No comments about The Ermatingers: A 19th-Century Ojibwa-Canadian Family.

4 comments about Confessions of an Igloo Dweller: Memories of the Old Arctic.

1. This book was a delight to read. Mr. Houston's admiration for the Inuit culture is evident on every page. Many of the passages and stories are thought provoking and educational. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of bewilderment turned to enlightenment by such unassuming teachers.



2. Really enjoyable. This man's interraelationship with a disappearing culture and the hurdles he faced in the Arctic wilderness are tangible and detailed. Mostly this book is about a youth (his own) - lost but still remembered. I read Joseph Conrad's Youth at the same time and the themes were quite similar.



3. First this is a book about art. If you have ever wondered how those most beautiful Eskimo sculptures and prints have found their way to your local gallery; this book tells you how.

   Mr. Houston was the first artist to recognize and search out the Inuit artforms and to deliver them to the art markets "outside". In every detail, name by name, you can read about the Inuit art culture from the very first stone figures and bone scluptures, to the latest prints.

   Second this is a book about Arctic. Adventure on a epic scale. Mr. Houstons' honeymoon was one of the very few trips from east to west across Baffin Island by sled. Mr and Mrs. Houston spent years in the Arctic living in the Inuit way; both their sons spoke Inuktitut in preference to English and preferred raw seal meat to... well that was all there was to eat.

   Sadly there are in this book no prints of the Inuit art, nor photos of the artists, nor any example of the art described in the text. For all the journeys by sled, boat, plane, and on foot there are no suitable maps. For a book about a culture that is so completely linked to geography, there are no maps for the reader to follow nor plates for the art lover to love.

   The most astonsihing event of the book occurs on page 9. A very young Mr. Houston steps off of a plane in the Hudson's Bay Arctic, looks around, and flatly refuses to live any place else; He stays for 15 years.

   You can add Mr. Houston to the list with Barry Lopez, William Vollmann , Farley Mowat, and John McPhee; thoes writers that get the Arctic Expericence




4. This is one of the finest first-person, historical narratives I've read for many years. Mr. Houston provides a unique, non-judgemental series of observations and first-hand stories about the Inuit and his own experiences living among them and working with them and, most importantly, learning from them. He is very honest in relating his own foibles and potentially life-threatening mistakes. His style is very easy to read and personal and I could not put this book down after starting it. Mr. Houston lived a highly privileged and unique life among a pre-literate but very evolved group during a crucial turning point for their culture. This is a rare and wonderful narrative.

No comments about Man of Mana: Marius Barbeau, a Biography.

No comments about The Archaeology of Bruce Trigger: Theoretical Empiricism.

5 comments about Ordeal by Fire: A memoir.

1. Rita has shared a true life story. It is a brave revelation of the many twists of life. There are many lesson one picks up througout the book. To look at life with a broad, unselfish view while valuing every drop in the ocean of time is one. Every life event has a purpose, and one must have faith in the way life unfolds itself. Her presentation is truly pictureque --from Rajasthan in India to Africa and multi-cultural Canada.



2. Wow! An amazing story of survival and sacrifice. This extraordinarily personal story is written in a simple yet eloquent style that provides a window directly into the heart of a woman dealing with unbearable emotional confines in her life.

   It is both an awful story of an oppressive and controlling man and awesome story of a woman's struggle for emotional and spiritual freedom for herself and her children. And it is the story of an Indian woman's struggle to reconcile her own identity within traditional Indian culture and with family expectations about her role in marriage and in life.

   Read this book if you want to be astounded...and then inspired!




3. Hi! I am Rita Nayar.
   I am writing a message here to provide an email address to those of you who wish to get in touch with me!
   It is rita_nayar@hotmail.com
   Please do write as I would love to get your thoughts, comments, feedback or simply an acknowledgement of my book.



4. Rita's book is about her journey; an idyillic child hood living in
   exotic locations, her horrific first few months of marriage, her attempt
   to escape, her immigration to Canada, her constant quest to placate her
   violent and unstable husband, her carrer success, her wonderful children
   and the most unimaginable tragedy anyone can ever experience.

   Her story has a universal appeal which crosses cultural and economic
   boundaries. My admiration for her has no bounds, because she has
   survived and is willing to share her story to celebrate her son and to
   reach out to women.




5. This is a true story of love, abuse, suffering, tragedy, forgiveness, redemption and closure. When I began reading this book, I was not able to put it down until I had finished it.

   This is a memoir. If you are living through, or have lived through, family violence, or simply know someone in that situation, then this book may be very helpful. It grew out of Rita's own need to come to terms with these horrific events in her life. She has since also become active in providing support and counseling to others who are suffering or have suffered domestic abuse.

   Be warned: the violence that the author and her family endured is graphically described. But it is not gratuitous violence. The violence was real, personal and even fatal for some members of Rita's family. That it occurred in a middle class family in a middle class neighborhood in a major North American city provides a hint of the pain that may be only one friend or family away from each of us.

No comments about I'll Sing 'til the Day I Die.

No comments about Honore Jaxon: Prairie Visionary.

No comments about Moose to Moccasins: Story of Ka Kita Wa Pa No Kwe.

No comments about Voyage to the Northwest Side of America: The Journals of James Colnett, 1786-89.

1 comments about Beyond Their Years : Five Native Women's Stories.

1. Each story represented the struggles and sacrifices that each woman had to suffer in order to stand up for what she believed in. These stories give women who are either Native or non-Native a sense of pride and accomplishment in female history. After reading the book, I felt liberated from all the misconceived notions about natives and native women that I had been taught about. Due to the author's indepth account of each woman and her environment I felt as if I knew each woman personally. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a good read!