1 comments about Two Months in the Camp of Big Bear (Canadian Plains Reprint Series(CPRS)).

1. Teresa Gowanlock, a cousin of this writer, records in a diary-like format, her escape from death at the hands of Chief Poundmaker and his fellow Cree. Dragged helpless through endless miles of western overburden, she and her companions are portrayed as the hapless victims of the Natives. It is a book full of emotional-blood letting and a must read for all "family" members and those who would know the full extent of what happened to cause this monumental event in Canadian History. Teresa is not vindictive in her words but neither is she forgiving. She and her family suffered much but were the pawns of a government which held little love for any "force" which stood in its way. Upon her rescue she informed the authorities of her trial and soon set to telling her tale. Like her cousin Laura Secord, she became a part of the historical Canadian fabric and a noble example of all that was the strength of our early ancestors. Another topical book is, "Blood Red, The Sun" which gives a more general view of the massacre and the events surrounding it.

No comments about Our Man in Moscow: A Diplomat's Reflections on the Soviet Union.

2 comments about Felix d`Herelle and the Origins of Molecular Biology.

1. This textbook is a combination book, partly the biography of an exceptional individual and partly a history of scientific discovery. The author, William Summers, is eminently qualified to write such a text, being a physician, scientist, and historian at Yale University.

   D'Herelle is a renowned Canadian Scientist about whom I was totally ignorant. Born in Montreal, he traveled and lived in numerous areas around the world, although France became his eventual home. He never gave up his Canadian citizenship, however. D'Herelle was born to a wealthy family in Montreal, and after high school he traveled extensively, thanks to a gift from his mother. He never found time to return to formal schooling, but he learned enormous amounts in his chosen field, microbiology. His seminal scientific discovery was the description of bacteriophages, and their possible application in human infectious diseases. For this he received numerous awards, and at one time was a research professor at Yale University despite his own lack of formal education. Dr. Summers clearly delineates the process of scientific discovery, and the subsequent controversies over the nature of this new discovery (was it really a living organism or an enzyme?), and the determination of scientific priority. There is a fair amount of technical description, but Dr. Summers is a clear and logical writer who is able to guide the reader through the scientific process.

   This book is an incredible work of scholarship, with extensive use of primary source documents. However, because the main thrust of this book is one of scientific discovery, we get very little analysis of d'Herelle's personality. I would have been interested in some speculation on how his lack of formal education might have influenced his often-stormy relationships with other scientists. Also, why was such a distinguished scientist so poorly treated at the Pasteur Institute, his spiritual home? There would be much to learn from a biography of this highly complex individual. Meanwhile, this is an excellent book that helps us understand the nature of scientific enquiry while saluting an outstanding scientist, who just happens to be Canadian.




2. This book reviews the life of Felix d'Herelle, the man responsible for the co-discovery, naming, and popularization of bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria. From bacteriophages came molecular genetics, and from molecular genetics came biotechnology as well as much of modern biology. Bacteriophages, in the guise of the bacteriophage therapy of bacterial diseases, may even change your life, serving as the next generation of truly effective antibacterial antimicrobials. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and benefited greatly from the insight provided into d'Herelle's life and influence on bacteriophagy. Without question, any individual interested in bacteriophage therapy, or just plain bacteriophages as more than just tools at the heart of molecular biology, will want to read this book.

2 comments about Famine Diary: Journey to a New World.

1. Please note:
   
   This book has been proven to be a fake, insofar as the so-called 'diary' is actually based on a short story written in 1895. See Jim Jackson, 'Famine Diary: The Making of a Best Seller,' Irish Review no. 11 (Winter 1991-2), p. 1-8. While some of the historical conditions is describes may be accurate, it should not in any case be read as an 'authentic' first hand account.



2. To read Keegan's diary is to re-live the nightmare he is retelling. A schoolteacher, he had to live with the fact that his students couldn't concentrate because they were literally starving to death. In shutting down the schoolhouse he was performing a humanitarian service, but admitting defeat as well.

   He then takes his bride on a journey to the new Promised Land -- America. His horror at seeing hundreds crammed into the hold of the ship, food withheld by the crew, and larceny performed constantly, comes across with such alacrity that the reader wants to rush up and punish the offenders.

   The gripping tale spares no one -- the British, the greedy Irish landowners, the uncaring ship's crew -- all are painted with the honesty needed -- no Emperor's new clothes here.

   Although the ending is known, throughout the book the reader keeps hoping that history will change, that the circumstances will suddenly alter, and that the suffering passengers will somehow, miraculously be comforted.

   This is a very disquieting book if you have believed all the stories that the Famine was somehow brought on by the Irish, and that the emigration to America, Canada and Australia was a voluntary one.

   Those of Irish ancestry (like me) should read this to weep over lost loved ones, and ensure that nothing similar ever occurs again.

No comments about Margaret Atwood's Power: Mirrors, Reflections and Images in Select Fiction and Poetry.

No comments about Reel Canadians: Interviews from the Canadian Film World (Essay Series (Guernica (Firm)), 47.).

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

No comments about Modernist Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada.

No comments about Raincoast Chronicles 16: Time & Tide: A History of Telegraph Cove (Raincoast Chronicles).

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.