NNELS Upgrade

2016 Hamilton Arts Council Literary Award for Non-Fiction — Winner David Milne is one of Canada’s finest artists, a man whose work speaks to the intricate beauty of the world as he experienced it. David Milne (1882–1953) dedicated his life to exploring nature and casting it into art in a variety of modernist formats. He was born into poverty in rural Ontario and remained poor all his life because of his relentless dedication to his art. For him, art was life.

First published in 1957, Mazo de la Roche’s last autobiography is a vivid look at her life in Ontario, and a parting shot at her critics. Mazo de la Roche was once Canada’s best-known writer, loved by millions of readers around the world. Her Jalna series is filled with unforgettable characters who come to life for her readers, but she herself was secretive about her own life and tried to escape the public attention fame brought. In this memoir, de la Roche describes her childhood and her relationship with her cousin and life-long companion, Caroline Clement.

Molly Brant, a Mohawk girl born into poverty in 1736, became the consort of Sir William Johnson, one of the wealthiest white men in 18th-century America. Suspected of being a spy for the British during the American Revolution, Molly was forced to flee with her children or face imprisonment. Because of her ability to influence the Mohawks, her assistance was needed at Fort Niagara, and she found refuge there. A respected Mohawk matron, Molly became a vital link between her people and the Canadian Indian Department.

After falling in love with and marrying a man two lifetimes older than her, Irving Layton’s last wife shares the story of her life with the acclaimed poet. While a student at Dalhousie University, Anna Pottier attended a poetry reading featuring Irving Layton. Walking out of the auditorium that night, she knew two things: she wanted more than ever to be a writer, and she wanted to be with Layton. At the age of twenty-three she became Layton’s fifth and final wife; she was forty-eight years his junior.

Carl Dixon’s journey through the twists and turns of a music performer’s life began in Northern Ontario, where his boyhood dreams, shaped by the 1960s, collided with a new musical culture. Though Carl’s road was rocky, it was still paved with gold. It has led from his early days with hard rockers Coney Hatch to tours and lasting friendships with huge acts like Iron Maiden. The ups and downs were meteoric.

A vivid first-person account of life on a troubled reserve that illuminates a difficult and oft-ignored history.

A modern look at a classic leader. Macdonald at 200 presents fifteen fresh interpretations of Canada’s founding Prime Minister, published for the occasion of the bicentennial of his birth in 1815. Well researched and crisply written by recognized scholars and specialists, the collection throws new light on Macdonald’s formative role in shaping government, promoting women’s rights, managing the nascent economy, supervising westward expansion, overseeing relations with Native peoples, and dealing with Fenian terrorism.

A GLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLER Had there been no Sam Steele, it has been observed, Hollywood would have had to invent him. Born into the comparative stability of the Victorian era's Pax Britannica, Steele lived to witness the postwar turmoil of the Lost Generation.

2015 Speaker's Book Award — Shortlisted Greg Sorbara presents a front-row seat to some of the most significant changes in Ontario politics. Greg Sorbara has enjoyed one of the most successful careers of any Ontario politician, and in two different Liberal administrations. He was appointed minister of finance by Premier Dalton McGuinty in 2003, and served as campaign chair for the Liberals’ three consecutive election victories — the first time that had happened in more than a century.

This special bundle contains the first thirty-five books in the Quest Biography series, which profiles the lives of Canadians who have had a profound effect on their country and the world. Some of these figures are truly famous, while others were quietly influential.