Book Description

The Story of One of the Most Beloved Novelists of Our Time

Written by her daughter, Laurel Oke Logan, this book offers intimate glimpses into the life and heritage of author Janette Oke. An ordinary woman with extraordinary gifts, Janette grew up on the Canadian prairie to eventually become the wife of a pastor and educator, the mother of four grown children, a grandmother who delights in her grandchildren—and one of the best known and love Christian novelists of our time. You'll discover how the strength of family connections and spiritual values have shaped her life and permeate her novels from the first, Love Comes Softly, to her most recent. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Inspiration
I was thoroughly inspired by reading this book. It seemed to me to be a little slow developing at the beginning, due to a fairly complex family history. Even this should be interesting to people who like history from the perspective of people who lived it. It is well organized, and provides a good description of the environment that nurtured this God-inspired writer. Janette Oke's life experiences are so easy to identify with, and her dependence on God so well portrayed that it is an inspiration to me. It is also fascinating to learn how one of my favorite writers arrived at her mission in life. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1959, just one step ahead of the law, Ian Ferguson's parents left the sophisticated big-city life of Edmonton for Fort Vermilion - once a fur-trapping frontier town, now a remote aboriginal settlement in northernmost Alberta. There, Ian and his six brothers and sisters grew up without indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating, or even a radio. Beginning with the dramatic events surrounding his birth (including a paddlewheel ferry heading for destruction, a legendary rowboat trip, and a life-and-death race against time), the richly recalled events of Ferguson's life and a vivid array of characters make for a taut and appealingly idiosyncratic tale. ... Read more

Book Description

Here is the incredible true story of one woman’s fight for survival in the Arctic wilderness.

When she was nine years old, Olive Fredrickson witnessed her mother’s death in the Arctic wilderness.At nineteen, she married a trapper who led her into a perilous life far removed from the comforts of civilization. Told from a harrowing first-person perspective, Fredrickson recounts the hair-raising experiences of her first years in the frozen wasteland that was her husband’s hunting ground.When her attempt to run a farm single-handedly, after her husband’s death, threatened to end in ruin, Fredrickson walked 40 miles alone to the nearest village, in a desperate attempt to obtain food for her starving family by bartering against future crops. It was a life-or-death journey filled with bears, wolves, and unparalleled danger.

THE SILENCE OF THE NORTH is a story of extraordinary adventure, courage, and human determination in the face of impossible odds. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Sad but wonderful
A story of a courageous strong woman. Descriptions of the environment (land & conditions) enticing. I found myself being scared right along side of Olive. A real adventure story.

Action packed,full of suspense story , good for all ages.
A fresh, uncomplicated tale of the people who adventured north in the past. Action packed, engaging and reveling, this book will remain for ever one of my favorite adventure and romance stories. It shows much about how people may face a foreign environment, difficulties, and above all themselves. All comes out in very simple and clear language, with suits the story and the characters divinely.

One of my favorite books and also made for T.V. Movies
This was a favorite, and it was done with no bad words or violence, other than from nature, I loved it and still wonder what happened to Olive and her second husband after they were married and flew off in the airplane. I watch it everytime it comes on tv. I have taped it and shown it many times to company.

A great adventure!`
I loved this book. Very interesting, exciting reading; great for a winter curl-up-by-the-fire book. I especially liked the way Mrs. Fredrickson told, simply and plainly, her story of life in an incredibly harsh North. Some of her experiences were basic survival, and I don't know how she did it. I would recommend this story to anyone who wants to "get out of the rut" of reading the same old thing. It was fabulous! I will read it again and again. ... Read more

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

Starting with his first patient, a horse, Ben Dlin discovered that rural doctors are called upon to do things that he never dreamed of when he was an intern."I learned that I had to be prepared to do anything, any time and any place, without regard for the hour, the inconvenience, the exhaustion and the absence of assistance."Set in the post-war period of the 1940s and early 50s, Dlin recounts the responsibility of being the one person who is caled upon in emergencies to make split-second decisions that can impact patients and their families for life. "I believed than and I still believe now that every student of medicine should spend time in rural practice. It is the place to discover what you're made of. But more importantly, it is the best place to learn the profession. Within the novice it creates a lifelong humanistic approach to medicine that remains no matter what specialty is pursued. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Highly Recommended
This book is a gem. It is published by an obscure publisher, and is a diamond in the rough. The author must be a remarkable person. He ends up becoming a psychiatrist, and it shows: his memoir is written with compassion and insight. It is one of the best medical memoirs I've ever read (I read a lot!) The book was full of substance (sometimes these memoirs are very light, and can be read in a couple of hours. Not this book.) But I have to emphasize that I thought it was a page-turner and I could *not* put it down. I don't usually write reviews but took the time to do so for this book because I thought it was so extraordinary.

Great read
Country Doctor is a great read. It's fun, interesting, and fast reading. It tells about life in frigid Canada when times were tough (snow blowing in under the door!). Ben tells of himself and others in a way that comes across as truthful--the good and the bad. It's a bit like All Creatures Great and Small in a completely different setting and the multiple stories surround Ben's growing from a kid through adulthood in medical school and beyond.

pioneer of public health in addition to country doctor
Many people do not know that Dr Dlin in addition to his abilities as a doctor, veternarian, dentist etc. was perhaps an unwitting pioneer in the area of "Public Health Crisis Management". The complete story is detailed in the book about a health crisis that threateded to wipe out an amimal (instead of human) community. Dr. Dlin's intervention pre-saged the operations of the modern day M.A.S.H unit - or better, (I'm not sure of the exact name) National Health - Contageous Disease (CDC? - in Atlanta) Center's emergency protocols that have only been in existance for perhaps the last 30 years or so. To whit: Isolation and triage of the sick; team approach (in this case he drafted the local community); assembly line (lined up the animals in rows - each with a nurse/caretaker); got people to bring commercial oxygen cylinders from throughout the community (most farmers had oxygen tanks for welding); Dr.Dlin brought anitbiotics, face masks and other emergency materials in bulk from the local (clinic/hospital?). Then, training everyone in the necessary emergency procedures and building bonfires all around the "operating theatre" for both heat and light through the night (no electric lights then) brought the whole herd thru the crsis losing only the animals who were already dead before Dr. Dlin's intervention - quite simply, as remarkable a "generalship" as any war story I've ever read. There are many other lessons in the book which I feel every medical student in the country would do well to learn - plus these stories are fascinating to the laynan.

Country Doctor review
Ben Dlin's book gave me a real sense of what life would be like growing up in post-World War II rural Canada. His descriptions are so true to life that they run the gamut, from allowing you to smell the delicious scent of his mother's fresh pastries to visualizing the many primitive medical procedures he had to improvise. From the woman with the gigantic stomach tumor that turned out to be constipation caused by her ingesting glass, stones, and other materials which he had to remove manually, to the "ice pick" lobotomy for mental illness, which today could be simply treated by medication, Dlin's description is uncanny. He sets forth in a non-clinical way his struggles to be admitted and graduate from medical school with its highly limited admissions and the medical help he had to give against sub-zero temperatures with little or no medical supplies. He even relates the medical advice and remedies he learned from his mother as a child and utilized them into his practice.

And it's not just people that Ben Dlin took care of but also animals with all kinds of different ailments from broken legs to pregnancy.

The life of this country doctor and his warm, sometimes humorous, and always sincere relationship with his family, friends, co-workers, and patients provides a wonderful depiction of a rural country doctor's practice and the challenges he must meet on a day-to-day basis.

A Must Read For Every Budding Physician
Whether you intend to become a doctor or have simply received medical attention you must read this book. It's a personal account of the author as a young man growing up in the country, becoming a doctor and learning through his experiences as a country doctor the very human side of medicine. This book is filled with the warmth and sensitivity of a truly caring doctor and should serve as an example to all doctors of a truly humanistic approach to medicine. ... 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

In the late 1800s, Canada’s prairies were the destination for thousands of settlers. Among them were the Caswells, who made the long journey from a comfortable home in Ontario. Before fourteen-year-old Maryanne departs from her hometown of Palmerston in 1887, she promises to write to her grandmother about her journey to Clark’s Crossing, near the present day city of Saskatoon.

In these fascinating, true letters, Maryanne writes vividly about the fun of the train ride and the near impossible trek across muddy cart tracks with the family’s laden wagon. As the oldest, Maryanne helps with many of the back-breaking and never-ending chores in the fields and at the homestead. Tales of courage, adventure, loneliness, sorrow, and delight flow from Maryanne’s pen. This is a powerful testament from an astute and sensitive young girl. ... 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

Starting in the 1800s and continuing into the 20th century, First Nations children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored residential schools to erase their traditional languages and cultures. This moving book tells of one such child, author Larry Loyie, and his last summer with his Cree tribe. It is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl, watches his grandmother make winter moccasins, and sees her kill a huge grizzly with one shot. The sensitive text and Heather Holmlund's expressive illustrations beautifully capture the joy and drama of a First Nations family's last summer together. ... 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.
... Read more

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

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Chemical News, published by Chemical Institute of Canada on February 1, 2004. The length of the article is 376 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: Obituaries.(Karl Kiril Georgieff, Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario)(Horace Philipp, Ottawa Section Executive Committee)(Federal Citizen Information Center)(Obituary)
Publication: Canadian Chemical News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2004
Publisher: Chemical Institute of Canada
Volume: 56Issue: 2Page: 4(1)

Article Type: Obituary

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Woman Studies, published by Canadian Woman Studies on September 22, 1996. The length of the article is 3435 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: Multiple loyalties: a great-granddaughter's reflections on the life of Ida Lewis Siegel.
Author: Gail Labovitz
Publication: Canadian Woman Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1996
Publisher: Canadian Woman Studies
Volume: 16Issue: 4Page: 95-8

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Reviews (1)

Away from headlines and into the lives of refugee families
This material formed a display at the Royal Ontario Museum; it works even better between book covers. It should be mandatory reading for Canadians - and few could help but respond to this intimate introduction to selected refugee families. The material was compiled back when Canada's refugee policies were worthy of international recognition. That time has passed. From time to time, "the refugee issue" splashes across headlines and quickly fades from view - having left little insight but rather the unmistakable whiff of problem and cost.

The refugee families selected are representative of the major refugee movements of the recent past. Both photos and text help place these personal stories within the larger context. However, the strength of the book is the personal glimpse of individuals' hopes and fears, losses mourned and futures planned. The reader sees that individuals differ in their responses to this devastating circumstance. The book is a useful antidote to the tendency to view the refugees' plight as simply a political or economic concern. The reader may better question the belated and begrudging response currently given to refugees who request safe haven in Canada. The process of moving past mourning lives torn asunder in order to plan lives to be built sits in painful hiatus while government appointees decide whether individuals are welcomed or forced back into the maelstroms from which they fled. Send this excellent book to our elected representatives. ... Read more