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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 end of diabetes: the eat to live plan to prevent and reverse diabetes
By Joel Fuhrman. 2012
The New York Times bestselling author of "Eat to Live" and "Super Immunity", and one of the country's leading experts…
on preventive medicine, offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse diabetes - without drugs. Bestseller. 2013, c2012.The heirs of the prophet Muhammad: Islam's first century and the origins of the Sunni-Shia schism
By Barnaby Rogerson. 2006
Within a generation of Muhammad's death, his followers exploded out of Arabia to confront the two great superpowers of the…
seventh-century and establish Islam and a new civilization. Coming from small oasis communities of central Arabia, their achievements were immense. Rogerson also identifies the seeds of discord that destroyed the unity of Islam, and traces the roots of the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Some descriptions of violence. 2006. Uniform title: Heirs of the prophet MuhammadThe boy on the beach: my family’s escape from Syria and our hope for a new home
By Tima Kurdi. 2018
Alan Kurdi's body washed up on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea on September 2, 2015, and overnight, the political…
became personal, as the world awoke to the reality of the Syrian refugee crisis. Tima Kurdi first saw the shocking photo of her nephew in her home in Vancouver, Canada. Tima recounts her idyllic childhood in Syria, where she grew up with her brother Abdullah and other siblings in a tight knit family. A strong willed, independent woman, Tima studied to be a hairdresser and had dreams of seeing the world. At twenty two, she emigrated to Canada, but much of her family remained in Damascus. As Tima struggled to adapt to life in a new land, war overtook her homeland. Caught in the crosshairs of civil war, her family risked everything and fled their homes. Tima worked tirelessly to help them find safety, but their journey was far from easy. Although thwarted by politics, hounded by violence, and separated by vast distances, the Kurdis never gave up hope. And when tragedy struck, Tima suddenly found herself thrust onto the world stage as an advocate for refugees everywhere, a role for which she had never prepared but that allowed her to give voice to those who didn't have an opportunity to speak for themselves. Bestseller. 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.The ballad of Danny Wolfe: life of a modern outlaw
By Joe Friesen. 2016
In 2008, Danny Wolfe, a Winnipeg Aboriginal man, was 31-years-old and awaiting trial on two counts of first-degree murder in…
at the Regina Correctional Centre. In spite of his young age, Danny had found himself in and out of correctional facilities since his teenage years, sometimes even finding his own way out. Now, fifteen years after his last break out of prison, Danny was orchestrating a bigger escape from a jail where the notion was inconceivable. This biography traces the early years of Daniel Wolfe's life, from his birth in Regina to his mother Susan Creeley, a First Nations woman; to his first brush with the law at the age of four and then his subsequent arrests; to the birth of the Indian Posse--the Aboriginal street gang in Canada that would eventually claim the title of the largest street gang in North America with over 12,000 members (from BC to Ontario, and even Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona) and Danny at the helm; to Danny's death in 2010. Bestseller. 2016.Strength of conviction
By Tom Mulcair. 2015
The inside story of Thomas Mulcair's rise from modest beginnings to the threshold of power. Discover the man behind the…
headlines, who he is, how he thinks, and the struggles he faced - from fighting sexual misconduct, to protecting our environment, to his work alongside Jack Layton leading the NDP to a historic breakthrough in Quebec. Bestseller. 2015.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.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.Precious cargo: my year driving the kids on school bus 3077
By Craig Davidson. 2016
Tells the story of one year in the author's life - driving a school bus full of special-needs kids. Shows…
us how his evolving relationship with the kids on that bus, each of them struggling physically as well as emotionally and socially, slowly but surely changed his life along with the lives of the precious cargo in his care. Bestseller. Canada Reads 2018. 2016.Payback: debt and the shadow side of wealth (CBC Massey lectures)
By Margaret Atwood. 2008
Author and poet Atwood looks at debt, which she describes as air - something we take for granted until things…
go wrong, and then, while gasping for breath, become very interested in. While not a book about practical debt management or high finance, although it does touch upon these subjects, it is an investigation into the idea of debt as an ancient and central motif in religion, literature, and the structure of human societies. 2008.Our turn
By Kirstine Stewart. 2015
Kirstine Stewart got her first job when she applied for a position as a "girl Friday" at a film distribution…
house. Having worked her way up from the bottom--under women and men, leaders good and bad--she believes it's time we leaped past the question of how women might create change in the working world and exploit the fact that profound change is already under way. The digital revolution, and the wave of millennials who are entering the work force with very different expectations than the generations who preceded them, have created a new reality that demands a new style of leader with attributes and perspectives that make women the natural front-runners. The opportunity is there. The question Stewart tackles is, how do we seize it? Bestseller. 2015.Open heart, open mind
By Clara Hughes. 2015
From one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians comes a raw but life-affirming story of one woman’s struggle with mental illness.…
After more than a decade in the gruelling world of professional sports that stripped away her confidence and bruised her body, Clara Hughes began to realize that her physical extremes, her emotional setbacks, and her partying habits were masking a severe depression. After winning bronze in the last speed skating race of her career, she decided to retire from that sport, determined to repair herself. She has emerged as one of our most committed humanitarians, advocating for a variety of social causes in Canada and around the world. Bestseller. 2015.Open your eyes: 10 uncommon lessons to discover a happier life
By Jake Olson, McKay Christensen. 2013
Management professor Christensen details the faith-based perseverance of Olson (born 1997), who was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at the age of…
eight months and lost his second eye to cancer in 2009. Offers suggestions for overcoming challenges, such as making happiness a habit and developing the winner within you. 2013.Nine lessons I learned from my father
By Murray Howe. 2017
Unlike his two brothers, Murray Howe failed in his attempt to follow in his father's footsteps to become a professional…
athlete. Yet, his failure brought him to the realization that in truth, his dream wasn't to be a pro hockey player. His dream was to be his father, Gordie Howe. To be amazing at something, but humble and gracious. To be courageous, and stand up for the little guy. To be a hero. You don't need to be a hockey player to do that. What he learned was that it is a waste of time wishing you were like someone else. We need to identify and embrace our gifts. Gordie Howe may have been the greatest player in the history of hockey, but greatness was never defined by goals or assists in the Howe household. Greatness meant being the best person you could be, not the best player on the ice. Bestseller. 2017.Nation maker: Sir John A. Macdonald : his life, our times, volume two : 1867-1891
By Richard Gwyn. 2011
From Confederation Day in 1867, John A. Macdonald finessed a reluctant union of four provinces in central and eastern Canada…
into a strong nation, despite indifference from Britain and annexationist sentiment in the United States. Macdonald faced constant crises, from Louis Riel's two rebellions through to the Pacific Scandal that almost undid his government. Gwyn paints a portrait of Canada and its leaders through these formative years and also shows us Macdonald the man, as he wrestles with whether Riel should hang, marries for the second time, deals with the birth of a disabled child, and the assassination of his close friend Darcy McGee. Some descriptions of violence. Sequel to “John A: the man who made us : the life and times of John A. Macdonald” (DC31710). Winner of the 2011 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. c2011.