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Showing 1 - 20 of 25 items
The concubine's children: portrait of a family divided
By Denise Chong. 1994
Chong traces her family's history from China to Canada. Her grandfather left his wife and emigrated to Canada, accompanied by…
the concubine he bought in 1924. In Canada, they stinted and sacrificed to support his family in China. Chong tells of her grandparents and parents, and the visits she made to China to try to unite the strands of her family's past. Winner of the 1995 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award. 1994.The bite of the mango
By Mariatu Kamara, Susan McClelland. 2008
Sierra Leone. At the age of 12, Mariatu Kamara was raped by a family friend, then captured by rebels who…
cut off her hands. Despite her wounds, Kamara walked out of the bush and sought help, ending up in an amputee camp, where she gave birth to a son who died of malnutrition. When foreign journalists interviewed Kamara in the camp, her story garnered international interest and assistance, which eventually brought her to Toronto. Her autobiography testifies to Kamara's horrific trauma, but with the aim of fostering hope and reconciliation. Winner of the 2011 Red Maple Non-Fiction Award. For junior high and older readers. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.Ten green bottles: the true story of one family's journey from war-torn Austria to the ghettos of Shanghai
By Vivian Jeanette Kaplan. 2002
For a brief period between 1938 and 1941, roughly 20,000 Jews found refuge from the Nazis in the one place…
not requiring visas, police certificates or proofs of financial independence: Shanghai. In 1939, the author's family made a month-long, 7,000-mile journey to Shanghai, struggling with heat, disease, poverty, and fear. With the war's end came the shock of learning what became of family and friends left behind in Europe. Descriptions of violence. 2002.Shadow maker: the life of Gwendolyn MacEwen
By Rosemary Sullivan. 1995
Using the personal impressions of the poet's intimate friends, Rosemary Sullivan builds a composite portrait of Gwendolyn MacEwan, the Toronto…
poet who died in 1987 at the age of 46. The daughter of an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, MacEwen's story is a painful one, yet the richness of her art and inner life redeemed the pain. Winner of the 1995 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction.Sailors, slackers, and blind pigs: Halifax at war
By Stephen Kimber. 2002
In May 1945, the city of Halifax erupted in a riot - a two-day orgy or boozing, looting, window-smashing, dancing…
in the streets, public fornication, and mindless mayhem to 'celebrate' the end of the war. The paternalism, privations, overcrowding, and tensions of a city at war created a situation waiting to explode, and an admiral's pride provided the match that set it off. Includes interviews with the people who lived through it - sailors, slackers (civilians), street urchins, prohibitionists, spies, profiteers, reporters, and just plain local folks. Some strong language. Winner of the 2004 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award. 2002.Les artisans de la paix: comment Lloyd George, Clemenceau et Wilson ont redessiné la carte du monde
By Margaret MacMillan. 2006
Paris, 1919 : après la " guerre qui devait mettre fin à toutes les guerres ", des hommes et des…
femmes de tous les pays convergent vers la capitale pour la conférence de la Paix où va se redessiner la carte du monde. Outre les représentants des plus grandes puissances victorieuses - Wilson, Lloyd George et Clemenceau -, affluent journalistes, ambassadeurs et porte-parole de cent causes différentes - de T.E. Lawrence à la reine Marie de Roumanie, en passant par J.M. Keynes et Hô Chi Minh. Paris est alors le centre du monde, le lieu où se liquident les empires, où naissent de nouveaux pays, et où vont se nouer drames et malentendus. Quelques descriptions de violence. 2006. Titre uniforme: The peacemakers.Canadian Tire was founded by A.J. and John Billes in 1922 and grew to become a national institution. In 1986,…
one of A.J.'s sons decided to sell his company shares to a group of Canadian Tire dealers, sparking a feud with his sister, Martha. 1990 winner of the National Business Book Award. Strong language.Canada: a story of challenge
By J. M. S Careless. 1991
A brief history of Canada, covering the period from Cartier and Champlain to the arrival of Pierre Elliott Trudeau on…
the political scene. It covers the major historical events and the forces which have shaped our country. Originally written in 1953, this is the updated 1970 version. Winner of the 1953 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction.A good place to come from
By Morley Torgov. 1974
An account of life in a small town community in Sault Ste. Marie in the late 1930's and early 1940's.…
Winner of the 1975 Stephen Leacock Award for humour. Strong language. 1974.The private capital: ambition and love in the age of Macdonald and Laurier
By Sandra Gwyn. 1984
A compelling account of private life in the age of Macdonald and Laurier. The author has used personal letters, diaries,…
scrapbooks, memoirs and social columns. 1984 Governor General's Award winner. c1984.Wow, Canada!: exploring this land from coast to coast to coast (Wow Canada! Ser.)
By Vivien Bowers. 1999
12-year-old Guy keeps a journal as he tours Canada with his parents and younger sister, Rachel. Learn about each province…
and territory, with information about major cities along the way, and other fun Canadian facts in sections like "According to Mom/Dad", "Exceedingly Weird", and "Food I Was Introduced to for My Own Good". Also included is "Guy's Family Car Trip Survival Tips". Grades 3-6. 1999.The year of magical thinking
By Joan Didion. 2005
Writer reflects on her emotional response to the unexpected death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, after a visit to…
their comatose daughter. Discusses the shock of suddenly facing a crisis, the memory of their time together as a family, and the meaning of marriage. National Book Award. Bestseller. 2005.Confessions of an immigrant's daughter (Social History of Canada. #34.)
By Laura Goodman Salverson, K. P Stich. 1981
Salverson's autobiography describes the struggles of a young Icelandic woman to rise above an early life of poverty, isolation and…
upheaval. It also depicts the sometimes agonizing process of the immigrant, adjusting to a life in a new country. It discusses the discrimination against women and ethnic minorities she encountered as she attempted to fulfill her own dreams. Winner of the 1939 Governor General's Award. (Social History of Canada ; 34)In Persephone anything can happen, and often does. The Township's history stretches back to before the birth of Canada, and…
is connected to such famous people as Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and the future King Edward VII. It has also been home to more shady characters. Winner of the 2003 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal. 2002.Vimy
By Pierre Berton. 1986
In 1917, the Canadian Corps seized and held the best-defended German bastion on the Western Front, a feat thought impossible…
by the British, French and German forces. The author believes they succeeded because the men were civilians, with flexible minds unfettered by military rules. Bestseller 1986. Winner of the 1987 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award.Village of the small houses: a memoir of sorts
By Ian Ferguson. 2003
Ferguson has crafted a delightfully idiosyncratic account of growing up in the North, where Fort Vermilion Alberta seemed as exotic…
as Australia or Mexico. The memorable cast of characters includes Lloyd Loonskin, Sixtoes Mitchell, Ellen "No Refunds" McTeer, and Ferguson's father Hank, a con man of consummate charm. 2003.The first major effort to portray the intellectual forces which have moulded the thinking and writing of those English-speaking historians…
who sought to explain our past during the period 1900-1970. Winner of the Governor General's Award. 1976.The siren years: a Canadian diplomat abroad, 1937-1945 (Macmillan paperbacks ; #19)
By Charles Ritchie. 1974
A volume from the author's published diaries which takes the reader through the diplomatic corridors and drawing rooms of prewar…
Washington, wartime England, and Europe. Ritchie's observations of world events include insights into the ins and outs of the diplomatic world, portraits of politicians, socialites, and literary lions, and candour about his own enthusiasms. Winner of the 1974 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction.The Russian album
By Michael Ignatieff. 1987
Through the use of his grandparents' diaries, the author recreates his family history. The Ignatieffs, firmly entrenched in the Russian…
nobility, served in the tsarist government. In late 1917, the events of the Revolution overtook the family and they chose exile in the West. 1987 Governor General's Award winner. 1987.The right cheek: an autobiography (The French writers of Canada series)
By Claire Martin. 1968
In the second part of her autobiography, the author describes her adolescence and early womanhood in her father's house, one…
of gloom and oppressive brutality. The attitudes of the times towards sex and women are bitterly attacked and ridiculed. Sequel to "In an iron glove" (DC00901). 1975, c1968. Uniform title: Dans un gant de fer, v. 2, La joue droite.