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The golden spruce: A True Story Of Myth, Madness And Greed
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.The great fire
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.The fighting Newfoundlander: a history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (Carleton library series ; #209)
By G. W. L Nicholson. 2006
When the First World War began, Newfoundland had been without any kind of military organisation for more than half a…
century, so public-spirited citizens immediately formed themselves into a Patriotic Association, and within sixty days had recruited, partially equipped and dispatched 537 officers and men overseas. Nicholson details the harrowing experiences of the Newfoundland Regiment at Gallipoli, Beaumont Hamel, the Third Battle of Ypres and Cambrai, for which they were granted the title "Royal" - the only army unit to receive such a distinction during World War I. Some descriptions of violence. 2006.The forgotten trail: one man's adventures on the Canadian route to the Klondike
By Larry Pynn. 1996
In 1992, Vancouver Sun journalist Larry Pynn decided to undertake an adventure. He followed the old Stikine Trail in the…
Yukon, by foot, horseback and canoe, to the Klondike. He discovered many relics, met colourful characters, and relived Canadian gold rush history.The First World War
By John Keegan. 1998
The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unparalleled ferocity which extended far beyond its European epicentre,…
it broke the century of relative peace and prosperity which we associate with the Victorian era and unleashed the demons of the twentieth century - pestilence, military destruction and mass death - and also the ideas which continue to shape our world today - modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, and radical ideas about economics and society. Includes violence. 1998.In the winter trenches and flak-filled skies of World War I, soldiers and pilots alike might avoid death, only to…
find themselves imprisoned in Germany's archipelago of POW camps, often in abominable conditions. The most infamous was Holzminden, a land-locked Alcatraz of sorts that housed the most troublesome, escape-prone prisoners. Its commandant was a boorish, hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer who swore that none should ever leave. Desperate to break out of "Hellminden" and return to the fight, a group of Allied prisoners led by ace pilot (and former Army sapper) David Gray hatch an elaborate escape plan. Their plot demands a risky feat of engineering as well as a bevy of disguises, forged documents, fake walls, and steely resolve. Once beyond the watch towers and round-the-clock patrols, Gray and almost a dozen of his half-starved fellow prisoners must then make a heroic 150 mile dash through enemy-occupied territory towards free Holland. Drawing on never-before-seen memoirs and letters, Bascomb brings this narrative to cinematic life, amid the twilight of the British Empire and the darkest, most savage hours of the fight against Germany. At turns tragic, funny, inspirational, and nail-biting suspenseful, this is the little-known story of the biggest POW breakout of the Great War. 2018.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 empathy exams: essays
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.The Harvey girls: women who opened the West
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.The horizontal Everest: extreme journeys on Ellesmere Island
By Jerry Kobalenko. 2002
Ellesmere Island lays a mere 450 miles from the North Pole and has the highest peaks in the Western Hemisphere…
east of the Rockies. For more than a decade, Kobalenko has traced the routes of explorers and Inuits, and broken many new trails across the frozen terrain of Ellesmere Island. He investigates the motives and mistakes of the island's first explorers, searches for clues to the mysterious disappearance of scientist-explorer Dr. Hans Kruger and the murder of an Inuit guide. 2002.The Hiroshima Maidens: a story of courage, compassion, and survival
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.The great rescue: American heroes, an iconic ship, and the race to save Europe in WWI
By Peter Hernon. 2017
For German u-boats hunting Allied ships in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, no target was as prized as the…
Leviathan, carrying more than 10,000 doughboys per crossing. But the Germans were not the only deadly force threatening the ship and its passengers. In 1918, a devastating influenza pandemic--the Spanish flu--spread throughout the globe, predominantly striking healthy young adults, including soldiers. Peter Hernon tells the ship's story across multiple voyages and through the experiences of a diverse cast of participants. 2017.The Great Lakes
By Pierre Berton. 1996
Berton relates the history of the Great Lakes and the humans who have lived around them. From their birth during…
the Ice Age to the fight to save them from pollution, Berton tells the many stories which their shores have witnessed. 1996.The Great War and modern memory
By Paul Fussell. 1975
Examines the British experience during World War I through the eyes of writers Siegfried Sasson, Robert Graves, and Edmund Blunden;…
through the poetry of David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg and Wilfred Owen; and through the amateur memoirs of the men in the trenches. 1975.The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an experiment in literary investigation
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.The dogs are eating them now: our war in Afghanistan
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.The devil's cinema: the untold story behind Mark Twitchell's kill room
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.The day the world came to town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
By Jim DeFede. 2002
As flights were temporarily grounded following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the town of Gander found itself hosting over 6,000 stranded…
commercial airline passengers. The people of Gander put up the unexpected guests in schools, community centres and even their own homes. A heartwarming story of strangers being greeted with exemplary kindness. 2002.The collected poems of F.R. Scott
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: PoemsThe compassion of animals: true stories of animal courage and kindness
By 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.