Biographies and autobiographies
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Abstract
Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a man who had everything, and yet had nothing. Although he had achieved international prominence as a surgeon, he was unhappy in his personal life and deeply frustrated by a failed attempt to introduce medicare to Canada. An uncompromising humanitarian in search of a cause, Bethune became immersed in the Spanish Civil War. In Bethune in Spain, Roderick Stewart and Jesús Majada recount Bethune's achievements in Spain and the events that led to his decision to assist the Loyalist forces.
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Abstract
Rupert Brooke (b. 1887) died on April 23, 1915, two days before the start of the Battle of Gallipoli, and three weeks after his poem "The Soldier" was read from the pulpit of St Paul's Cathedral on Easter Sunday. Thus began the myth of a man whose poetry crystallizes the sentiments that drove so many to enlist and assured those who remained in England that their beloved sons had been absolved of their sins and made perfect by going to war. In Fatal Glamour, Paul Delany details the person behind the myth to show that Brooke was a conflicted, but magnetic figure.
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Abstract
Based on personal experience, survivor testimony, and documentary research, Invasion 14 portrays the German occupation of northern France during World War I. Regarded by critics as Maxence Van der Meersch’s finest work, the novel is set in Lille, Roubaix, and nearby villages along the Belgian border, with the front lines just miles away and the shelling routinely audible. An antiwar novel that goes beyond the trenches, this book is not about combat but its consequences, providing remarkable insights on how French civilians chose to accept or oppose the occupation of their country.
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Abstract
Mike Babcock is the only hockey coach in the history of the game to lead teams to victory in the Stanley Cup, the World Championship, and the Olympic Games. Currently head coach for the Detroit Red Wings, he is arguably the best coach in the game today. In this book, against the dramatic backdrop of the Canadian men's gold medal victory in Vancouver, Babcock provides an inspiring roadmap for achieving goals and fulfilling dreams. This is not just a book about hockey but a book about life, rooted in Babcock's "Leave No Doubt" credo.
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Abstract
The Fighting Newfoundlander is a vivid history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment - the "Blue Puttees" - and its heroic contributions to the war effort. Gerald Nicholson details the harrowing experiences of the Newfoundland Regiment (the only Canadian unit) at Gallipoli and later at Beaumont Hamel where 710 of the 801 officers and men who took part in the assault were casualties. He also follows them to the Third Battle of Ypres and Cambrai, for which they were granted the title "Royal" - the only army unit to receive such a distinction during World War I.
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Abstract
David Thompson's Travels is one of the finest early expressions of the Canadian experience. The work is not only the account of a remarkable life in the fur trade but an extended meditation on the land and Native peoples of western North America. The tale spans the years 1784 to 1807 and extends from the Great Lakes to the Rockies, from Athabasca to Missouri. A distinguished literary work, the Travels alternates between the expository prose of the scientist and the vivid language of the storyteller, animated throughout by a restless spirit of inquiry and sense of wonder.
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Abstract
In 2005 Linda made a trip with her father to the last reunion of his RAF comrades, the 49th Squadron, Bomber Command. Intertwining her father’s experiences of a long-ago war with the war between a father and daughter, Linda Griffiths unveils an emotional chronicle of a family navigating a familiar yet foreign relationship.
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Abstract
The enigmatic, obscured figure behind many of the most important moments in building Canada's theatrical and cultural landscape has largely been ignored by history. In this groundbreaking study of his work, Allan Boss re-locates Moore in Canada's cultural history. Moore may be a jack of all trades, but Boss exposes a historical record that seems to conceal Moore's work, challenging the conventions of recorded theatre history in Canada.
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Abstract
Fifteen-year-old Rick Hansen is confident, outgoing, and the star of his high-school basketball team. He has his whole life planned out, until a tragic accident severs his spinal cord, leaving him in a wheelchair. Rick's accident forces him to adapt his positivity to deal with his new life, while helping to strengthen the relationship with his guilt-stricken best friend. Refusing to be put at a disadvantage, Rick conquers the challenges presented to him with a smile and changes the definition of what it means to be disabled.
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Abstract
This is the story of Barry and Lupus. Barry, an exhausted newspaper owner physically and economically on the ropes, meets Lupus, a wolf-German Shepherd cross, at an animal shelter. Despite a nagging belief that he cannot take responsibility for anything or anyone else, Barry rescues Lupus and takes him home. Every Wolf’s Howl recounts their incredible three-year journey together, back and forth across the country, enduring poverty, heartache, and illness.