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Showing 1 - 20 of 4575 items
By John Vaillant. 2005
In 1997, when a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an Alaskan island north of the Canadian border,…
they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. The author braids together the strands of this mystery and brings to life the historical collision of Europeans and the Haida and the harrowing world of logging. Canada Reads 2012. Winner of the 2005 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. Bestseller. 2005.By Jim Murphy. 1995
An account of the conflagration that levelled much of Chicago in 1871. Chronicles events from the fire's outbreak and rapid…
spread to its extinguishment by rain, as reported by survivors and in documents of the period. Examines the origins, circumstances, and official failures that contributed to the disaster. Grades 5-8. A 1996 Newbery Honor Book. c1995.By Linda Spalding. 1998
The author recounts her expedition into the forests of Borneo in search of a reclusive primatologist, who has devoted her…
life to protecting orphaned orangutans. Describes the beauty of the island, the local society, and the despoilment of natural resources through poaching, deforestation, and misguided ecotourism. 1998.By Deborah Cadbury. 2000
The text tells the story of the bitter feud between Gideon Mantell, who uncovered giant bones in a Sussex quarry…
and became obsessed with the ancient past and Richard Owen, patronised by royalty, the Prime Minister and the aristocracy, who scooped the credit for the discovery of the dinosaurs. Their struggle was to create a new science that would change man's perception of his place in the universe. 2000.By Barry M Gough. 2014
Born in Connecticut in 1739, Peter Pond volunteered for the colonial Connecticut and New York regiments that fought against the…
French for control of North America. Soon after, drawn by the promise of wealth and adventure, Pond paddled into the wild territory of the Indians to the west with only a canoe, some trade goods and a few French Canadians to aid him. What he returned with is the stuff of legend. 2014.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.By Chris Bonington. 1987
At the age of 50, the author, one of the world's best-known mountaineers, reached the summit of Mount Everest in…
1985 after four attempts. He chronicles his Everest expeditions and the ascent of Mount Vinson in the Antarctic with Frank Wells. 1987.By Leslie Jamison. 2014
A collection of essays explores empathy, using topics ranging from street violence and incarceration to reality television and literary sentimentality…
to ask questions about people's understanding of and relationships with others. Winner of the Gray Wolf Press Nonfiction Prize. 2014. The empathy exams -- Devil's bait -- La frontera -- Morphology of the hit -- Pain tours (I) : La plata perdida ; Sublime, revised ; Indigenous to the hood -- The immortal horizon -- In defense of saccharin(e) -- Fog count -- Pain tours (II) : Ex-votos ; Servicio supercompleto ; The broken heart of James Agee -- Lost boys -- Grand unified theory of female pain -- Judge's afterword / A conversation with Leslie Jamison. Uniform title: Essays.By Lesley Poling-Kempes. 1989
From the 1880s to the 1950s, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa…
Fe railway. At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque," they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region. Interviews, historical research, and photographs help re-create the Harvey Girl experience. The accounts are personal, but laced with the history the women lived: the dust bowl, the depression, and anecdotes about some of the many famous people who ate at the restaurants--Teddy Roosevelt, Shirley Temple, Bob Hope, to name a few. Winner of the 1991 New Mexico PressWomen's ZIA award. 1989.By Adrian J Desmond. 1976
Science historian draws on recent, revolutionary discoveries to present a new picture of dinosaurs and their world. Takes exception to…
the long-held myth that these beasts were sluggish, small brained, giant lizards. 1976.By Rodney Barker. 1985
Japanese women who underwent surgery in the U.S. to repair the ravages caused by the atomic blast became known as…
the "Hiroshima maidens". The author documents the medical, humanitarian and diplomatic undertaking that brought them to the States. 1985.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 MuhammadBy Howard H Snyder. 1973
By Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit͡ìsyn. 1973
Drawn from reports, letters, witnesses, and the Nobel Prize winner's own 11-year incarceration at Archipelago. This is an intense portrayal…
of the history of the Soviet prison system. Bestseller. 1973. Uniform title: Arkhipelag GULag, 1918-1956.By Wayne Grady. 1993
In 1985, a party of Canadian and Chinese scientists embarked on a five-year treasure hunt in China's Gobi Desert, the…
badlands of Alberta and Canada's Arctic. They hoped to answer questions about dinosaur behaviour, migration, and evolution. 1993.By Sarah Murgatroyd. 2003
In 1860, an eccentric Irish police officer named Robert O'Hara Burke set out to Melbourne at the head of the…
most ambitious expedition of his age. Up until this point Australia had remained a truly dark continent, but times were changing. On 20 August Burke and his team of eighteen men made a confident start - journeying north towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. Accompanied by William Wills, a shy English scientist, he was prepared to risk everything to cross the continent. Meanwhile, John McDouall Stuart, a dour Scotsman with a fondness for the bottle, was already trekking north from Adelaide. The race was on. 2003.By Graeme Smith. 2013
Graeme Smith’s highly personal narrative of Canada's war in Afghanistan and how it went dangerously wrong. This is a gripping…
account of modern warfare that takes you into back alleys, cockpits and prisons -- telling stories that would have endangered his life had he published this book while still working as a journalist. Winner of the 2013 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. 2013.By Steve Lillebuen. 2012
On the night of October 10, 2008, Johnny Altinger was heading to his first date with a woman he had…
met online. He was never seen again. Two weeks earlier, aspiring filmmaker Mark Twitchell, with a devotion to the television series Dexter, began a three-day shoot for his latest short film. His horror story featured a serial killer who impersonates women on an online dating site to lure unsuspecting men to his suburban kill room. But his script was actually the blueprint for a real-life murder. Includes violence and strong language. Winner of the 2013 Arthur Ellis Best Crime Non-fiction Award. c2012.By F. R Scott. 1981
Scott was a historian and lawyer, but foremost a poet. This collection, which was organized by Scott himself, shows both…
a reflective man and a public figure committed to human progress. Winner of the 1981 Governor General's Award for Poetry. 1981. Uniform title: PoemsBy Kristin Von Kreisler. 1997
The author presents a collection of anecdotes to demonstrate that animals are capable of being kind and compassionate. She tells…
of animals that helped their owners during medical emergencies, of those that rescued people, and of others who assisted in providing emotional therapy. Her subjects include dogs, cats, pigs, horses, and even an iguana. 1997.