No comments about Wild Garden: Art, Education, and the Culture of Resistance.

No comments about Kenneth George McKenzie: And the Founding of Neurosurgery in Canada.

No comments about The Judge's Wife: Memoirs of a British Columbia Pioneer.

No comments about Dictionary of Canadian Biography / Dictionaire Biographique du Canada: Volume XIII, 1901 - 1910 (Dictionary of Canadian Biography).

4 comments about Stardust and Shadows.

1. Can it be true? The unsolved 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor is really solved! Charles Foster, writer of this intriguing book about the silent era and its stars claims to have heard a confession, with others present, by the killer. I won't spoil your fun by telling you the murderer's name, but Foster has convinced me the murder is now solved. But there is much more in this remarkable book from a writer who met and befriended many directors, stars an technicians in Hollywood in 1943.Want to know why W.C. Fields enjoyed being hit in the face by a pie thrown by Three Stooges director Del Lord? Or why an actor named Sam De Grasse got a lifetime contract with Douglas Fairbanks as both actor and dentist? I consider myself an avid silent movie buff but have learned more fascinating things in this wonderful book than I learned in a lifetime elsewhere.The book moves from silents to early sound and reveals a lot of heartbreak and a lot of triumph. A totally readable book. I sat up to 3 a.m. finishing my copy and regretted reaching the final page. This is a must book for every movie enthusiast who wants to know the truth about early Hollywood. Kenneth Henderson



2. As a "foreigner" I thought that I might find it hard going.
   No! I was pleasantly surprised when I actually got started. To be very honest, it`s one of those books you pick up and then have great difficulty putting down again, my good wife Linda will testify to that fact.
   Some years ago I had a very brief preview and even then I knew it would be worth reading in it`s complete form. Uncle "Baz", as he is affectionately known, has certainly come up with a winner.
   The book gave me an enlightened view of what it must have been like in the "good old days", extremely entertaining.
   Well done!
   I can`t wait for the next one.I know it will be even better and that`s not because we`re family, it`s because I have an idea of what`s coming, I`ve seen the draft copy already.
   Thanks for the enjoyable read.



3. I thought that the subject of this book was interesting, and a book which explores it long overdue. Always cautious, I decided to get it from my university library before buying it. I am so glad I didn't waste my money on it. This book has good intentions but is full of unsubstantiated rumors-there are no source listings, there is no bibliography. The author bases his "information" on 60 year old meetings, and the readers are supposed to believe that his famous subjects revealed (to someone they just met) their deepest, darkest secrets. Did it happen? Perhaps, but I'd like to see some proof, any proof, for some of his wilder rumors. This is okay if you want a light, quick read - but for those with a serious interest in film history or who are looking for a scholarly discussion of the subject, look somewhere else. If you are interested in unsubstantiated rumors-this is just the read for you.



4. If you want to know about old Hollywood and how Canadians figured in to it... This book is for you!

   I met Charlie Foster in Moncton N.B. a few years ago. He and his lovely wife had come out to see me and my partner at the time, perform a Comedy show at a local club. He enjoyed the act and told us that it reminded him of Old English Music Hall and his youth in Hollywood.

   We went back to his home where he would regale us with stories of Hollywood days gone by. All his name-dropping had me suspicious of these tales of being on the set of the Beverly Hillbillies, the movie Spartacus, and all the people he met and interviewed. He then showed me some pictures of him with some Hollywood folk... I was convinced that he was on the up and up.. I said Charlie you should write a book... he said no one would want to read about it... Well Charlie, I guess you were wrong, and I'm glad. It's okay to be wrong.

   This book was a wonderful read. I found a couple of spots in the book a bit repetitive, but I have no right to be critical... who real does?

   Buy this book. You'll learn a lot about Hollywood of old and you'll have fun doing it. Charlie Foster won't let you down.

No comments about Memories are made of this: What it was like to grow up in the Fifties.

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

No comments about Canada's Queen: Elizabeth II: A Celebration of Her Majestys Friendship with the People of Canada.

1 comments about Shades of Black: Conrad Black - His Rise and Fall.

1. Mr. Siklos' biography, for those who want to get the measure of Conrad Black, is close to definitive. He not only corrects minor inaccuracies in Peter Newman's THE ESTABLISHMENT MAN, but he also extends the story right up to the 2004 ouster.
   
   As you read through it, you'll see certain parallels in Black's life emerging. Conrad Black was the younger son of a businessman who retired early, at a time when retirement at forty-eight was considered odd. As a child, Conrad had a capacious memory, honed into perfection by his father's training of him. He was mentored by Bud MacDougald, the top boss of a dividend company named Argus. It was there that Conrad Black hit upon the idea of accumulating cash flow to use for takeovers, and where he developed an inclination for asset shuffles and corporate reorganizations. Previous to Black being ushered into the Argus world, he and his long-time partner, David Radler, had built up a chain of newspapers, Sterling, almost from the ground up. The secret behind their success was, essentially, cost-cutting. Black had found some notoriety as well as fame from his writings, but it was his takeover of Argus, a true coup, that brought him fame as a businessperson in 1978. Notoreity followed fame when two of the companies controlled by Argus began to founder; he also encountered some legal trouble in the early 1980s.
   
   Conrad Black does have a law degree, and is comfortable following precedent or custom, but is also comfortable with grey areas in the law, and in pushing the envelope of custom or tradition. (An example of this last trait would be his supplementation of Mr. MacDougald's strategy, of using the accumulated surpluses in Argus plus some borrowed money to acquire more shares of companies he thought were undervalued, by borrowing copiously instead of sparingly.) These traits are evident throughout Mr. Siklos' book. Those who want to get the measure of Conrad Black would do well to pay close attention to part 1 of the book, as it describes Black's return to the station of a newspaper proprietor after learning much about financing and asset management at Argus, later folded into Hollinger Inc.
   
   I read the original version when it first came out, and can vouch for the claim that it is "expanded and updated." If you're interested in Conrad Black, you may wind up reading this book a few times, not only once.

2 comments about Meyer Lansky: The Shadowy Exploits Of New York's Master Manipulator (Amazing Stories).

1. As a fan of this genre I found Mr. Montague's Meyer Lansky an interesting tale. While the story did not reveal anything new, it was a well done accounting of the Lanksy we have all come to know!



2. Meyer Lansky was a genius who happened to be a criminal. He is the inventor of the forerunner to today's lottery. He was declared a criminal and we use the same system today claiming that it helps pay for education. Personally, I find his greed refreshing.