No comments about The Scotch.

No comments about Nick: A Montreal Life: Nick Auf Der Maur.

No comments about FATAL TIDE: When the Race of a Lifetime Goes Wrong.

2 comments about The Torso Murder: The Untold Story of Evelyn Dick.

1. 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.



2. I stumbled across this book while looking for something about The Lipstick Killer of Chicago, William Heirens. He, too, is believed to have dismembered at least one victim during his reign of terror from 1945-1946 in Chicago. (His culpability in the crimes is also circumstantial.)
   
   Instead, I found this book about the John Dick murder/mutilation in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1946. I had never heard of this case before, and it is still the only account I have read of it yet. But this book has made me want more.
   
   From the Prologue, I was intrigued. Vallee is such an interesting writer. His words and phrases are crafted for mood, clarity, and objectivity. He leads the reader through this small Canadian town; through the lives of these seemingly ordinary, if not strange, groups of people. It is still as salacious a story as when the news initially broke in those early days of March 1946.
   
   John Dick, an immigrant man who recently married, is missing. His employer is the only one who seems concerned, while his wife and her family continue to engage in some strange behavior. Her deepest concern is that he still owes her money, while her father's sole concern is that no police should be called to his daughter's house. As the investigation unfolds, we find a string of love affairs, a dead infant, shoddy police work, and some criminal masterminds. Love, murder, money, greed--all seem to be personified by the enigmatic Evelyn Dick. Is she guilty... or just a victim?
   
   Brian Vallee takes an even handed approach to this complex story. He takes account of nearly every side and every issue. The story itself is fascinating, and as was stated by one contributor, better than any work of fiction. For all the titillating details, Vallee constantly reminds his readers of the gruesome crimes that made these people infamous. His compassion and objectivity do allow him to come up with his own conclusions about the crimes, ending the work beautifully.
   
   Highly recommend!

No comments about Young, the Restless, and the Dead, The: Interviews with Canadian Filmmakers (Film and Media Studies).

3 comments about So Obstinately Loyal: James Moody, 1744-1809.

1. This is a very readable scholarly book about Captain James Moody of New Jersey. A man denounced by Washington ( he regularly swiped his mail) and all but forgotten in the parts of Nova Scotia where he was essential in civil development. Being a descendent of his compatriot, Lawrence Marr, I have an axe to grind, but if you have seen the movie "The Patriot" and find yourself distressed at the actions of the Loyalists in America, you owe it to yourself to read this. Moody, being aware of the usages of war at the time, was careful to wear his uniform and carry his commission on his adventures in the Delaware Gap area. His escapes were legendary and he became the subject of children's tales to the "patriot" third that remained behind when he and compatriots fled New York at the end of the Revolution. The first chapters reveal the situation at the beginning of the Revolution and the social web of the time. It is easy to understand his actions given the treatment of his in-laws and associates by the radicals, and one might suspect an element of class warfare motivated acts against the wealthy farmer class to which Moody, the Brittains, and the Marr families belonged. The later half of the book deals with his attempts to acquire a loyalist pension and his role in establishing a community in Nova Scotia. As such, the book is a valuable addition to the "Loyalist Studies" program of Canada's scholars. Nonetheless, it is also of great value to those of us in the States. It demonstrates the complex situation at the time of the Revolution with son against father, brother against brother. As one reads about denunciations and persecutions, one learns not only that "It could happen here" but that "It has happened here."



2. This is the first book I have read which describes the American revolutionaries unsympathetically. At one point, I thought the book must have been written during the current conflict in Iraq, but the copyright is dated 2000. I guess those who fight against authority have something in common with each other.
   
   I did not find this book exciting to read. Perhaps the author is trying to be authoritative at the price of being dull. Altogether, I suggest it's a great book to have read, not such a great book to read.



3. One cannot have a rounded view of the American revolution without seeing the extent to which it was also a civil war, and understanding the viewpoint of those in America who shared in the resentment of King George's policies, yet renounced violence as a remedy and saw no need to overthrow the existing rule of law. Susan Shenstone's thoroughly researched and detailed study of James Moody does precisely that. It is I believe at least as important for an American audience as for a Canadian one.

No comments about The Home Place: Life in Rural Prince Edward Island in the 1920s and 30s.

No comments about An Arctic Man (Goodread Biographies).

No comments about Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film.

1 comments about The Price of Command: A Biography of General Guy Simonds.

1. He led Canada through the bloodiest war it had ever been through and came out of it and honoured hero. He truly was a great Canadian.