Biographies and autobiographies
-
Abstract
William Van Horne was one of North America's most accomplished men. Born in Illinois in 1843, he became a prominent railway figure in the United States before coming to Canada in 1881 to become general manager of the fledgling Canadian Pacific Railway. Van Horne pushed through construction of the CPR's transcontinental line and went on to become company president. He also became one of Canada's foremost financiers and art collectors, capping his career by opening Cuba's interior with a railway.
-
Abstract
The Franklin Conspiracy is an absorbing account of the single most enigmatic event in Canadian history. In 1845, two British Royal Navy ships, the Erebus and the Terror, commanded by Sir John Franklin, entered the Canadian Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. Neither ship returned. A fifteen-year search uncovered evidence of unparalleled disaster, but to this day no one knows exactly how the 129 men of the Franklin Expedition met their deaths. Although the expedition did not run out of food, there is clear evidence of cannibalism.
-
Abstract
Among the many technological advances of this century that have shrunk our country, few have had as great an impact as aviation. Technologies evolve and national priorities change, but the qualities necessary to design aircraft, fly them in war and peace, and manage airlines remain constant. In this, his second book about pioneers of Canadian aviation, Peter Pigott brings a richness and understanding of the individuals themselves to the reader. Flying Canucks II takes us into Air Canada’s boardroom with Claude I.
-
Abstract
Flying Canucks tells the fascinating story of aviation in Canada through this collection of 37 biographies of important aviators in our nation’s history. As early as 1908, having read the Wright brothers’ invention, Alberta farm boys and mechanics in Quebec villages were constructing large kites, attempting to fly them. Within a decade, Canadian air aces, like Bishop and Barker, swept the wartime skies over Frances, piloting deadly machines in mortal combat.
-
Abstract
Cairine Wilson, Canada’s first female senator, was one of nine children raised in an atmosphere of rugged Scots liberalism and strict presbyterianism by affluent Montreal parents in the late nineteenth century. She displayed an interest in politics early in life and through her father’s position in the Senate, was befriended by many notable politicians of the period, including Sir Wilfrid Laurier, an experience that left a permanent mark on her.
-
Abstract
In The Firebrand, William Kilbourn brings to life the rebel Canadian hero William Lyon Mackenzie. A skilled historian and an entertaining writer, Kilbourn reveals Mackenzie's complex character: able political editor, shrewd recorder of his times, efficient first mayor of Toronto, and gadfly of the House of Assembly.
-
Abstract
The half-century since Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1952 has witnessed many changes, some for good and some for ill. Among these, she has been one of the few constants.Fifty Years the Queen recounts her amazing life as Canada and the Commonwealth celebrate the Golden Jubilee of her accession to the throne. Elizabeth II is a figure whose faultless devotion to duty flourishes in an age of individual self-gratification.
-
Abstract
Frederick Horsman Varley was unique among the members of the Group of Seven. One of the greatest Canadian portraitists of the twentieth century, he is an intriguing example of an artist who, despite his fame as a portrait painter, remains better known for his landscapes. This is due mainly to his position as one of the founding members of the Group of Seven and their deliberate attempt to raise awareness of our national identity by depicting the Canadian landscape.
-
Abstract
From Pioneer Public Health Nurse to Advocate for the Aged: Eunice Henrietta Dyke. A dynamic personality whose determination improved public health care and nurses’ education, and began the recognition of senior citizens’ needs; yet she was fired at the height of her nursing career. A woman described as "ahead of her time."
-
Abstract
Escaping Hell is the compelling and true story of a heroic young Polish officer who survived the terror of five years in the prisons of Auschwitz and Buchenwald – where violence was meaningless because human life had lost all value. During World War II, Kon Piekarski was a member of the Polish Underground Army, a clandestine resistance movement which operated even inside Auschwitz – organizing spectacular escapes, operating a secret radio network and matching wits with the Gestapo.