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Biographies and autobiographies

  • Author:
    Backhouse, Constance
    Summary:

    Both lionized and vilified, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé has shaped the Canadian legal landscape – and in particular its highest court. Only the second woman on the Supreme Court of Canada, L’Heureux-Dubé anchored her approach to cases in their social, economic, and political context. This compelling biography takes a similar tack, tracing the experience of a francophone woman within the male-dominated Quebec legal profession – and within the primarily anglophone world of the Supreme Court. In the process, Constance Backhouse enhances our understanding of the Canadian judiciary, the creation of law, the Quebec socio-legal environment, and the nation’s top court.

  • Author:
    Rawlence, Ben
    Summary:

    To charity workers, Dadaab refugee camp is a humanitarian crisis; to the Kenyan government, it's a "nursery for terrorists"; to the western media, it's a dangerous no-go area; but to its half a million residents, it is their last resort. Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, in the midst of the inhospitable desert of northern Kenya where only thorn bushes grow, Dadaab is a city like no other. Among its inhabitants are Guled, a former child soldier who lives for soccer; Nisho, who scrapes together an existence by pushing a wheelbarrow and dreaming of riches; and schoolgirl Kheyro, whose future hangs upon her education. Rawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show what life is like in the camp and to sketch the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped there. 2016

  • Author:
    Foley, Michael Stewart
    Summary:

    A leading historian argues that Johnny Cash was the most important political artist of his time Johnny Cash was an American icon, known for his level, bass-baritone voice and somber demeanor, and for huge hits like "Ring of Fire" and "I Walk the Line." But he was also the most prominent political artist in the United States, even if he wasn't recognized for it in his own lifetime, or since his death in 2003. Then and now, people have misread Cash's politics, usually accepting the idea of him as a "walking contradiction." Cash didn't fit into easy political categories-liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, hawk or dove. Like most people, Cash's politics were remarkably consistent in that they were based not on ideology or scripts but on empathy-emotion, instinct, and identification. Drawing on untapped archives and new research on social movements and grassroots activism, Citizen Cash offers a major reassessment of a legendary figure.

  • Author:
    Jacques Lanctôt
    Summary:

    Cintia de Sà est née au Brésil le 13 mars 1986 et n'a pas eu une enfance facile. Fille d'un père policier qui n'hésitait pas à utiliser la violence pour régler les problèmes, et d'une mère incapable de jouer son vrai rôle de mère, elle a dû s'inventer une histoire bien à elle pour survivre au milieu de ce désert affectif. Jusqu'au jour où elle croit découvrir le prince charmant qui l'emmènera au Québec, sa deuxième patrie. On l'a découverte à Occupation double en 2013. Pendant près de trois mois, des milliers de téléspectateurs se sont habitués à ses crises d'insécurité, elle est même devenue sympathique malgré ses sautes d'humeur. Envers et contre toutes, elle fut sacrée, par le public, la grande gagnante de ces combats épiques qui se déroulaient au vu et au su de tout le Québec. Une nouvelle vie commençait pour elle. C'est ce qu'elle raconte ici, avec toute la fébrilité qu'on lui connaît. Un portrait amusant et passionnant d'une fille qui n'a pas dit son dernier mot.

  • Author:
    Johnson, Paul
    Summary:

    Johnson explores the complex and fascinating character of Winston Churchill--the soldier, orator, and statesman who shined brightest during Britain's darkest hours.

  • Author:
    Dylan, Bob
    Summary:

    Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One explores the critical junctions in his life and career.

  • Author:
    Wilson, Judi Tyabji
    Summary:

    A political insider takes a revealing look at the public and private life of BC's controversial premier. In the blood-sport arena of provincial politics, BC's enigmatic premier, Christy Clark, has defied the pundits to win both party leadership and an upset election victory against all odds. Made deputy premier in 2001 shortly after her first foray into public life, she shunned Gordon Campbell's cabinet solidarity to return to private life in 2004. After a bold run at becoming Vancouver's mayor, she launched a successful media career as a CKNW talk show host. In 2011, she surrendered that security and entered the Liberal leadership race, shocking the party's inner circle as she claimed her spot as Campbell's successor. The campaigner known in her home province simply as Christy has been underestimated by many. Since her surprising usurpation of the BC Liberal Party in 2011 and their stunning re-election in 2013, BC's first elected female premier has ruffled more than a few feathers; she has also won many new supporters while employing her own unique leadership style. In this revealing look at the woman behind the trademark smile, political insider Judi Tyabji traces Clark's journey from middle-class roots to her political awakening and rapid rise to power. Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews with over thirty public figures and the premier herself, Tyabji's Christy Clark: Behind the Smile paints an intimate portrait of one of the most influential women in Canadian politics today.

  • Author:
    Mackintosh, Joe
    Summary:

    From biographer Joe Mackintosh comes a second work of non-fiction, an inspirational and heart-rending story of an icon in the world of running. As an elite All-America runner from Oklahoma, Chris McCubbins won the gold medal in the 3000-metre steeplechase at Winnipeg’s 1967 Pan American Games attaining a time that placed him among the world’s best. After serving as a member of the U.S. Army’s Modern Pentathlon Team, Chris moved to Winnipeg in 1970 bringing his passion for running, his enthusiasm for coaching and his rigorous training regimes. In 1975, Chris set a Manitoban record in the 10,000-metre race that still stands today. Chris’s story is much more than running. He was a caring teacher and a tireless advocate for the less-privileged youth. He also fought a final battle with leukemia, in itself a hope-inspiring story for people with the disease and their loved ones.

  • Author:
    Hudson, Aïda
    Summary:

    Where do children travel when they read a story? In this collection, scholars and authors explore the imaginative geography of a wide range of places, from those of Indigenous myth to the fantasy worlds of Middle-earth, Earthsea, or Pacificus, from the semi-fantastic Wild Wood to real-world places like Canada's North, Chicago's World Fair, or the modern urban garden. What happens to young protagonists who explore new worlds, whether fantastic or realistic? What happens when Old World and New World myths collide? How do Indigenous myth and sense of place figure in books for the young? How do environmental or post-colonial concerns, history, memory, or even the unconscious affect an author's creation of place? How are steampunk and science fiction mythically re-enchanting for children? Imaginative geography means imaged earth writing: it creates what readers see when they enter the world of fiction. Exploring diverse genres for children, including picture books, fantasy, steampunk, and realistic novels as well as plays from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland from the early nineteenth century to the present, Children's Literature and Imaginative Geography provides new geographical perspectives on children's literature.

  • Author:
    Ellis, Deborah
    Summary:

    USBBY Outstanding International Books Honor List In this book, Deborah Ellis turns her attention to the most tragic victims of the Iraq war -- Iraqi children. She interviews young people, mostly refugees living in Jordan, but also a few who are trying to build new lives in North America. Some families have left Iraq with money; others are penniless and ill or disabled. Most of the children have parents who are working illegally or not at all, and the fear of deportation is a constant threat. Ellis provides an historical overview and brief explanations of context, but other than that allows the children to speak for themselves, with minimal editorial comment or interference. Their stories are frank, harrowing and sometimes show surprising resilience, as the children try to survive the consequences of a war in which they played no part. A glossary, map and suggestions for further information are included.

  • Author:
    Stainton, Shirley D.
    Summary:

    A warm-hearted memoir of a childhood spent living in various mining towns in the Kootenays throughout the 1930s and '40s. When young Shirley Doris Hall and her family moved to BC's West Kootenay region in 1927, the area was a hub of mining activity. Shirley's father, a cook, had no problem finding work at the mining camps, and the family dutifully followed him from town to town as his services were sought after. For Shirley and her brother, Ray-described as both her confidant and her nemesis-mining camps were the backdrop of their youth. The instant close-knit communities that formed around them; the freedom of barely tamed wilderness; and the struggles of the Depression years and the war that followed created an unlikely environment for a happy childhood. Yet Shirley's memories reveal that it was indeed a magical time and place in which to grow up. Children of the Kootenays paints a lively portrait of this forgotten period in BC history-of mining towns that are now ghost towns-told from the unique perspective of a young girl.

  • Author:
    Mountain, Antoine
    Summary:

    Antoine Mountain follows up his previous memoir From Bear Rock Mountain with the book Child of Morning Star: Embers of an Ancient Dawn. Child of Morning Star is a poetic collection of stories that draws on Antoine Mountain's travels and knowledge as a Dene artist and a lifelong student of history. In it, he weaves stories about people and art and the moments when our world manages to pause just briefly enough that we can see the roots of our communal humanity. Each part of this book corresponds to the four directions of the Medicine Wheel and offers insight into history, social conditions, community, and the spiritual. Child of Morning Star looks towards the future and the promise of tomorrow.

  • Author:
    Watt, Bruce
    Summary:

    Getting three trucks and two horses stuck in the mud on "a good road" into BC's wild, remote interior was just the start of Bruce Watt's hilarious adventures—and it was his honeymoon, too. When the newly married Watt moved there in 1948 to take up ranching, he was a just a kid in his early 20s. He and his wife fell in love with Big Creek, three hours southwest of Williams Lake, and its wildlife, beautiful landscapes and quirky, down-to-earth people. Despite the tough work and difficult conditions, they put down roots and stayed, raising a family of five, along with herds of cattle and horses. This consummate storyteller tells it like was—and still is, perhaps, for many still making this place home. Bruce's hilarious stories of chasing horses and getting five kids off to school (until they were a ripe eight or nine years old and could drive themselves) have a charm all their own. These yarns capture the adventure and especially the humour of running a ranch—roping cougars, having close calls on cliff edges and all the other "usual" accidents. Watt's cowboy honesty and campfire-style storytelling are irresistible.

  • Author:
    Buerge, David M.
    Summary:

    This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times-the story of a half-century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community. When the British, Spanish, and then Americans arrived in the Pacific Northwest, it may have appeared to them as an untamed wilderness. In fact, it was a fully settled and populated land. Chief Seattle was a powerful representative from this very ancient world. Historian David Buerge has been researching and writing this book about the world of Chief Seattle for the past twenty years. Buerge has threaded together disparate accounts of the time from the 1780s to the 1860s-including native oral histories, Hudson Bay Company records, pioneer diaries, French Catholic church records, and historic newspaper reporting. Chief Seattle had gained power and prominence on Puget Sound as a war leader, but the arrival of American settlers caused him to reconsider his actions. He came to embrace white settlement and, following traditional native practice, encouraged intermarriage between native people and the settlers, offering his own daughter and granddaughters as brides, in the hopes that both peoples would prosper. Included in this account are the treaty signings that would remove the natives from their historic lands, the roles of such figures as Governor Isaac Stevens and Chiefs Leschi and Patkanim, the Battle at Seattle that threatened the existence of the settlement, and the controversial Chief Seattle speech that haunts to this day the city that bears his name.

  • Author:
    Marin, Cheech
    Summary:

    Cheech Marin came of age at an interesting time in America and became a self-made counterculture legend with his other half, Tommy Chong. This insightful memoir delves into how Cheech dodged the draft, formed one of the most successful comedy duos of all time, became the face of the recreational drug movement with the film Up in Smoke, forged a successful solo career, and became the owner of the largest private collection of Chicano art in the world.

  • Author:
    Guevara, Juan Martin
    Summary:

    On 9 October 1967, Ernesto Che Guevara, Marxist guerrilla leader and hero of the Cuban Revolution, was captured and executed by Bolivian forces. When the Guevara family learned from the front pages that Che was dead, they decided to say nothing. Fifty years on, his younger brother, Juan Martin, breaks the silence to narrate his intimate memories and share with us his views of the character behind one of history's most iconic figures. Juan Martin brings Che back to life, as a caring and protective older brother. Alongside the many practical jokes and escapades they undertook together, Juan Martin also relates the two extraordinary months he spent with the Comandante in 1959, in Havana, at the epicentre of the Cuban Revolution. He remembers Che as an idealist and adventurer and also as a committed intellectual. And he tells us of their parents - eccentric, cultivated, bohemian - and of their brothers and sisters, all of whom played a part in his political awakening. This unique autobiographical account sheds new light on a figure who continues to be revered as a symbol of revolutionary action and who remains a source of inspiration for many who believe that the struggle for a better world is not in vain.

  • Author:
    Spain
    Summary:
  • Author:
    Stone, Oliver
    Summary:

    An intimate memoir by the controversial and outspoken, Oscar-winning director and screenwriter about his complicated New York childhood, volunteering for combat, and his struggles and triumphs making such films as Platoon, Midnight Express, and Scarface. Before the international success of Platoon in 1986, Oliver Stone had been wounded as an infantryman in Vietnam, and spent years writing unproduced scripts while driving taxis in New York, finally venturing westward to Los Angeles and a new life. Stone, now 73, recounts those formative years with in-the-moment details of the high and low moments: We see meetings with Al Pacino over Stone's scripts for Scarface, Platoon, and Born on the Fourth of July; the harrowing demon of cocaine addiction following the failure of his first feature, The Hand (starring Michael Caine); his risky on-the-ground research of Miami drug cartels for Scarface; his stormy relationship with The Deer Hunter director Michael Cimino; the breathless hustles to finance the acclaimed and divisive Salvador; and tensions behind the scenes of his first Academy Award-winning film, Midnight Express. Chasing the Light is a true insider's look at Hollywood's years of upheaval in the 1970s and '80s.

  • Author:
    Starkey, Ted.
    Summary:

    Go on the road with the best hockey players not in the NHL What is life really like in North American hockey's top minor league' As told by dozens of the players, coaches, broadcasters, personnel, and owners who work a grinding schedule every winter, Chasing the Dream goes behind the scenes with seven AHL teams. Find out how players' dreams of lacing up their skates in the NHL motivate them through long bus rides and games where they're constantly gunning for a precious spot in the majors. From young prospects to veterans whose own hopes have faded, hear from AHL players on why today's minor league is no longer like Slap Shot, what playing three games in under 48 hours can do to a player, and why fighting-once a staple of the minors-is on the decline. Learn about the game from coaches, alumni, and broadcasters, as well as AHL president Dave Andrews, who reveals how the AHL is becoming an even more important tool for NHL teams in the salary-cap era. Load your gear on the bus and take a tour around the many venues, personalities, pranks, and memories of the once-small AHL- an organization that now crosses the continent and is big business for players and owners.

  • Author:
    Kelly, Erin I., Rembert, Winfred
    Summary:

    An artist's odyssey from Jim Crow era, Georgia to the Yale Art Gallery. A memoir in prose and paintings that celebrates Black life and summons readers to confront painful and urgent realities at the heart of American history and society

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