No comments about Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919-1939.

1 comments about Desolation Sound: A History.

1. Desolation Sound: A History is an anecdote-filled chronicle of the rich past of Desolation Sound, one hundred miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia. Today, Desolation Sound is almost as depopulated today as it was in 1792 when the dyspeptic Captain George Vancouver named it. From reclusive hermits, to a Depression-era logging camp that valued life so poorly that accident victims were piled in a heap and not moved until the following day, Sliammon chief Joe Mitchell, and much more. Debunking false legends and confirming true stories, Desolation Sound is a most enjoyable read accessible to history lovers of all backgrounds, and is highly recommended for Canadian History shelves.

No comments about Loyalists and Layabouts: The Rapid Rise and Faster Fall of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, 1783-1792.

1 comments about Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country.

1. This book has a high "fog factor" and is difficult to read. It uses academic jargon and long sentences. The structure is complex and confusing. That is not to say that the book is inconsequential; indeed, the subject matter is quite important. It is simply difficult to access it through this book.
   
   The back cover accurately describes the book as looking systematically at the families and offspring of the upper echelon of the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company. Unfortunately, this was a male-dominated business and a male-dominated period in history. Men kept the written records. The author of "Strangers in Blood" relies heavily on anecdotal accounts of individuals, complete with many direct quotes. Thus, this is a book that follows the men of the fur trade. Their wives and offspring become adjuncts. The book partially compensates for this by providing information on societal pressures within the fur trade, as well as in Canada and England at the time. It also addresses the policies of the fur companies relative to dependents.
   
   The book characterizes and contrasts family connections in the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company. The presentation is roughly chronological from the late 1700 to the mid 1800s. The 1821 merger of the two companies is a focal point. Chapters and subchapters move back and forth between the two companies; as well as between various topics of gender and types of family relationships. The focus is on individuals, with every page containing a confusing array of proper names. The names of key individuals (men) reappear constantly until the reader longs for a wall chart to keep them straight. The author has even provided a few small pieces of such a chart and they are helpful.
   
   One comes away with the feeling that the men of the fur trade took more responsibility for their families than one might expect. They usually tried to place their offspring, both male and female, in a position to start a life of their own. That included at least some education; an apprenticeship for men, and marriage for women. Fewer men stayed committed to the mothers of their children but some of the relationships were life-long.
   
   From the early 1820s on, one man, George Simpson, had great influence over the fur trade and the people involved with it. He directed the Hudson Bay Company through the merger with the Northwest Company and for forty years afterward. He influenced the tenor of the fur trade and everything connected with it. Ms Brown shows his impact to be more negative than positive. Simpson, the clergy, and English women all arrived on the scene at about the same time. The result was increased racism, emphasis on class, and moral disapproval of "country marriages." These semi-formal unions with Indians and mixed-bloods were prevalent in the fur trade up until that time. The problems of integrating the descendents of the fur traders into society continue in Canada today.
   
   Finally, I even want to complain about the title. "Strangers in Blood" is an English legal term for relationships that exist "in blood" but the law refuses to admit as legitimate. This book is about a much broader range of relationships. The author recognizes the problem in the final chapter. Someone in the publishing process should have insisted on a better title.

2 comments about Moe Norman: The Canadian Golfing Legend with the Perfect Swing (Amazing Stories).

1. The reknowned author,Stan Sauerwein has written a great biography of a brilliant golfer,Moe Norman.He rules!!



2. This is the tale of Moe Norman, one of golf's greatest, but probably least well known heroes. Born into poverty, he used the extra time he had to turn himself into the greatest ball striker ever known. Overcoming financial problems, numerous brushes with the RCGA and other ruling bodies, he carved a place out for himself in golf history, and is now one of its immortal figures.
   
   This book is geared mostly towards adolescent readers with a general interest in sports greats, preferably with a rudamentary understanding of golf. It will not satisfy the golf fan, though, as so much that was unique about Norman's game is not discussed. Many of the tales that surround him, such as the exhibition with Snead in which Norman launched a drive and rolled it over a bridge rather than lay up in front of a creek, are noted, but some of his greatest feats are left out. Many of those, such as being told by his caddy that a hole was a driver and a wedge to the green and Norman playing a wedge from the tee and a driver from the fairway, probably will be lost on non-golfers.
   
   For a simple read into Moe Norman's life, this book more than fits the bill, but it treads too carefully. His problems with tournament organizers and golf's ruling bodies sets the plot, but that plot is very much a "disadvantage person carving his own way" sort of story, and not the tale of bravado golfers have come to expect regarding the greats. Good reading for a summer book report, but lacking for serious golf readers.

No comments about Marguerite Bourgeoys And the Congregation of Notre Dame, 1665-1700 (Mcgill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion).

1 comments about The Life of Josiah Henson: Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada.

1. I received most of my order in good condition and a timely manner but i have still not received a book, "Little Black Sambo and the CD, Black Power. Parnell Herbert

1 comments about Towers of Debt: The Rise and Fall of the Reichmanns/the Olympia & York Story.

1. This is the best book you want to get if you easily get discouraged by 500+ pages books. It is almost identical to Biacco's book (from page 256 on) but with much less details about Real Estate deals, that somebody not really interessted in Real Estate will appreciate.

1 comments about A Dog Came, Too: A True Story.

1. "Long, long ago, two native guides, an explorer, and seven voyageurs set off to find a rout across Canada to the Pacific Ocean. A big brown dog traveled with them."

   Thus begins a children's picture book about Alexander Mackenzie's expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, as seen through the eyes of their faithful, though nameless, working dog. The story is simple, moving, and true: Mackenzie and his voyageurs were accompanied by a dog, who proved to be extremely useful, and had several adventures. The dog got lost along the journey, and was sadly missed. I'm not a dog person, but I was still touched by the simple storyline. It matches my rough recollection of the history, from Mackenzie's journals.

   The watercolor illustrations are nice, and score big on accuracy; these voyageurs wear cloth shirts and trousers, not buckskins and roadkill hats, and are clearly influenced by Peter Rindisbacher's paintings from Red River in the 1820's. When they carry their pieces over a portage, they are shown correctly using tumplines rather than packframes. Mackenzie and his clerk are both dressed as befits their station, in 1790's style. (The Natives are in cookie-cutter buckskins, though.)

   The illustrations advance the story just as much as the text. I loved the illustration of Mackenzie and his men searching for their dog at Friendly Village. I also enjoyed the picture of unfriendly Natives checking out Mackenzie's spyglass and sextant as the voyageurs prepare to beat a hasty retreat; meanwhile, the explorer is busily painting his name on a rock on the Pacific shore.

   This is a great book for gently introducing kids aged 4-7 to fur trade history. It's primarily a dog story, not a history book; Mackenzie isn't named until the final page.

No comments about Steel My Soldiers' Hearts.