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My Heart on the Yukon River is a a carefree romp
My Heart on the Yukon River is more than a collection of black and white portraits of people who live in remote places: It's the story of a woman who knew what she wanted out of life and had the courage to go after it.... In nearly every photograph, people are leaughing or smiling. No one seems to be taking themselves too seriously. Yet, Dykstra affords each person a sense of dignity. In one photograph of a woman, Suzanne Picot from Whitehorse, she poses in front of her car- painted to look like a car. Picot, who reveals in her interview that she's in love with a man who grew up on a dairy farm, is dressed like a dairy cow. She wears a black and white spotted jump suit, complete with rubber udders, horns and a cowbell necklace. Oddly, she doesn't look ridiculous. She just looks happy. For 2,000 miles, Dykstra remains optimistic and never stoops to exploit poverty, lonliness or human tragedy.... Dykstra's images are visually interesting and her text is a pleaure to read.... My Heart on the Yukon River is a a carefree romp- a lighthearted journal of a road trip Lorrie Blair for Hour Magazine ... Read more

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Marynia, Don't Cry : Memoirs of Two Polish Canadian
I strongly recommend this book for anyone with Polish ancestry who would like to grasp a phase in the history of their nationality, as well as anyone who liked the storyline of Angela's Ashes. Part I is an amazing and shocking account of a family's endurance of dreadful hardships in the early 1900s in Poland and their eventual migration to Canada. Were the story embellished with more prose, it would be a Polish counterpart of Angela's Ashes! (and easily go on as a box office hit). I was constantly in awe of the determination and comradery of the women in overcoming astonishing obstacles in order to simply survive. ... Read more

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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

Book Description

This book offers beautiful contemporary photographs and historical images of sites closely associated with Lucy Maud Montgomery. ... Read more

Book Description

What is the relationship between a city, its suburbs, and the rural landaround it?

In the 150 short pieces in Tom Thomson's Shack, Harold Rhenisch explores this questionin economic prose redolent with subtleties. From his native Okanagan to his home on theCariboo plateau, his musings are interwoven with a book tour to Toronto. On itsoutskirts, in Kleinburg, he discovers Group of Seven member Tom Thomson's studio,crucible of Canada -- to his surprise, as real as the valley a short distance from hishome that he knows as the Centre of the Universe.

Side trips to the stagnating mining town of Hedley, the totem poles of Kispiox, theretirement villas and golf courses of Kelowna, shape and refine the author's quest.Toronto, the inescapable electronic grid-city, ceaselessly colonizes the land with imagesof the land. In its wake, how can farming as Rhenisch's Okanagan forebears know it, afight to the death with God, prevail? Amazingly, the author's unsparing inquiry tunnelsthrough paradox to emerge beyond the city-country dichotomy, in the light of a newapprehension of ourselves as Canadians, whether city or country dwellers.

A rich and rigorous meditation on identity, language, work and life, Tom Thomson'sShack is a vital successor to the celebrated Out of the Interior. ... Read more

Book Description

Elsie Sark, an enigma and a legend, came to the Lennox Island Reserve, Prince Edward Island, in 1918 as the English bride of Mi'kmaq war hero John J. Sark.

Greeted on arrival by her father-in-law Chief John T. Sark and an assembly of Mi'kmaq residents, she found herself in the midst of a community in conflict. Without relinquishing her Victorian manner she settled on the Reserve, raising a family. Her life story sheds new light on Native-white relations on Prince Edward Island, but more than that, it bears witness to one woman's dedication to her community and family.

Micmac by Choice is the inspiring account of a remarkable woman and of the remarkable community she chose as her home. ... Read more

Book Description

George Manuel was a prominent leader of Canada's modern Indianmovement and an internationally acclaimed spokesperson for nativerights. His story is not just of one individual but of the rise ofnative power and consciousness in Canada and throughout the world. ... Read more

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A compendium of concise biographical sketches
Very highly recommended reading, Potlatch People: Indian Lives And Legends Of British Columbia by Mildred Valley Thornton is a compendium of concise biographical sketches drawn from the Native American people of British Columbia, as well as fascinating legends and traditions. Illustrated with artwork portraits of those portrayed offer a uniquely human-centered insight into a rich native culture and folklore. Potlatch People is an informed and informative addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

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Celebrates the works and life of Stanford Perrott
Maxwell Foran's Chalk & The Easel surveys and celebrates the works and life of Stanford Perrott, Alberta watercolorist. Black and white and color photos accompany text detailing his perspective and influences. ... Read more

Book Description

Down-to-earth descriptions, anecdotes, history of small town Ontario from the north to the south. Delightful! Humorous! Final Volume! ... Read more

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Lots of fishing stories
Generally a good book but it lacked the stories of Saskatchewan life I wanted to read about. Almost every story was about fishing which may be the only thing one does in Saskatchewan. I had expected more about the province, more stories and tales about Saskatchewan. What I found were stories about Carpenters life, although interesting, not very reflective of living in Saskatchewan. ... Read more