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The great escape: the untold story
By Ted Barris. 2014
On the night of March 24, 1944, eighty airmen crawled through a 400-foot-long tunnel, code-named "Harry," and dashed from Stalag…
Luft III, the infamous WWII German POW camp. It became known as The Great Escape. The breakout had taken a year to plan, involved 2,000 POWs, and prompted a massive manhunt across occupied Europe. All but three escapees were recaptured, and on Hitler’s orders, fifty were murdered. The author recounts this battle of wits and determination through the voices of those involved, assembles original interviews, memoirs, letters and diaries to reconstruct the Great Escape’s untold story. Bestseller. 2014.The gatekeepers: inside the admissions process of a premier college
By Jacques Steinberg. 2003
In the fall of 1999, New York Times education reporter Jacques Steinberg was given the opportunity to observe the admissions…
process at prestigious Wesleyan University. Over the course of nearly a year, Steinberg accompanied admissions officer Ralph Figueroa on a tour to assess and recruit the most promising students in the country. The Gatekeepers follows a diverse group of prospective students as they compete for places in the nation's most elite colleges. Some strong language. 2002.The fog of war: censorship of Canada's media in World War Two
By Mark Bourrie. 2011
The Canadian government censored the news during World War II for two main reasons: to keep military and economic secrets…
out of enemy hands and to prevent civilian morale from breaking down. But in those tumultuous times - with Nazi spies landing on our shores by raft, U-boat attacks in the St. Lawrence, army mutinies in British Columbia and Ontario, and pro-Hitler propaganda in the mainstream Quebec press - censors had a hard time keeping news events contained. Now, with freshly unsealed World War II press-censor files, many of the undocumented events that occurred in wartime Canada are finally revealed. c2011.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 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 Bin Ladens: an Arabian family in the American century
By Steve Coll. 2008
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Ghost Wars" (DC26423) outlines the history of the Arabian Peninsula's Bin Laden family. Begins with patriarch…
Mohamed Bin Laden, an illiterate Yemeni bricklayer who established a building company in Saudi Arabia in 1931 and fathered fifty-four children. Charts the path of son Osama. Some descriptions of violence. Bestseller. c2008.The beautiful and the damned: a portrait of the new India
By Siddhartha Deb. 2011
In 2004, Deb returned to India from New York and discovered that sweeping change had overtaken the country, due to…
the globalization of its economy, the relaxation of trade rules, and the growth in technology. Visiting the metropolises, small towns, and villages, as well as both gated suburban communities and camps for displaced peasants, Deb offers a view of the changes in landscape and urban geography, creating a narrative of the people who make up the world's second-most populous nation. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex and some descriptions of violence. c2011.Tales the elders told: Ojibway legends
By Basil Johnston. 1981
These legends, which include "Why birds go south in winter" and "The first butterflies", are an integral part of the…
spiritual and cultural heritage of the Ojibway people. For all ages.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.Stones into schools: promoting peace with books, not bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan
By Greg Mortenson. 2009
Author of "Three Cups of Tea" and cofounder of the Central Asia Institute chronicles his school-building efforts and promotion of…
female literacy in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Discusses Mortenson's long-term goals and shares anecdotes about those impacted by his work. Bestseller. 2009.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.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.Satanic purses: money, myth, and misinformation in the war on terror
By R. T Naylor. 2006
Naylor exposes the post 9/11 global War on Islamic Terror as based on myth, misinformation, and even deliberate disinformation -…
all of it premised on misguided notions about the nature of terrorist financing and the structure and organization of terrorist groups. Naylor believes that the secret agendas behind, and the private interests that profit from, an illusory War on Terror may be far more dangerous than the events that led to it. Some descriptions of violence. 2006.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.Pink is for blobfish: discovering the world's perfectly pink animals
By Jess Keating. 2016
Some people think pink is a pretty colour. A fluffy, sparkly, princess-y colour. But it's so much more. Sure, pink…
is the colour of princesses and bubblegum, but it's also the colour of monster slugs and poisonous insects. Not to mention ultra-intelligent dolphins, naked mole rats and bizarre, bloated blobfish. Isn't it about time to rethink pink? Grades 3-6. Winner of the 2017 Silver Birch Express Honour Book Award. 2016.