Book Description

At the end of the Ice Age, small groups of hunter-gatherers crossed from Siberia to Alaska and opened the last chapter in the human settlement of the earth. Many left little or no trace. But one group--the Early Paleo-Indians--exploded suddenly on the archaeological record about 11,500 years ago and expanded rapidly throughout North America and, eventually, into South America.

Journey to the Ice Age focuses on the Early Paleo-Indians of northeastern North America. A revealing, autobiographical account, it is at once a captivating record of Storck’s archaeological discoveries, as well as an introduction to the practice, challenges, and spirit of archaeology. ... Read more

Book Description

A fresh and fascinating look at the Evelyn Dick murder trial and the intriguing mystery of her disappearance.

The "torso" murder trial of young attractive Evelyn Dick grabbed headlines in 1946 and 1947. Her husband John's head and limbs had been sawed from his body and burned up in her furnace. After she was sentenced to hang, up-and-coming lawyer J.J. Robinette appealed her case, won her a new trial and then an acquittal. But, when police found the decayed remains of Evelyn's newborn baby encased in cement in a suitcase in her attic, the best Robinette could do for her was a manslaughter conviction and eleven years in prison.

Evelyn Dick was released with a new identity in 1958. Since then, rumors, stories and sightings have abounded. Where did she go and what happened to her? Writer producer Brian Vallée, after crisscrossing the country, conducting several dozen interviews and tirelessly researching old newspaper files and thousands of pages of transcripts and police reports, answers many of the questions that surround this mysterious case. The result is a lively, spine-tingling account of the case itself and Evelyn Dick's surprising new life. With much of the material never before published, The Torso Murder is a captivating, chilling true story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting Reading
If you've seen the movie, or know of the case, this book provides some interesting information. It is relatively well-written, contains pictures, and is easy to read. I recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

A popular history of the multi-ethnic mining cultures that thrived in North America from 1900-1950.The stormy history of Eastern European and Chinese immigrants in hardrock mining camps has never fit into the comfortable cliches of official history.Angus unearths the dark sides of this history--the wild tales of bootleggers, mobsters, and prostitution rings--and opens up a new perspective on our history and culture.Louis Palu's stunning photography explores landscapes of memory--the immigrant graveyards of the Porcupine--and moves in compelling counterpoint to the text. ... Read more

Book Description

Just when Solange De Santis had achieved success and security in the white-collar world of journalism, she decided to leave it all to work on the line during the final year and a half of a General Motors van plant in Scarborough, Ontario.

In Life on the Line, De Santis recounts in vivid detail just how and why she undertook this path of seemingly reverse ambition. What she found at the moribund GM plant was at turns surprising, monotonous, humorous, and grim. She encountered competent hard workers, raging alcoholics, mindless bureaucrats, and good friends.

Life on the Line is a penetrating look into a world that many of us shy from acknowledging, even as we accept the keys to our new cars. Completely candid, and as unexpectedly poignant as it is funny, this book will change the way you view blue-collar industry and the people who fuel its engine with their labour.

Reviews (5)

Stands with the best works on working.
Solange De Santis was obviously not looking to "rip the lid off" assembly line work when she began either her experience at GM or her book. This is greatly to her credit. LIFE ON THE LINE does all readers the service of allowing them to make up their own minds. The author's point of view develops in the text at the same pace as her time passed on the line.

Crisp and insightful, this book can stand with the best of writing on the subject. The twofold treat is that those with no "shopfloor" experience may come to value more highly those who toil, and those who work on the line may be able to understand that they can be recognized and appreciated by ones not standing next to them in the heat and din.

Brava! From the author's brother.

Rich in detail and anecdote
How many Ivy-League educated journalists would be willing to break their backs and go work on the assembly line to relay this story authentically? Very few! This writer does, and so gets to know the tasks, the workers and the business of making vehicles from the most telling perspective of all. Thoroughly familiar with the corporate point of view from years of business writing, De Santis joins those people whose sweat and toil actually build our world. She gives us the private musings and dreams of hardworking folks who didn't get all the breaks in life that she did, and shows their courage and determination to survive the brutal decisions of an unfeeling corporation. It's sad that management just can't understand the rage of these people whose jobs have been given a death sentence for the sake of higher profits, yet who are expected to give 100% down to the last day. But their voices need to be heard.

An insightful look at the life of a line worker.
Ms.De Santis begins with the valid premise that the gulf between white-collar and blue-collar workers in widening, and that it's important for one group to understand the other. From there, she walks her readers through that life with an authenticity that only her real-life experience could provide. Interesting reading for anyone who cares about the present and future of manufacturing in North America.

An outstanding read
June 12, 1999 Title: Life on the Line Author: Solange De Santis

After graduating from the highly touted Ivy schools with her master's degree in journalism and a BA in English, Solange De Santis toiled in a very successful white collared workplace. Her fascination though, with "the other side", "the blue collar workers" would somehow overpower all sanity and she would seek out employment in the bowls of the workforce. Her dreams of writing a book and her journalistic past are her rational for exploring her curiosities. Hiding her outstanding employment credentials, she lands an assembler job with General Motor's lisping Scarborough Van plant. Solange, nicknamed Sally by her line mates, would now have 18 months in which to "spy" and compile enough material on life within the plant, before being laid-off, along with its 2,700 strong population. This fascinating account of Sally's perseverance, and demanding requirements associated with manual labor, are truly astonishing. Pushing herself beyond physical limits she thought ever existed, she finds herself becoming attached to her co-workers, "a cog in the wheel". A strong bond develops with her work mates through common hardships somewhat like a "boot camp". Her vivid descriptions of the sites and sounds within the plant and the people she works with have clear images and sounds popping into my head. Her circle of friends, "from all woks of life", are so typical of the many groups within the plant. Reading through her book I find Sally dredging up raw nerve endings I thought were buried long ago, for I am one of the 2,700 employee's of the Scarborough Van Plant that devoted the better part of my working life, along with so many others, to that job, as one of Sally's co-workers, on a different shift, with a different circle of friends, only to find myself one day, writing my resume. This book should appeal to anyone looking for a realistic account of life within those "dark window factories", and the typical "labels" these people are saddled with. Bravo Sally, an outstanding read in contrast to your Wall Street journalism.

Really great, compassionate investigative reporting
De Santis brings to light a working world too often dismissed as "low class" or alien, but full of real people. Her descriptions of life on the assembly line are brutal and unforgettable. I would have liked to hear more about her personal life among the blue collar folks though, and to get to know her coworkers better. But a very great idea well-written. With guts ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Toronto Life, published by Toronto Life Publishing Co. Ltd. on July 1, 2004. The length of the article is 3443 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tusk force: launched with much hype and buzz last year, The Walrus billed itself as Canada's answer to Harper's. Nine months, five issues and two editors later, the magazine has proven one thing: its ambitions lie beyond its grasp.(Media)(Biography)
Author: Robert Fulford
Publication: Toronto Life (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2004
Publisher: Toronto Life Publishing Co. Ltd.
Volume: 38Issue: 7Page: 61(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, published by Performing Arts and Entertainment in Canada on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 454 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The Canadian music community mourns the death of Douglas Voice on Jun 29, 1998 after struggling with cancer. Voice was an active official of the Canadian Music Competitions and a recognized music teacher dedicated to the creation of music opportunities for students at the University of Ottawa.

Citation Details
Title: Tribute to Douglas Voice.(Canadian Music Competitions Fall News)(music teacher and official of the Canadian Music Competitions)
Author: Verna Jacobson
Publication: Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: Performing Arts and Entertainment in Canada
Volume: 32Issue: 1Page: C5(1)

Article Type: Biography

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Between 1830 and 1870, as many as 40,000 slaves made the perilous journey north to freedom in Canada with the help of the Underground Railroad. It was neither underground nor was it a railroad, and was most remarkable for its lack of formal organization, so cloaked in secrecy that few facts were recorded while it “ran.” The story of the Underground Railroad is one of suffering and of bravery, and is not only one of escape from slavery but of beginnings: of people who carved out a new life for themselves in perilous, difficult circumstances. In I Came as a Stranger, Bryan Prince, a descendent of slaves, describes the people who made their way to Canada and the life that awaited them. From Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Dresden, Ontario to Harriet Tubman’s Canadian base of operations in St. Catharines, the communities founded by former slaves soon produced businessmen, educators, and writers. Yet danger was present in the form of bounty hunters and prejudice.Complemented by archival photos, I Came as a Stranger is an important addition to North American history. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An uplifting read for young readers of all ages
Highly recommended, Bryan Prince's I Came As A Stranger: The Underground Railroad is a fascinating history and site guide to the American Underground Railroad, a pre-Civil War secret organization of conspirators who risked life and freedom to help fugitive slaves make the perilous journey to the freedom in Canada. Black-and-white illustrations, and compelling testimony make I Came As A Stranger an educational and uplifting read for young readers of all ages.

A Must Have
Very seldom do we get the opportunity to read history from the voices of those that lived it and, the persons who are descendants of those who lived it. In this amazing volume, you have both. Bryan Prince is not only a consumate historian, he is a descendant of the fugitives who made it to freedom and settled in Southern Ontario. While intended for young adults, older readers, especially from the U.S. will have the opportunity to learn "the rest of the story" of the Underground Railroad. ... Read more

Book Description

"No Burden to Carry exquisitely weaves the threads of autobiography and history into flexible and meaningful relationship. Never again will I be at a loss for names of Black women who have stood at the junctions of Canadian History." - Angela Y. Davis ... Read more

Book Description

While Canadian service personnel made heroic sacrifices battling theNazis, other Canadians on the home front were sabotaging the war effort. Billy Kelly,former Deputy Commissioner and Director of Security and Intelligence of the RCMP,was part of the RCMP Black Market Squad in Toronto, investigating and prosecutingblack market activity and security risks in southern Ontario during World War II.

6" x 9"; perfect bound ... Read more

Book Description

When Roughing It in the Bush was published in 1852, it created an international sensation, not only for Susanna Moodie’s “glowing narrative of personal incident,” but also for her firm determination to puncture the illusions European land-agents were circulating about life in Canada. This frank and fascinating chronicle details her harsh – and humorous – experiences in homesteading with her family in the woods of Upper Canada.

Part documentary, part psychological parable, Roughing It in the Bush is, above all, an honest account of how one woman coped not only in a new world, but, more importantly, with herself.

The New Canadian Library edition is an unabridged reprint of the complete original text.
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Reviews (2)

A Journey into the a Timeless Mind
Moodie puts her readers into her own thoughts, allowing you to see just how difficult it was for her to survive in Canada in the 1800's. Her character and personality lends itself well to her writing, allowing you to laugh when she laughs, anger when she is angry, and cry when she cries (maybe less the crying, it wasn't THAT wrenching). I would recommend reading it along with an audio version of the book. I've never done it before, but i actually liked it! Another review stated that the book got boring, and it really can be if you are too involved and are looking for a really gripping read. So to listen and follow along at your own leisure was rather relaxing. It added to the humour of some of the chapters, particularly the "borrowing and lending" scenario! Enjoy!

This is a story of courage by early pioneers to Canada.
Like the Lewis & Clark Expedition, early Canadian settlers had less understanding about what they were getting into than the men who stood on the moon. Susanna Moodie's story of her life in the Canadian bush in the middle years of the nineteenth century illustrate how precarious was their circumstances, how unselfishly some shared their labor and their good fortune and how utterly selfish and even dangerous was the behaviour of others. The story illustrates again how at base, there ar two types of people, those who take and those who give. As you read her story you will be amazed how this gentlewoman, accustomed to Victorian drawing rooms, lived, even prospered a little, bore and raised children in a one room windowless and doorless log cabin in all weathers and enduring visits from wild Indians, wolves and bears. Of her totally unsuitable husband she is endlessly understanding and forgiving, yet the reader will find him or herself continually driven to giving him a swift kick in the pants for his apparent total lack of sensitivity to his wife, while at the same time being viewed as an upstanding citizen. ... Read more