of the Wal-Mart down the road to the collapse of Wall Street giants, everything is connected to the price of oil. For generations we have built wealth by burning more and more oil, but there is no more cheap oil to burn. The auto industry will never recover from this oil-induced recession, distance will soon cost money, and so will burning carbon - so local economies will be revitalized, as will our cities and neighbourhoods. 2009.By Pierre Berton. 2003
Pierre Berton shares his own experiences in learning to write and in improving during his writing career. Includes information about…
editors, tips for writer's block, and story development through many drafts. 2003.By Richard Van Camp. 2020
"Stories are medicine. During a time of heightened isolation, this bestselling author shares what he knows about the power of…
storytelling--and offers some of his own favourite stories from Elders, friends, and family. Gathering around a campfire, or the dinner table, we humans have always told stories. Through them, we define our identities and shape our understanding of the world. Master storyteller and bestselling author Richard Van Camp writes of the power of storytelling and its potential to transform speakers and audiences alike. In Gather, Van Camp shares what elements make a compelling story and offers insights into basic storytelling techniques, such as how to read a room--even on Zoom--and how to capture the attention of listeners. And he delves further into the impact storytelling can have, helping readers understand how to create community and how to banish loneliness through their tales. A member of the Tlicho Dene First Nation, Van Camp also includes stories from Elders whose wisdom influenced him. During a time of uncertainty and disconnection, stories reach across vast distances to offer connection. Gather is a joyful reminder of this for storytellers: all of us."By Margaret Atwood. 2022
NATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom cultural icon Margaret Atwood comes a brilliant collection of essays--funny, erudite, endlessly curious, uncannily prescient--which seek answers to…
Burning Questions such as:Why do people everywhere, in all cultures, tell stories?How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating?How can we live on our planet?Is it true? And is it fair?What do zombies have to do with authoritarianism?In over fifty pieces Atwood aims her prodigious intellect and impish humour at the world, and reports back to us on what she finds. This roller-coaster period brought the end of history, a financial crash, the rise of Trump, and a pandemic. From debt to tech, the climate crisis to freedom; from when to dispense advice to the young (answer: only when asked) to how to define granola, we have no better guide to the many and varied mysteries of our universe.By Emily Urquhart. 2022
A journalist and folklorist explores the truths that underlie the stories we imagine—and reveals the magic in the everyday. “I’ve…
always felt that the term fairy tale doesn’t quite capture the essence of these stories,” writes Emily Urquhart. “I prefer the term wonder tale, which is Irish in origin, for its suggestion of awe coupled with narrative. In a way, this is most of our stories.” In this startlingly original essay collection, Urquhart reveals the truths that underlie our imaginings: what we see in our heads when we read, how the sight of a ghost can heal, how the entrance to the underworld can be glimpsed in an oil painting or a winter storm—or the onset of a loved one’s dementia. In essays on death and dying, pregnancy and prenatal genetics, radioactivity, chimeras, cottagers, and plague, Ordinary Wonder Tales reveals the essential truth: if you let yourself look closely, there is magic in the everyday.Analysis of the impact of monopolistic practices on the American economy and the ability of Americans outside of the top…
one-percent of wealth class to achieve the mythical "American dream." Topics include the history of monopolies in the US, legislation regarding monopolies, and examples of monopolies across industries. 2020By Namwali Serpell. 2020
Professor of English at Harvard University presents five essays--intended for lectures--meditating on faces, the presentation of self in physical and…
digital spaces, and perceptions of meaning. Topics include Joseph Merrick, Hannah Crafts, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Grizzly Man, and the term e-faced. Some violence and some strong language. 2020By Louise Glück. 2017
Collection of twenty essays by the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature and author of Poems 1962-2012 (DB…
79850). Essays examine poetry and poets. The title essay deconstructs the relationship between creativity and white America's myth of itself. Some strong language. Nobel Prize. 2017By Thomas Wolf, Patricia L. Bryan. 2005
In December 1900, a prosperous Iowa farmer was murdered in his bed--killed by two blows of an ax to his…
head. Four days later, the victim's wife, Margaret Hossack, was arrested and charged with the crime. The community was split by the trial which was covered by young journalist Susan Glaspell, later an acclaimed writer. Co-author is Thomas Wolf. Unrated. 2005By Audre Lorde, Roxane Gay. 2020
Collection of essays and poems by the author of A Burst of Light (DB 91119) exploring being black, a woman,…
a lesbian, and the intersection of those identities. Edited by and includes an introduction from Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist (DB 80463). Violence and strong language. 2020