No comments about Al Capone (Amazing Stories) (Amazing Stories).

No comments about The Lives of the Painters.

No comments about Autobiography of Ashley Bowen (1728-1813) (Broadview Editions).

1 comments about Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black.

1. The authors promise a critical examination of Conrad Black and Hollinger International, and that is what they deliver. With the exception of Richard Breeden, and perhaps Christopher Browne, none of the major characters in the book go uncriticized at some point in it. The narrative is not only engrossing, but also is sufficiently fact-driven to allow a reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the causes of the implosion of Hollinger. (It is vaguely worded in spots, but that would only be a drawback for those who would use it as a textbook or monograph.)
   
   It also has a new relevance thanks to the current trial of Conrad Black, Peter Atkinson, Jack Boultbee and Mark Kipnis. In fact, a recent prosecution witness, Fred Creasey, could have used this book to refresh his memory before his testimony in the trial. (Near-bottom of p. 53.) One other nice feature of this book is that it quotes the E-mails that Conrad Black wrote, recently excerpted in the media, in more copious detail than those excerpts reveal. This level of detail will satisfy the curiosity of anyone who's already read those quotes.
   
   I have only one quibble with the book, which does not relate to its self-imposed limitation of time scope. In the Epilogue, the authors portray Conrad Black as a relic of a bygone age, but their sense of history is somewhat inaccurate. Rather than being a holdover from the nineteenth century, Conrad Black, to the extent to which he is a relic as a CEO, is a holdover from the management culture of the 1980s. When a proper history of that period is written, it will be found that the grandfather of that era was Frederic Donner, chairman and CEO of General Motors from 1958 to 1967. The ever-growing scandals of shareholder abuse are distorted mirrors of Mr. Donner's image; the distortion comes from the relaxation of Donner's well-known probity.

1 comments about Running With Dillinger: The Story of Red Hamilton and Other Forgotten Canadian Outlaws.

1. No one thinks of Canada and thinks of Outlaws - it may be a testament to the country, but it would be wrong to say they are without them. "Running with Dillinger: The Story of Red Hamilton and Other Forgotten Canadian Outlaws" is the follow up to "The Desperate Ones: Forgotten Canadian Outlaws" - a look at the darker side of Canada, those who made their living opposing the law enforcement and through nefarious means. Of particular note to those who must have a link to American crime in their Canadian crime book is Red Hamilton - a long time member of the Dillinger gang, and notorious gangster in his own right. "Running with Dillinger: The Story of Red Hamilton and Other Forgotten Canadian Outlaws" is a must for any Canadian history collection who wants a look at Canada's famous lawbreakers and hoodlums - and for anyone who wants to see the Maple Leaf in a different light.

1 comments about On Six Continents: Life in Canada's Foreign Service 1966-2002.

1. This book is strictly a biography, which is not what I was looking for. I was hoping to learn about Canada's Foreign Service department and about the work of foreign service employees. The book is written at high school level, and never goes into depth on any topic. It's a good book for Mr. Bartleman to give to his children, and for people who want a great story to read in an evening or two.

2 comments about First Across the Continent (The Oklahoma Western Biographies , Vol 14).

1. Pretty good book. Gives a rather matter-of-fact account of MacKenzie's life. Not alot of detail or passion in either of his 2 great voyages. Interesting in all the other people brought into the story. Now I want to read about Peter Pond, MacKenzies' predecessor. Short and a quick read.



2. This is a well-written, concise (200 pages) biography of Alexander Mackenzie, the great Canadian explorer, best remembered for two important journeys made in western Canada, one to the Arctic Ocean in 1789, the other to the Pacific in 1792-93. Mackenzie was born in Scotland in 1762 and came to America as a teenager. He lived first in New York State around Johnstown, but moved to Montreal in 1778, where he entered the fur trade. By the 1780s, Fort Chipewyan, on the southern shore of Lake Athabasca, had become an important fur trading post, and this became Mackenzie's base of operations for his two explorations. The first, in 1789, took him north to Great Slave Lake and the river that would later bear his name, down which he ventured to the Beaufort Sea. Three years later he journeyed west from Fort Chipewyan along the Peace River and then over the Continental Divide to the Fraser and finally overland to the Pacific near Bella Coola. Thus Mackenzie and his men became the first to travel to the Pacific from an interior post on the continent (basically the first to cross the continent from sea to sea). He wrote an excellent account of his travels in 1801 (Lewis and Clark studied it thoroughly), much of it having to do with the Indians he encountered and which also included a history of the Canadian fur trade. He was knighted in 1802 and settled in Scotland. Although the book is a full biography, Gough focuses on the two journeys, the itineraries of which he has made extensive explorations of his own, and details the routes carefully, explaining much of what the explorers would have seen and experienced. He's a compelling writer and the book is a most interesting one. Highly recommended.

2 comments about Oak Island Obsession: The Restall Story.

1. What a great book. I have read a few books on Oak Island and this is by far the best one. The content of this book is unique to any other book written about Oak Island that I have read. This is a must read for all Oak Island Mystery enthusiast, especially for the skeptics and naysayers of the mystery. Lee Lamb (daughter of Bob Restall Sr)sucessfully rises to the task of sharing with the reader, her experience living and working on Oak Island, the hardships, triumphs and failures. (The never before seen photos are a must see). Sharing notes, drawings and designs of her father as he struggles to generate financing to continue the search for the allusive Oak Island treasure. He found more then one notable artifact that carbon dated as old. This is a book for those that have to smell, taste, touch and see before believing. Thanks Lee for sharing!



2. As a person who has probably read every known book on the subject and has a knowledge of the search, I can tell you I was dissapointed in the book. It gave us very little that was not rehashed info and could be found in any other book...as a matter of fact it was Mahone Bay's version of the "Little House on the Prairie"...Save your money on this one...

No comments about Shulamis: Stories from a Montreal Childhood.

No comments about They Were So Young: Montrealers Remember WWII (Dossier Quebec Series).