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Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada
By Stephen Bown. 2023
A thrilling new account of the engineering triumph that created a nationIn The Company, his bestselling work of revisionist history,…
Stephen R. Bown told the dramatic, adventurous and bloody tale of Canada's origins in the fur trade. With Dominion he continues the nation's creation story with an equally gripping and eye-opening account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.In the late 19th century, demand for fur was in sharp decline. This could have spelled economic disaster for the venerable Hudson's Bay Company. But an idea emerged in political and business circles in Ottawa and Montreal to connect the disparate British colonies into a single entity that would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With over 3,000 kilometres of track, much of it driven through wildly inhospitable terrain, the CPR would be the longest railway in the world and the most difficult to build. Its construction was the defining event of its era and a catalyst for powerful global forces.The times were marked by greed, hubris, blatant empire building, oppression, corruption and theft. They were good for some, hard for most, disastrous for others. The CPR enabled a new country, but it came at a terrible price.Stephen R. Bown again widens our view of the past to include the adventures and hardships of explorers and surveyors, the resistance of Indigenous peoples, and the terrific and horrific work of many thousands of labourers. His vivid portrayal of the powerful forces that were moulding the world in the late 19th century provides a revelatory new picture of modern Canada's creation as an independent state.Hand Drawn Victoria: An Illustrated Tour in and around BC's Capital City (Hand Drawn)
By Emma FitzGerald. 2024
For locals and visitors alike, these sketches and stories highlight both the historic monuments and everyday moments that make Victoria…
shine.You never know quite what you&’ll come across in British Columbia&’s capital city. With its unmissable landmarks that attract people from around the world, Victoria is also rich in forested beauty, charming houses, and curious people, and is steeped in local history.Following the charm of her previous book, Hand Drawn Vancouver, in this memorable book, Emma FitzGerald captures the coastal city of Victoria and its surrounding communities in over 100 sketches of:Iconic Landmarks: It wouldn&’t be a visit to Victoria without stopping by the Empress, Munro&’s, or Butchart Gardens.Local Favourites: The longstanding Beacon Drive In and James Bay&’s Birdcage Confectionary are some beloved spots honoured within these pages.Beautiful Architecture: Journey back in time by admiring historic buildings, like Queen Anne–style homes and the spiraling Belfry Theatre.Stunning West Coast Landscape: Explore natural wonders, from culturally significant fields of camas flowers to Mystic Beach&’s stunning shoreline.Overheard Conversations: What really makes a city are the people who live there—Emma documents snippets of passersby&’s conversations as she sketches.Structured by neighbourhood, Hand Drawn Victoria is a beautiful keepsake for both locals and visitors, and a lovely way to celebrate the city—its buildings, its people, and its essence.International Trade Finance and Forex Operations: Theory and Application
By Gargi Sanati. 2024
This book bridges the existing gap between the theory and practices related to international finance. It discusses banking theories and…
operational procedures relating to the methods of payment with special reference to Letters of credit (LCs), like revolving LCs, back-to-back LCs, transferable LCs, and standby LCs, with specific applications of documentary discrepancies. Moreover, this book discusses merchanting trade, buyers’ credit and supplier’s credit, and bank guarantees with many practical caselets, linked to the applications of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and other regulatory rules. It also examines the various roles of banks in financing international trade which are extensively discussed through several cases.This volume: Explains in-depth the intricacies and discrepancies relating to the documentation involved in international trade Presents in detail the various steps of executing an export or import deal, right from signing of the contract, managing pre-shipment credit, and booking a forward contract to hedge the exchange rate risk till the closing of the deal Gives a comprehensive account of all trade finance products with processes and procedures, rules, and regulations, and risks and mitigates Discusses the application of ICC rules through detailed case-lets, which helps an exporter take necessary actions when the payment is denied by a party overseas, or how an importer can simply deny the payment if there is documentary noncompliance Scrutinises different types of forex transactions, the regulatory framework within which they take place, and the associated risks and solutions Attempts to resolve the existing disparity in the understanding and interpretation of regulatory guidelines and the practices adopted by banks and corporate houses in implementing them. Accessibly written, this book will be useful to students, researchers, and teachers from the fields of management, business studies, international trade and treasury operations, finance, international banking, trade and commerce, and economics. This will also be an invaluable companion to the professionals working in export–import businesses, foreign exchange businesses, treasury front-office and back-office operations, bureaucrats, and public policymakers.The Road to Freedom: Economics And The Good Society
By Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2024
From one of the world’s leading economists, a compelling new vision of personal and economic freedom. We are a nation…
born from the conviction that people must be free. But since the middle of the last century, that idea has been co-opted. Forces on the political Right have justified exploitation by cloaking it in the rhetoric of freedom, leading to pharmaceutical companies freely overcharging for medication, a Big Tech free from oversight, politicians free to incite rebellion, corporations free to pollute, and more. How did we get here? Whose freedom are we—and should we—be thinking about? In The Road to Freedom, Nobel prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz dissects America’s current economic system and the political ideology that created it, laying bare their twinned failure. “Free” and unfettered markets have only succeeded in delivering a series of crises: the financial crisis, the opioid crisis, and the crisis of inequality. While a small portion of the population has amassed considerable wealth, wages for most people have stagnated. Free and unfettered markets have exploited consumers, workers, and the environment alike. Such failures have fed populist movements that believe being free means abandoning any obligations citizens have to one another. As they grow in strength, these movements now pose a real threat to true economic and political freedom. As an economic advisor to presidents and as chief economist at the World Bank, Stiglitz has witnessed these profound changes firsthand. As he argues, the failures follow from the elites’ unshakeable dedication to “the neoliberal experiment.” Explicitly taking on giants such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, Stiglitz exposes accepted ideas about our political and economic life for what they are: twisted visions that tear at the social fabric while they enrich the very few. The Road to Freedom breaks new ground, showing how economics—including recent advances in which Stiglitz has played such an important role—reframes how to think about freedom and the role of the state in a twenty-first century society. Drawing on the work of contemporary philosophers, Stiglitz explains a deeper, more humane way to assess freedoms—one that considers with care what to do when one person’s freedom conflicts with another’s. We must reimagine our existing economic and legal systems and embrace forms of collective action, including regulation and investment, if we are to create an innovative society in which everyone can flourish. The task could not be more urgent, and Stiglitz’s latest book is essential reading for those committed to the American ideal of an economic and political system that delivers well-being, opportunity, and meaningful freedoms for all.The Everything War: Amazon's Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power
By Dana Mattioli. 2024
Most Anticipated by Foreign Policy • Globe and Mail • Publishers Weekly • Next Big Idea Club Must Read April Books&“Will stand as a classic.&” –…
Christopher Leonard "Riveting, shocking, and full of revelations." - Bryan BurroughFrom veteran Amazon reporter for The Wall Street Journal, The Everything War is the first untold, devastating exposé of Amazon's endless strategic greed, from destroying Main Street to remaking corporate power, in pursuit of total domination, by any means necessary. In 2017, Lina Khan published a paper that accused Amazon of being a monopoly, having grown so large, and embedded in so many industries, it was akin to a modern-day Standard Oil. Unlike Rockefeller&’s empire, however, Bezos&’s company had grown voraciously without much scrutiny. In fact, for over twenty years, Amazon had emerged as a Wall Street darling and its &“customer obsession&” approach made it indelibly attractive to consumers across the globe. But the company was not benevolent; it operated in ways that ensured it stayed on top. Lina Khan&’s paper would light a fire in Washington, and in a matter of years, she would become the head of the FTC. In 2023, the FTC filed a monopoly lawsuit against Amazon in what may become one of the largest antitrust cases in the 21st century. With unparalleled access, and having interviewed hundreds of people – from Amazon executives to competitors to small businesses who rely on its marketplace to survive – Mattioli exposes how Amazon was driven by a competitive edge to dominate every industry it entered, bulldozed all who stood in its way, reshaped the retail landscape, transformed how Wall Street evaluates companies, and altered the very nature of the global economy. It has come to control most of online retail, and uses its own sellers&’ data to compete with them through Amazon&’s own private label brands. Millions of companies and governmental agencies use AWS, paying hefty fees for the service. And, the company has purposefully avoided collecting taxes for years, exploited partners, and even copied competitors—leveraging its power to extract whatever it can, at any cost. It has continued to gain market share in disparate areas, from media to logistics and beyond. Most companies dominate one or two industries; Amazon now leads in several. And all of this was by design.The Everything War is the definitive, inside story of how it grew into one of the most powerful and feared companies in the world – and why this lawsuit opens a window into the most consequential business story of our times.Health for All: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada
By Jane Philpott. 2024
From one of Canada's most respected and high-profile health professionals (and former federal Minister of Health), a timely, practical, ambitious,…
and deeply personal call for action on health that sets out the roadmap to our future well-being.Jane Philpott has spent her life learning what makes people sick and what keeps people well. She has witnessed miracles in modern medicine. She has also watched children die of starvation in a world that has plenty of food. With Health for All, she sounds a clarion call for a radical disruption in a health care system that is broken—but not beyond repair. The vision is rooted in a deep-seated commitment to health equity.Decades ago, a few visionary Canadian leaders put laws in place to ensure health care insurance for all. But the structures to deliver that care were never fully developed as envisioned. As a result, our health systems are not comprehensive or well-coordinated. In the wake of a pandemic, we risk it all falling apart. More than six million people have no family doctor, nor any other access to primary care. Emergency rooms are routinely closed. Exhausted health workers wonder if it will ever get better. Some say we should hand health care over to the private sector. But to abandon our commitment to publicly funded health care now would only lead to more expensive and less equitable care. Philpott outlines a different solution—an ambitious, once-in-a-generation reset of health systems with universal access to primary care teams.What sets this book apart is that it’s more than a prescription for better medical care. Philpott looks at the big picture of health for all. This includes an intimate look at the personal roots of well-being: hope, belonging, meaning, and purpose. Then, through real-life stories, she examines the impact of the social determinants of health. Finally, she explains that none of this will happen without the political will to do the hard work of rebuilding a healthy society. The remedy we await is serious leadership to implement what we already know and to put the well-being of Canadians at the top of the agenda.The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman
By Gerald Friesen. 2024
The life and times of the Premier from Red River John Norquay, orphan and prodigy, was a leader among the…
Scots Cree peoples of western Canada. Born in the Red River Settlement, he farmed, hunted, traded, and taught school before becoming a legislator, cabinet minister, and, from 1878 to 1887, premier of Manitoba. Once described as Louis Riel’s alter ego, he skirmished with prime minister John A. Macdonald, clashed with railway baron George Stephen, and endured racist taunts while championing the interests of the Prairie West in battles with investment bankers, Ottawa politicians, and the CPR. His contributions to the development of Canada’s federal system and his dealings with issues of race and racism deserve attention today. Recounted here by Canadian historian Gerald Friesen, Norquay’s life story ignites contemporary conversations around the nature of empire and Canada’s own imperial past. Drawing extensively on recently opened letters and financial papers that offer new insights into his business, family, and political life, Friesen reveals Norquay to be a thoughtful statesman and generous patriarch. This masterful biography of the Premier from Red River sheds welcome light on a neglected historical figure and a tumultuous time for Canada and Manitoba.Werner Sombart and the 'Spirit' of Modern Capitalism: Rediscovering a Classic (Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism)
By Christopher Adair-Toteff. 2024
This book illuminates the work of Werner Sombart, a key contemporary of Max Weber, showing how his writing and thinking…
laid the groundwork for concepts of modern capitalism. Although the notion of the ‘spirit’ of modern capitalism is most associated with Weber, it was Sombart who first used this phrase, with Weber focusing mainly on socioeconomics while Sombart continued to develop his ideas around modern capitalism. This book critically analyses Sombart’s groundbreaking work, “Der moderne Kapitalismus” among his other writings to demonstrate how they may be read as a complementary alternative to Weber, providing a more detailed, sustained, and a comprehensive account of the genesis and nature of modern capitalism. This book will be of interest to a scholarly audience including students and researchers of the history of economic thought, as well as areas of sociology, politics, and political economy.Reconstructions of Canadian Identity: Towards Diversity and Inclusion
By Vander Tavares, Maria João Maciel Jorge. 2024
Re-envisioning multiculturalism in Canada In 1971, Canada became the first nation in the world to officially declare its bilingual and…
multicultural policies. Reconstructions of Canadian Identity examines what has changed over the past fifty years, highlighting the lived experiences of marginalized Canadians and offering insights into the critical work that lies ahead. Editors Vander Tavares and Maria João Maciel Jorge bring together a wide range of disciplines and perspectives to investigate inclusion and exclusion within the processes, discourses, and practices that forge and frame Canadian identity. Chapters analyze ways current multicultural policies continue to benefit the dominant groups and (further) harm minoritized ones. Exposing the pitfalls of established notions of Canadian identity, this volume moves traditionally othered identities—immigrant, racialized, hybridized, Indigenous, and women—to the forefront. In doing so, it reveals how these identities negotiate and claim legitimacy, arguing for a reconceptualization from the margins that truly fosters diversity and inclusion. Illustrating both the shortcomings of and possibilities for a more inclusive multiculturalism in Canada, Reconstructions of Canadian Identity invites readers to reflect on what it means to be Canadian in the twenty-first century.A Quiet Word: Lobbying, Crony Capitalism and Broken Politics in Britain
By Tamasin Cave, Andy Rowell. 2014
Q. What’s worth £2,000,000,000, answers to no-one and operates out of public sight? A. Britain’s influence industry The corporate takeover…
of democracy is no conspiracy theory – it’s happening, and it affects every aspect of our lives: the food we eat, the places we live, the temperature of our planet, how we spend our money and how our money is spent for us. And much more. A Quiet Word shows just how effectively the voice of public interest is being drowned out by the word in the ear from the professional persuaders of the lobbying industry. And if you’ve never heard about them, that’s because the most effective lobbying goes unnoticed. A Quiet Word shines the brightest of lights into one of the darkest and least-understood corners of our political culture. It is essential, urgent, authoritative reading for anyone interested in our democracy and where this country is heading. And by showing how influence is constructed, it puts power back in your hands.Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis
By Charles L. Marohn Jr., Daniel Herriges. 2024
Housing is an investment. Investment prices must go up. Housing is shelter. When the price of shelter goes up, people…
experience distress.This is the housing trap. It’s time to escape. In Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Solution to the Housing Crisis, renowned urbanists Charles (Chuck) Marohn and Daniel Herriges introduce a first-of-its-kind discussion of the tension between housing as a financial product and housing as shelter. This is the key insight that’s been missing from the Housing Crisis Conversation; and the insight that can help cities fight back against the crisis from the bottom-up.This book offers a serious, yet accessible, history of housing policy in the United States and explains how it led us to this point in time: where we face a market that is rigged against people who, only a few decades ago, could have been homeowners or stable, long-term rentals. Only local change, on a neighborhood or city-wide scale, can begin to restore balance to the housing market. Escaping the Housing Trap is the must-read resource for everyone with a stake in the future of housing in America—and that means everyone. Readers will find: Discussions of housing as an investment and how the country's neighborhoods are being transformed by the introduction of large amounts of investment Explorations of housing as shelter, including discussions of zoning policy and NIMBYism A comprehensive overview of the Strong Towns approach to solving the American housing crisisThe Politics of Public Fund Investing: How to Modify Wall Street to Fit Main Street
By Ben Finkelstein. 2006
Until now, there has never been a book to help public fund managers direct fixed-income portfolios while simultaneously balancing politics,…
or the need to preserve principal, with economics, or the need to optimize income. The Politics of Public Fund Investing approaches public fund management from the lay perspective, providing much-needed guidance to modify Wall Street strategies to serve the needs of Main Street. If you manage a public fund, if you are an elected official, or if you oversee a portfolio for a foundation or an endowment, you know the traditional money management strategy used every day on Wall Street doesn't necessarily apply to your situation. For you, investing isn't simply about economics. Wall Street strategies do not take into account election cycles, political risk factors, or the unique performance assessments public funds must undergo. When Wall Street builds a portfolio, it doesn't need to consider the opinions and desires of a wide variety of constituents, and the management of the portfolio's performance doesn't carry the same level of career risk. This groundbreaking book is the first resource ever available to the stewards of public fund investing entrusted with the responsibility to make financial decisions in this unique environment. The Politics of Public Fund Investing shows readers how to evaluate and measure their funds' performance through specific techniques, standards, and procedures. It begins by addressing the key differences between Wall Street and Main Street, explaining which methods of Wall Street are unsuited to public fund management and why. The book provides a framework for moving from a static investment policy to a dynamic investment plan, making the important distinction between what is "legal" in terms of policy and what is "suitable" in terms of the objectives of the stakeholders. The book goes on to propose exceptional and beneficial insights into appraising a fund's performance along with providing a four-step process to build a politically correct portfolio. Finally, it shows how to be safe and optimize income within the constraints of acceptable risk. Based on years of experience and invaluable research, The Politics of Public Fund Investing is an innovative, compelling, and much-needed guide to navigating the complex territory where the political environment meets public investing.NEW YORK TIMES and WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERThe former FDIC chairwoman, and one of the first people to acknowledge the…
full risk of subprime loans, offers a unique perspective on the financial crisis.Appointed by George W. Bush as the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2006, Sheila Bair witnessed the origins of the financial crisis and in 2008 became—along with Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner—one of the key public servants trying to repair the damage to the global economy. Bull by the Horns is her remarkable and refreshingly honest account of that contentious time and the struggle for reform that followed and continues to this day.A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey
By Stephen J. Harper. 1912
Drawing on extensive archival records and illustrations, histories of the sport, and newspaper files, Canada’s Prime Minister delves into the…
fascinating early years of ice hockey.In the tumultuous beginnings of hockey, the fights were as much off the ice as on it. This engaging new book is about the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the game, and the rise and fall of legendary teams pursuing the Stanley Cup. With a historian’s perspective and fan’s passion, Stephen Harper presents a riveting and often-surprising portrait, capturing everything from the physical contests on the rinks to the battles behind the scenes.Stephen Harper shows that many things have stayed the same. Rough play, fervent hometown loyalties, owner-player contract disputes, dubious news coverage, and big money were issues from the get-go. Most important in these early years was the question: Was hockey to be a game of obsessed amateurs playing for the love of the sport, or was it a game for paid professionals who would give fans what they wanted? Who should be responsible for the sport—including its bouts of violence—both on and off the ice.A century ago, rinks could melt, and by halftime the blades screwed to the players’ shoes could be sinking in mud. It was during this time that the unsuccessful Toronto Professionals of 1908 and the victorious Toronto Blue Shirts of 1914 battled for the city’s very first Stanley Cup. Against the fanatical opposition of amateur hockey leaders, these “forgotten Leafs” would lay the groundwork for the world’s most profitable hockey franchise.In paying tribute to these hockey pioneers and the contagious loyalty of their fans, Harper resurrects the history of hockey’s first decades. Lavishly illustrated with photographs of the game’s greatest arenas and earliest star players, this entertaining and original book will captivate you from start to finish.This textbook provides an introduction to cultural policy in the US, enabling both students and practitioners to understand how government…
impacts the arts and culture.Starting with an historical overview of why and how the US developed a national cultural policy, the book goes on to trace the contemporary system of national, state, and local arts and cultural agencies through which that policy is put into practice. Readers are provided both in-depth frameworks for conceptualizing how government regulation and provision shape the arts and culture and carefully illustrated examples of cultural policy in action. Covering critical issues in US cultural policy such as the Culture Wars, culture-led development and gentrification, and field-wide data and research capacities, the book builds a bridge between theory, practice, and politics in the arts and culture. This new edition includes enhanced visualizations and policy maps, expanded policy labs, and a new section on cultural policy during COVID-19.The result is a text that is essential reading for students and reflective practitioners of arts and cultural management and administration.Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement
By Peter McFarlane, Doreen Manuel. 2020
Charged with fresh material and new perspectives, this updated edition of the groundbreaking biography Brotherhood to Nationhood brings George Manuel and…
his fighting tradition into the present. George Manuel (1920–1989) was the strategist and visionary behind the modern Indigenous movement in Canada. A three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, he laid the groundwork for what would become the Assembly of First Nations and was the founding president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. Authors Peter McFarlane and Doreen Manuel follow him on a riveting journey from his childhood on a Shuswap reserve through three decades of fierce and dedicated activism. In these pages, an all-new foreword by celebrated Mi'kmaq lawyer and activist Pam Palmater is joined by an afterword from Manuel’s granddaughter, land defender Kanahus Manuel. This edition features new photos and previously untold stories of the pivotal roles that the women of the Manuel family played – and continue to play – in the battle for Indigenous rights.In Reasoning Otherwise, author Ian McKay returns to the concepts and methods of “reconnaissance” first outlined in Rebels, Reds, Radicals…
to examine the people and events that led to the rise of the left in Canada from 1890 to 1920. Reasoning Otherwise highlights how a new way of looking at the world based on theories of evolution transformed struggles around class, religion, gender, and race, and culminates in a new interpretation of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. As McKay demonstrated in Rebels, Reds, Radicals, the Canadian left is alive and flourishing, and has shaped the Canadian experience in subtle and powerful ways. Reasoning Otherwise continues this tradition of offering important new insight into the deep roots of leftism in Canada. Reasoning Otherwise is the winner of the 2009 Canadian Historical Association's Sir John A. Macdonald prize.The Fire and the Ashes: Rekindling Democratic Socialism
By Andrew Jackson. 2021
In The Fire and the Ashes, long-time union economist and policy analyst Andrew Jackson looks back on a fascinating career…
in the labour movement, the NDP, and left politics, combining keen historical analysis with a political manifesto for today. As one of the few trade union economists in Canada, Jackson brings a unique insider perspective and decades of experience to bear on his critical reflections on the history and changing fortunes of the NDP, the failures of neoliberalism, and the waning and recent renewal of the democratic socialist tradition. What plays out is a battle of ideas fought by Jackson and the wider left—one meant to rekindle both political veterans and a new generation of activists who believe that a true democracy cannot exist with great inequalities of wealth and political power, and that social ownership and public investment must be brought squarely into the mainstream.Fear, Love, and Liberation in Contemporary Québec: A Feminist Reflection
By Alexa Conradi. 2019
In response to rapid and unsettling social, economic, and climate changes, fearmongering now features as a main component of public…
life. Right-wing nationalist populism has become a hallmark of politics around the world. No less so in Quebec. Alexa Conradi has made it her life’s work to understand and to generate thoughtful debate about this worrisome trend. As the first President of Québec solidaire and the president of Canada’s largest feminist organisation, the Fédération des femmes du Québec, Conradi refused to shy away from difficult issues: the Charter of Quebec Values, religion and Islam, sovereignty, rape culture and violence against women, extractive industries and the treatment of Indigenous women, austerity policy and the growing gap between rich and poor. This determination to address uncomfortable subjects has made Conradi—an anglo-Montrealer—a sometimes controversial leader. In Fear, Love, and Liberation in Contemporary Quebec, Conradi invites us to take off our rose-coloured glasses and to examine Quebec’s treatment of women with more honesty. Through her personal reflections on Quebec politics and culture, she dispels the myth that gender equality has been achieved and paves the way for a more critical understanding of what remains to be done.