No comments about The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company: Including That of the French Traders of North-Western Canada and of the North-West, XY, and Astor Fur Companies.

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.

5 comments about Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co..

1. Part memoir, part travel book, part character essay. Jeremy Mercer chronicles his months as a poor, unemployed bum living in Shakespeare & Co. in Paris under the charitable auspices of its mercurial owner George Whitman (no, not the grandson of Walt Whitman, thank you!) who befriends him. There Mercer meets a ragtag bunch of writers, some odd part-time staff and curious visitors who over time, become part of the story of that legendary bookshop. Things we take for granted are all part of Mercer's daily adventures as he scrounges for cheap food, clothes and a hot shower with hilarious results. He also shares his growing friendship with George, a lifelong Communist and Sunday pancake chef.
   
   I may not be headed to Paris anytime soon, but I'm glad I read what is probably be the 'last firsthand account' of Shakespeare & Co. Funny and quitely moving, this is a great read and yes! a worthy addition to any library.



2. Jeremy Mercer's biographical description of Paris's Shakespeare & Company offers an amazing insight into the bookstore which accepts struggling travelers (who have a knack for writing... or at least try) by offering them a place to stay for as long as necessary (5 years for one visitor). But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this bookstore is its eccentric owner George Whitman, a man who regards money with disdain, sets fire to his hair in order to give it a trim, and decrees the bookstore's motto to be `Be kind to strangers, lest they're angels in disguise'.
   
   Shakespeare & Company was originally a bookstore owned by Sylvia Beach, running from 1919 to 1941, attracting such literary heavyweights like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald. After being closed (with one rumor being that it was shut down when Ms Beach refused to sell the last copy of `Finnegan's Wake' to an occupying Nazi officer), a decade late George Whitman opened his own, similar bookstore in Paris under the name `Le Minstal'. It would eventually adopt the Shakespeare & Co. name, and would become renowned for its open door policy to visitors; its deep rooted communist ideals; its run-ins with the government; its cluttered yet enchanting makeup; and its undeniable charm and allure that has attracted so many thousands of visitors.
   
   Into this world enters Jeremy Mercer, a Canadian crime-writer whose open honesty about his true character in the opening chapters immediately alienates the reader, who is likely to be somewhat put off by Mercer's admitted taste for the violence he witnesses whilst reporting. Mercer is by no means a dark and unlikable character, but his opening few chapters present him as such, with the added drawback of portraying him as an innocent young man wanting to get his hands dirty. Honestly, the reader has to struggle to persevere through this start (I not only found this, but so to did several people who also read it). But as the reader reads on about this charming bookstore and peculiar owner, Mercer finds his rhythm and is able to sustain the reader's interest.
   
   From the moment of his discovery of the bookstore, Mercer reveals a world that seems utterly unbelievable at times. Whilst it may have appeared to be a cluttered, yet cult bookstore from the surface, the reality awaiting Mercer is one which at times appears to be sheer madness. From the employee toilet being surrounded by stacks of books (which unfortunately suffer from ungraceful sprayback), a resident locking himself in his room day and night to escape imminent eviction, to tea party's featuring guests more likely to come from a Roald Dahl fantasy, the bookstore constantly lives up to its famous and offbeat name. Ultimately the numerous misadventures and anecdotes serves to incite an intense desire on the reader's behalf to go and discover this world themselves, with the firsthand account of Shakespeare & Co. appearing almost unbelievable.
   
   I give the book 3 stars yet this is more of a compromise. For its insight into the enchanting world of Shakespeare and Co., I would say it's 4/4.5 stars, yet for the tabloid style writing and the author's general appeal to the reader, I would say it's 1.5/2 stars. `Time Was Soft There' is however well worth the read, for it tells the tale of a bookstore inhabited by such an array of odd individuals that one can hardly believe that it is a memoir and not fiction. It makes quite easy reading (one can race through it fairly quickly), and once the hurdle of the introductory opening chapters is finished, you are able to enjoy the extraordinary tales of Shakespeare & Co., and its eccentric owner.



3. I happened on this book in an English-language bookstore in Paris during a recent trip (not Shakespeare & Co., if they had it, I didn't see it), and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect read for my journey. I've been to S & Co many times, but had no idea there was a whole down-the-rabbit-hole bohemian lifestyle associated with the place (complete with mad tea parties). Mercer's book brings that little world to life and leaves you thinking that bohemia sounds magical--but you just don't know if you could do without a daily shower. A must-read for lovers of Paris and books.



4. I was excited to get my teeth into this memoir but found it ultimately a little disappointing. There are some nice passages describing Whitman and his crazy personality, but I finished 'Time Was Soft There' with the feeling that Mercer had filled it out in order to have enough material for a book. Considering the literary culture of the shop, and the legacy of the authors that passed through it, there is something off-putting about this.



5. I've had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare & Co. on my many visits to Paris in the last decade. George was always in place at the front desk, waiting (if you can call it that) on the store's patrons. He was delightful, if you were respectful of the books and the other people in the store.
   
   But he could also exhibit a certain crankiness and excentricity. I once saw a young customer ask how much a particular book was, and George opened the book, saw no price tag anywhere, and answered, "oh, about 35 francs." The young man then looked aghast at that price (which was about 7 bucks at the time), and replied, "What?! That much?" To which George snatched the book out of this guy's hand and tossed it over his shoulder. He spat at the would-be customer, "Forget it. You can't have it. You don't deserve to read it." The guy was then unceremoniously shown the door.
   
   This personal antedote pretty much sums up George and the bookstore planted on the lovely Left Bank of the Seine.
   Jeremy Mercer captures much of the feeling and tone of Shakespere & Co. during that time, while also writing a lovely - yet unvarished - portrait of owner, George Whitman.
   
   A good read, whether you've visited the Paris location or not.

5 comments about Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic.

1. This is a true story, but reads like a novel. It is about the search for diamonds in northern Canada on a low budget. They follow one lead, that doesn't work, they follow another lead. They spy on the competition, the competition spies on them. They play tricks to mislead the competition, and eventually succeed in their quest. Parts of the book are hilarious.



2. Very well written and informative. I learned alot about both the diamond business and the great Canadian North by reading this book. Very entertaning.



3. It has been a number of years since I bought and read Barren Lands. Although I greatly enjoyed the book while I read it, I appreciate it even more now because it has left me with many vivid memories of tales told in the book and with knowledge about diamonds and geology that I would not have known otherwise. The book is more multi-dimensional, and works on more levels than almost any other book touching on Geology that I have read. In this multi-dim respect, I think it actually exceeds John McPhee's Rising from the Plains - which is quite a feat. What do I mean by multi-dimensional? Here are some examples that are still bouncing around in my mind years after reading Barren Lands:
   1.) The impression that is left of the Australian Mining Company BHP Billiton: I am left impressed by the way they kept their feelers out in this fringe community of explorers, and nutured a relationship with Fipke and Blusson until they found the first paydirt. (Way to go Hugo!) If one bought stock in BHP soon after this book came out, one would have probably recovered hundreds of times the books price in appreciation.
   2.) Fipke: I suspect that if he were growing up today in USA public schools, he would be first diagnosed with some kind of attention-deficit disorder, pumped full of Ritalin and then finally jailed when he would inevitably fail to be successfully hammered into servile, abject mediocrity. I think there is a huge lesson here for academia: STOP measuring people with standardized tests, and figure out a way to help each person find his or her own, particular intellectual fire the way Fipke did.
   3.) The endgame just before the discovery of the first pipe under the frozen lake. The cash is gone, winter is closing in, competitors with megabucks are catching on, and Canadian laws require you to divulge your secret the moment you make your discovery.... Such unlikely reality and so wonderfully told.
   4.) Death in the wilderness: lightning bolts and helo crashes. If it were fiction, people would criticise it for being unbelievable.
   5.) Black flies.
   6.) Shooting stars and prophecies.
   
   Much more. What a great and memorable book.



4. A really well crafted book with some flowing prose but... there is an element of 'faction' about this book. The author takes literary license to the extreme by describing in detail events he never witnessed and although it might make for great fiction, it made me wonder just how much of the book's narrative is at best exaggeration, at worse pure fabrication.
   
   But I thought the geological details in the book were well explained and the one lasting impression that I was left with was just how boringly methodical, time consuming and repetitive prospecting for diamonds really is, no matter how colorful and larger than life you make the people doing it.



5. Barren Lands is one of the great adventure reads. A bit slower and less gripping than Krakauer, but a great read.

5 comments about Two-Gun Cohen: A Biography.

1. First of all, I should say that my primary reason for reading this book was not because of some particular interest in the story of Two-Gun Cohen. My first attraction to this book grew from my interest in the history of China, and particularly modern China, which I date from the Macartney's mission in 1783. This book did not disappoint. It is a very useful addition to the study of China in the period from the 1911 revolution through the Communist revolution of 1949 and beyond. It gives very little insight into the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but there is lots of stuff written on that period.

   I have not read anything else by this author, so I cannot make comparisons to his other work, but I will say one thing: I like a guy who does his homework. This book is nothing if not well researched. That is, in fact, it's main strength. I used to be a country school teacher-believe me, I have heard every excuse in the book for why the homework wasn't done. And I have become weary in recent years of "historians" who pretend to be writing history, but in fact have no interest in what actually happened. Ever go to a library and try to get Gore Vidal's "Lincoln?" It's in the fiction section. Or how about Oliver Stone, who openly admits (without any sense of shame) that he plays loose with the facts? That kind of stuff sells to a nation of people who are products of the American public school system. But for those who really care about what actually happened, a higher standard must prevail. Daniel Levy holds to that standard, and even helps to establish it, because his careful workmanship serves as an example to those who would address the same period. Bottom line: this is just very good history.

   Now to the story. This book addresses the question of who Cohen is in comparison with how he presented himself, or allowed himself to be presented. Cohen was not the "mover and shaker" that he is sometimes said to be. But he was not just a worthless pretender, either. As I see it, Cohen distinguished himself in two areas: He was a very good body guard for Sun Yat Sen, and he also had the dubious distinction of being a first rate gun runner. Other than that, he doesn't seem to have been able to get by without some kind of a hustle. He started life as a petty crook, and this set a pattern that really prevented him from having dependable, gainful employment when the chips were down. I don't mean that he could never get away from the life of crime. What I mean is that, because he took the easy way out as a youth, he never took the time to learn a trade. I always encourage young people to develop a marketable skill that they can fall back on if they ever need to. This is something Cohen never did, and there was a time in his later life when it really would have come in handy. While Sun Yat Sen was alive, Cohen was riding high. But after he died, and especially after World War II, Cohen suffered a long period of marginal or nonexistent employment. Nothing wrong with being an adventurer, but it really helps if you have a trade skill to take you through the dry periods.

   Toward the end of his life, Cohen did manage to secure some very good work as a consultant because of his contacts in China. These connections, by the way, were genuine. It would be grandiose in the extreme to suggest that Cohen shaped the future of China. But he was well acquainted with some of those who did. That part of his self-presentation was not made up.

   I gave this book five stars because it was so well researched. But it is also a very personal story of a man that I think, in some way, we all aspire to be. I respect Cohen for daring to step out and discover a world that so many of his peers shied away from. He was not satisfied with the ordinary. And he was in many ways a very likeable, if sometimes pathetic person. This was a very enjoyable book. It is not as quick a read as some others, partly because the author went to great lengths to verify his assertions. But I think any honest reader will find it to be a worthy contribution to the literature.




2. Two Gun Cohen is bigger than life. Like most biographies it is not a fast reading book, but it is a great book for anyone interested in the history of western Canada, China or interested in Jewish biography. I read the book after visiting places in England where Two Gun Cohen spent his youth,in the cities of western Canada where he spent his youth and China where he spend his mid life. The book is not for anyone that is not interested in history or biographies of unusual people. For me it was a great book; I wish that it was still available in hard cover, I am buying two addional copies for two friends of mine.



3. I long ago heard of Two-Gun Cohen, and was pleased when I found out that there was finally a biography of him. Daniel Levy has crafted a clear, well written account of Cohen and taken the time to delve deeply into his life. I was amazed at what Levy uncovered, from Cohen's World War I medical files (I am surprised that such material still survives), to the dossiers the State Department kept on him and the depositions chronicling Cohen's various court visits. More importantly, Levy obviously took pains to get Cohen's life right and to track down those who knew him well. For by going through his encyclopedic footnotes and seeing all the people he spoke to, one realizes that if Levy solely relied on the cold documentary history of records and newspaper clips, Cohen would have come across as a less interesting and much rougher character. What Levy has presented us with is a well-rounded view of this adventurer, and written a riveting and graceful history of an amazing man.



4. It's rare when I...(leave a)...biography unread. But I gave upabout halfway through what should have been much more fascinating andreadable. Instead, Daniel Levy writes a rather dull portrait ofCohen, making him into just another hoodlum. There's no verve or excitement here, despite the criminal life Cohen leads in Canada or the revolutions he sees in China. It also doesn't help that this book is rife with bad grammar and sentence structure. Didn't anyone edit this?

   A dull book all the way to the point when I said, "enough!" END




5. Levy does a remarkable job of telling the story of Two-Gun Cohen, from his humble roots as an immigrant Jewish youth in London to his early days in Canada to his glory days in China as a bodyguard for Sun Yat-Sen. It is the remarkable tale of a self-made man that reads in large part like a "boy's adventure" story of the mid-1900s -- except that the whole thing is true. Some may take issue with Levy's debunking the many myths that Cohen erected around his life, but such scholarship does noting to diminish the character, charm and accomplishments of the man.

No comments about The Home Children.

3 comments about Tarasov: The Father of Russian Hockey : Hockey's Rise to International Prominence Through the Eyes of a Coaching Legend.

1. Simply because I remember most of the later events described in this book unfold during my childhood years, I found this book to be most interesting. It provides a great look into some of the hockey's most profound moments, and describes the system that has produced so many great stars. It is definately a must read for anyone interested in the history of the game.



2. While this book is most interesting , something is missing. Why does Tarasov completely leave out The Soviet Olympic Team losing to the US Olympic Team in the 1980 Olympics? Herb Brooks was an avid student of Tarasov and would often track him down with a bottle of vodka and pry the master for information he could use to develop his US teams to emmulate the great Soviet squads. Could it be the conflict between Brooks and AHAUS that this portion of Soviet history was blantently edited out? Shame on USA Hockey if this is the case!



3. In a blunt and descriptive review one of the greatest hockey coaches ever, points out the differences between hockey his way and hockey "our" way. What made the Russians dominate?? Tarasov reveals the answer...Why the decline of the Russian hockey program?? Tarasov fortells and describes why it happened..Do Russians enjoy playing hockey??...once and for all the father of Russian hockey destroys the myth of the stone faced Russians... For fans who want stories of internatinal hockey..this book has it. For people who want to become familiar with the history of Russian hockey this book will cover it. Coaches will also gain insight into a few of the revolutionary training and tactics that Tarosov introduced to the ice

No comments about Queen Victoria - The Story of Her Life and Reign.

No comments about There Never Was a Better Time: Toronto's Yesterdays.

No comments about Legacy in Wood: The Wahl Family Boat Builders.