Main content

Canadian nonfiction

  • Auteur:
    Downie, Mary Alice, Robertson, Barbara, Errington, Elizabeth Jane, Adamowska, Maria
    Sommaire:

    This selection of writings by twenty-nine women, known and unknown, professional and amateur, presents a unique portrait of Canada through time and space, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries, from the Maritimes to British Columbia and the Far North. There is a range of voices from high-born wives of governors general, to an Icelandic immigrant and a fisherman’s wife in Labrador. A Loyalist wife and mother describes the first hard weather in New Brunswick, a seasick nun tells of a dangerous voyage out from France, a famous children’s writer writes home about the fun of canoeing, and a German general’s wife describes habitant customs. All demonstrate how women’s experiences not only shared, but helped shape this new country.

  • Auteur:
    Colombo, John Robert
    Sommaire:

    UFOs Over Canada presents in highly readable style sixty eye-witness accounts of UFO activity over Canada. For the first time, in one book, contributors from accross the country recount their personal experiences in their own words.

  • Auteur:
    Wojna, Lisa
    Sommaire:

    Shrouded in mystery, unidentified flying objects have been reported in every corner of Canada. Surprisingly, some of these seemingly far-fetched stories may be based in fact, while others will never be explained.

  • Auteur:
    Mucina, Devi Dee
    Sommaire:

    Ubuntu is a Bantu term meaning humanity. It is also a philosophical and ethical system of thought, from which definitions of humanness, togetherness, and social politics of difference arise. Devi Dee Mucina is a Black Indigenous Ubuntu man. In Ubuntu Relational Love, he uses Ubuntu oratures as tools to address the impacts of Euro-colonialism while regenerating relational Ubuntu governance structures. Called "millet granaries" to reflect the nourishing and sustaining nature of Indigenous knowledges, and written as letters addressed to his mother, father, and children, Mucina's oratures take up questions of geopolitics, social justice, and resistance. Working through personal and historical legacies of dispossession and oppression, he challenges the fragmentation of Indigenous families and cultures and decolonizes impositions of white supremacy and masculinity. Drawing on anti-racist, African feminist, and Ubuntu theories and critically influenced by Indigenous masculinities scholarship in Canada, Ubuntu Relational Love is a powerful and engaging book.

  • Auteur:
    Clearwater, John
    Sommaire:

    In this second volume of his nuclear weapon series, John Clearwater continues to investigate the presence of American nuclear weapons in Canada. In Canadian Nuclear Weapons, Clearwater told the story of nuclear weapons that were in the hands of Canadian forces during the Cold War. In U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Canada, he goes further, looking at nuclear weapons held by American forces on Canadian soil. His purpose is to bring together until-recently secret information about the nature of the nuclear weapons stored, stationed, or lost in Canada by the United States Air Force and the United States Navy, and combines it with known information about the systems in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.The history of the atomic bomb in Canada goes back to the first years immediately after World War II when the U.S. government, under the prodding of the newly created Strategic Air command, began a slow and steady process of talks designed to allow Goose Bay to be groomed for the eventual acceptance of nuclear weapons.Crashes and nuclear accidents. Conspiracies and cover-ups. Clearwater examines them all in great detail. The reader will see for the first time the minutes of Cabinet and the Cabinet Defence Committee meetings in which the storage of nuclear weapons are discussed. Also printed here for the first time are the agreements between Canada and the U.S. for the storage of nuclear weapons. Many of the documents presented here were until recently classified as secret, and many were top secret.

  • Auteur:
    Barclay, Michael, Jack, Ian A.D., Schneider, Jason
    Sommaire:

    “Two Solitudes” is excerpted from Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995, available as a print or ebook.

    Published in autumn 2001, Have Not Been the Same became the first book to comprehensively document the rise of Canadian underground rock between the years 1985 and 1995. It was a tumultuous decade that saw the arrival of Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip, SarahMcLachlan, Sloan, Barenaked Ladies, Daniel Lanois, and many others who made an indelible mark not only on Canadian culture, but on the global stage as well. Have Not Been the Same tells all of their stories in rich detail through extensive first–person interviews, while at the same time capturing the spirit of Canada’s homegrown music industry on the cusp of the digital age.

    Ten years on, the 780–page book is still regarded by critics and musicians as the definitive history of the era. To mark this milestone, the authors have updated many key areas of the book through new interviews, further illuminating the ongoing influence of this generation of artists. And with its treasure trove of rare photos intact, this revised edition of Have Not Been the Same is sure to maintain the book’s status as one of the seminal works in the field of Canadian music writing, and a must–read for any Canadian music fan.

  • Auteur:
    Nardi, Tony
    Sommaire:

    Although he has won plaudits and awards for work in film, television, and on stage, Tony Nardi's most recent headlines have been earned by his TWO LETTERS … And Counting!. Two Letters is based on two actual letters sent to “middle-men” of the Canadian cultural scene: a film/television producer and two theatre critics. Letter One articulates an actor/writer's struggle with cultural stereotypes in Canadian theatre/film/TV. Letter Two challenges misconceptions about commedia dell'arte by present-day theatre critics and directors. It explores a history of an 'actor-less' theatre culture in Canada at the hands of 'director's theatre,' in which, increasingly, a tradition of over-trained actors and under-trained directors is encouraged. "...And Counting!" (Letter Three) is a postmortem of Two Letters, and a journey into the present state of theatre, culture (and funding).

  • Auteur:
    Segal, Hugh
    Sommaire:

    The Hill Times: Best Books of 2016 A bold call for a Canadian foreign policy that advances the basic freedoms that enable peace, stability, development, and security. What ends should a democratic country’s foreign policy serve? Avoiding diplomatic disputes? Keeping allies happy? Promoting national and global security? While a qualified yes is the logical answer to all of these secondary questions, Two Freedoms argues for something more, something that reflects Canada’s commitment, at home and abroad, to the two key freedoms: freedom from want and freedom from fear. Two Freedoms examines the costs of allowing these freedoms to die or diminish and at how a country can design a foreign policy that makes the pursuit of these freedoms real and practical. To design a genuine foreign policy of purpose and substance, a country must look at what it would mean for its diplomats, its military, its development aid, and its relations with important multilateral organizations like the U.N. To achieve a goal, a foreign policy needs good strategy, tactics, and design. These key elements are all found in Two Freedoms.

  • Auteur:
    Backhouse, Constance
    Sommaire:

    Bertha Wilson and Claire L'Heureux-Dubé were the first women judges on the Supreme Court of Canada. Their 1980s judicial appointments delighted feminists and shocked the legal establishment. Polar opposites in background and temperament, the two faced many identical challenges. Constance Backhouse's compelling narrative explores the sexist roadblocks both women faced in education, law practice, and in the courts. She profiles their different ways of coping, their landmark decisions for women's rights, and their less stellar records on race. To explore the lives and careers of these two path-breaking women is to venture into a world of legal sexism from a past era. The question becomes, how much of that sexism has been relegated to the bins of history, and how much continues?

  • Auteur:
    Russell, Peter
    Sommaire:

    For decades Canadians have been led to believe that majority governments are the ideal outcome of our federal elections, allowing the winning party to fully implement its vision and act decisively. But in this timely exploration of Canada’s history and its current political landscape, Peter Russell argues that Canadians are better served by minority governments than by false majorities — the too-common scenario in which a party wins a commanding majority of seats with fewer than half the votes cast.

    Though minority government may not quite deserve a full three cheers, our multi-party reality and the evolution of Canadian democracy require that we come to terms with it, and perhaps even embrace it.

  • Auteur:
    Bacher, John, Armson, Kenneth A.
    Sommaire:

    Short-listed for the 2012 Speaker’s Book Award Edmund Zavitz (1875–1968) rescued Ontario from the ravages of increasingly more powerful floods, erosion, and deadly fires. Wastelands were talking over many hectares of once-flourishing farmlands and towns. Sites like the Oak Ridges Moraine were well on their way to becoming a dust bowl and all because of extensive deforestation. Zavitz held the positions of chief forester of Ontario, deputy minister of forests, and director of reforestation. His first pilot reforestation project was in 1905, and since then Zavitz has educated the public and politicians about the need to protect Ontario forests. By the mid-1940s, conservation authorities, provincial nurseries, forestry stations, and bylaws protecting trees were in place. Land was being restored. Just a month before his death, the one billionth tree was planted by Premier John Robarts. Some two billion more would follow. As a result of Zavitz’s work, the Niagara Escarpment, once a wasteland, is now a UNESCO World Biosphere. Recognition of the ongoing need to plant trees to protect our future continues as the legacy of Edmund Zavitz.

  • Auteur:
    Juby, Thomas C.
    Sommaire:

    On the 2nd of September, 1998, near the small fishing village of Peggys Cove, N.S., a Swissair passenger jet carrying 229 people crashed into the ocean with a complete loss of life. This book is the true story of the crash investigation as told by the RCMPs main crime scene investigator who worked on the investigation from start to finish. For more than four years, he searched for the truth amid the remains of human flesh, and the debris of the aircraft. What he found was not what was presented to the public. Nepotism, deception, intimidation, and lies were tools used by supervisors and managers to overcome this one-person criminal investigation and keep the truth from the public. This is the in-depth story that shows how the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada broke the law, and failed to perform their legal obligations to the Canadian and International public, and to the victims and their families.

  • Auteur:
    Sawler, Harvey
    Sommaire:

    Three generations after the Irving family arrived in Canada from Scotland, the name K. C. Irving hit the Forbes top billionaires list, making K. C. one of the richest men in the world and the most powerful businessperson in Canada. But there is much more to the Irving story than the fascinating K. C. and his immediate legacy. Twenty-first Century Irvings takes a careful look at both the family foundations upon which this empire was built and the dozen or more individuals who, in the twenty-first century, constitute the future of this business family. Twenty-first Century Irvings tells the story of the legendary Irvings of New Brunswick

  • Auteur:
    Yellowhorn, Eldon
    Sommaire:

    Unlike most books that chronicle the history of Native peoples beginning with the arrival of Europeans in 1492, this book goes back to the Ice Age to give young readers a glimpse of what life was like pre-contact. The title, Turtle Island, refers to a Native myth that explains how North and Central America were formed on the back of a turtle. Based on archeological finds and scientific research, we now have a clearer picture of how the Indigenous people lived. Using that knowledge, the authors take the reader back as far as 14,000 years ago to imagine moments in time. A wide variety of topics are featured, from the animals that came and disappeared over time, to what people ate, how they expressed themselves through art, and how they adapted to their surroundings. The importance of story-telling among the Native peoples is always present to shed light on how they explained their world. The end of the book takes us to modern times when the story of the Native peoples is both tragic and hopeful.

  • Auteur:
    Delaney, Douglas E., Gardner, Nikolas
    Sommaire:

    For the British Empire and its allies of the Great War, 1917 was a year marked by crises. But here and there glimmers of light pierced the gloom. Soldiers began solving the problems posed by trench warfare. The dominions asserted themselves in the councils of imperial power. And the US finally entered the war. This book examines the British imperial war effort during the most pivotal and dynamic twelve months of the war. Written by internationally recognized historians, its chapters explore military, diplomatic, and domestic aspects of how the empire prosecuted the war. Their rich, nuanced analysis transcends narrow, national viewpoints to provide a multi-faceted perspective of events that laid the groundwork for victory.

  • Auteur:
    Sommaire:

    For years, the prospect of parliamentary reform has been a hot-button issue in Canada. More and more Canadians find themselves frustrated with how Parliament works (or doesn't) and end up increasingly checked out from politics as a whole, feeling like their voices don't matter to those in power. When he introduced the "Reform Act" bill in 2013, Conservative MP Michael Chong brought the issue of parliamentary reform to the forefront, proposing changes that would empower MPs and hold party leadership accountable to their caucus--and therefore, to all Canadians. Although the changes required for such reforms are modest, the effects they would have on the Canadian democratic process would be revolutionary. Chong joins Kennedy Stewart (NDP) and Scott Simms (Liberal) in organizing a collaboration between MPs from all of Canada's major political parties, representing ridings from across the country. They join together to make these changes a reality, explaining why reform is so urgently needed and proposing practical, achievable suggestions for making it happen. 2017.

  • Auteur:
    Dallison, Robert L.
    Sommaire:

    In the early 1860s, Irish immigrants in the United States were eager to help the Fenian brotherhood overthrow the British in Ireland. The American Fenians' mission: to invade British North America and hold it hostage. New Brunswick, with its large Irish population and undefended frontier, was a perfect target. The book tells how, in the spring of 1866, a thousand Fenians massed along the St. Croix River and spread terror among New Brunswickers. When the lieutenant-governor called in British soldiers and a squadron of warships, the Fenians saw that New Brunswick was no longer an easy target, and they turned their efforts against central Canada. The Fenian "attacks" and the demand for home defence fanned the already red-hot political debate, and a year later, in July 1867, New Brunswick joined Confederation. Turning Back the Fenians is volume eight in the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series.

  • Auteur:
    McLeod, James
    Sommaire:

    Newfoundland and Labrador had three premiers in a single year-- three and a half, if you count Frank Coleman. An elected politician broke down crying on live radio. In less than eighteen months, the Official Opposition went from six to sixteen members.For Canada's easternmost province, the lead-up to the 2015 general election was the most turbulent time for politics in at least a generation, and Telegram reporter James McLeod had a front row seat for the whole strange spectacle. As the political reporter for Newfoundland and Labrador's largest daily newspaper, McLeod was there for all the big moments and interviewed all the key players.In Turmoil, As Usual, McLeod gives an an inside look and an unvarnished account of the people, the strategy, the gaffes and the farce that make up Newfoundland politics.

  • Auteur:
    Brownstone, Harvey
    Sommaire:

    Tug of War is the first book of its kind. Written by a sitting family court judge in layman’s language, it demystifies complex family law concepts and procedures, clearly explains how family court works, and gives parents essential alternatives to resolve their own custody battles and keep their kids out of the often damaging court system.

    Breakup rates in North America are skyrocketing. Recent statistics say 45% of marriages end in divorce, and at the centre are countless children, thrust by their families into a complex and seemingly impermeable family court system. Tug of War explains the role of lawyers and judges in the family justice system, and examines the parents’ own responsibilities to ensure that post-separation conflicts are resolved with minimal damage to the children stuck in the middle of parental disputes.

    Justice Harvey Brownstone explores themes that apply to all families and parents in conflict. He draws on fourteen years sitting on the family court bench to provide clear case examples with inclusive and accessible language. Tug of War describes alternatives to litigation and exposes the myth that parents can represent themselves without a lawyer in family court. Justice Brownstone discloses the inner struggles of parents, judges and lawyers in the maelstrom of marital conflict.

    This book is a must-read for couples involved in or contemplating separation, family law judges, lawyers, mediators, parenting coaches, psychologists, family counselors, social workers, students and professors of family law at law schools. It is endorsed by judges currently sitting in Ontario and New York State.

  • Auteur:
    Brett, Brian
    Sommaire:

    For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking such questions as 'Whaddya know?' and announcing 'Party time!' when guests showed up at Bretts farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim as a pet, he gradually realizes the enormous obligation he has to the bird and learns that the parrot is a lot more complex than he thought. Simultaneously a biography of this singular bird and a history of bird/dinosaurs and the human relationship with birds, Tuco also explores how we 'other' the world--abusing birds, landscapes, and each other--including Bretts own experience with a rare genetic condition that turned his early years into an obstacle course of bullying and nurtured his affinity for winged creatures. The book also provides an in-depth examination of our ideas about knowledge, language, and intelligence (including commentary from Tuco himself) and how as we learn more about animal languages and intelligence we continually shift our definitions of them in order to retain our 'superiority.' As Brett says, 'Whaddya know? Not much. I dont even know what knowledge is. I know only the magic... and the mysteries.' By turns provocative, profound, hilarious, and deeply moving, this fascinating memoir will remain with the reader long after the last page has been turned.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Canadian nonfiction