Biographies and autobiographies

  • William C. Van Horne Railway Titan

    Creator

    Knowles, Valerie

    Abstract

    William C. Van Horne was one of North America's most accomplished men. Born in Illinois in 1843, Van Horne started working in the railway business at a young age. In 1881 he was lured north to Canada to become general manager of the fledgling Canadian Pacific Ralway. The railroading general pushed through construction of the CPR's transcontinental line and then went on to become the company's president. During his time with the CPR, Van Horne developed a telegraph service, launched the Empress line of Pacific steamships in 1891, and founded CP Hotels.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Out of Darkness The Jeff Healey Story

    Creator

    Watson, Cindy

    Abstract

    Short-listed for the 2011 Golden Oak Award From the moment three-year-old Jeff Healey first laid a guitar across his lap in what was to become his signature style, it was clear he was no ordinary kid. Losing both eyes to retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer, opened a door to another world for Jeff, a newly adopted infant. Out of darkness he created music, becoming one of the most influential blues-rock and jazz performers of our time, beginning with his first hit album, See the Light.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Love You, Hate You Ballet School Confidential

    Creator

    Marsh, Charis

    Abstract

    Follow four young dancers in their first semester at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy while they work toward careers as professional ballet dancers. Kaitlyn, Taylor, Alexandra, and Julian are all students at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy where ballet and drama dominate everyone’s lives. Kaitlyn was the star at her old school, but the competition at VIBA is fierce and her reputation as a prodigy is threatened. About to turn fifteen years old, Taylor is a bit of a scatterbrain.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Cold War Soldier Life on the Front Lines of the Cold War

    Creator

    Burke, Terry "Stoney"

    Abstract

    The danger of participating in live-fire exercises and a Christmas spent in a military prison are described in detail in this graphic picture of military life at the height of the Cold War. "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an ’iron curtain’ has descended across the continent." These words, uttered by Winston Churchill in 1946, heralded the beginning of the Cold War. In this first-hand account of a NATO soldier, Terry Stoney Burke paints a graphic picture of military life at the height of the Cold War.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • The Men of the Last Frontier

    Creator

    Owl, Grey

    Polk, James

    Abstract

    In 1931 Grey Owl published his first book, The Men of the Last Frontier, a work that is part memoir, part history of the vanishing wilderness in Canada, and part compendium of animal and First Nations tales and lore. A passionate, compelling appeal for the protection and preservation of the natural environment pervades Grey Owls words and makes his literary debut still ring with great relevance in the 21st century. By the 1920s, Canadas outposts of adventure had been thrust farther and farther north to the remote margins of the country.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Boy from Nowhere A Life in Ninety-One Countries

    Creator

    Fotheringham, Allan

    Abstract

    Born in Hearne, Saskatchewan, in 1932, Allan Fotheringham has had a distinguished career. Dubbed "Dr. Foth," Fotheringham graduated from the University of British Columbia and has worked for numerous news organizations, including the Vancouver Sun, Southam News, The Financial Post, Sun Media, the Globe and Mail, and most notably as a long-time columnist for Maclean's.His career has taken him to many places on almost every continent as a correspondent and allowed him to meet many renowned personalities, from Robert F.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Revisiting "Our Forest Home" The Immigrant Letters of Frances Stewart

    Creator

    Aoki, Jodi Lee

    Abstract

    Frances Stewart arrived in Upper Canada from Ireland in 1822 with her husband, three children, and two servants. The family settled in Douro Township on the bank of the Otonabee River in 1823. Spanning three-quarters of a century, her letters represent the immigrant experience of one of the first pioneer women in the Peterborough, Ontario, area. Included are transcripts of the extant collection.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • The Astonishing General The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock

    Creator

    Turner, Wesley B.

    Abstract

    Winner of the 2011 OHS Donald Grant Creighton Award This book is about Major General Sir Isaac Brock (1769 - October 13, 1812). It tells of his life, his career and legacy, particularly in the Canadas, and of the context within which he lived. One of the most enduring legacies of the War of 1812 on both the United States and Canadian sides was the creation of heroes and heroines. The earliest of those heroic individuals was Isaac Brock who in some ways was the most unlikely of heroes. For one thing, he was admired by his American foes almost as much as by his own people.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Arctic Twilight Leonard Budgell and Canada's Changing North

    Creator

    Budgell, Leonard

    Coutu Radmore, Claudia

    Abstract

    Leonard Budgell saw the Canadian North like nobody else. He put his observations into words as few others ever could.As a "Servant of the Bay" Budgell ran Hudson’s Bay Company trading posts for decades in isolated communities up the Labrador coast and across the Arctic. Living among aboriginal Canadians he witnessed episodes and heard stories that would never again be repeated - except he wrote them down.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified
  • Sir Sandford Fleming His Early Diaries, 1845-1853

    Creator

    Cole, Jean Murray

    Abstract

    Sandford Fleming knew fame and many honours later in life, but the path was not always easy. His beginnings are revealed in these early diaries that record his thoughts as an eighteen-year-old leaving his family home in Scotland for Canada. After unsuccessful attempts to get work as a surveyor, he finally made important contacts in Toronto, and through involvement with the Mechanics' Institute and the (Royal) Canadian Institute, became connected to the leading architects and engineers in the community.

    Publisher (Source)

    Toronto

    Dundurn

    Not specified