I've known of the great "Paul Mather" for quite some time. I've seen the statues erected in his honour down at the mall, but I never felt I knew "the man" behind "the columns"... that is, until now. This searing forray into the mind of the person Times Magazine called "The Most Angular Mind" of the 21st century is both ludicrous and pheromatic. Bravo professor wackypants! Bravo.

Funny funny funny. I've been reading Paul's weekly atricles for several years now and to have the creme de la creme all in one low priced and attractive compilation is, um, good.

I dunno - perhaps my favorite article was one I actually hadn't read before about Canada's governor general award for literature. A close second was the one where his bike got stolen by a high tech crime gang with "elevator stalling ray guns". Or the one about the Celts. Ha! Well, this could go on and on and by the time I'd finished I'd simply have listed most of the articles in his book. Suffice it to say that this is among the funniest stuff I'm ever read!

What can I say? Go Paul, go! Keep being funny.

This book is a beautiful combination of humor and insanity. It is like if George Carlin met God. Very funny, and so off the wall you will find yourself naked in an alley on the lower east side. BUY THIS BOOK. I did, and look where it got me.

This is a delightful book for any racing enthusiast who either loved the Can-Am or wants to learn why older fans revere it.

While Pete Lyons is as scrupulous as someone like Doug Nye about accuracy for such details as chassis numbers, Pete uses such information only to make sure that his narrative is accurate and consistent or to authoritatively state interesting facts, such as the cars that won consecutive events, or won the same events in consecutive years, or were raced by certain drivers.

Reading Lyons' book is like reading the race reports at the time in Competion Press and Road & Track, with the added perspective of knowing how it all turns out after the rubber dust has settled. The candid driver shots of Bruce, Denny, Dan, Mark and the rest of these heroes of my college days, with the exquisite on-track shots and hardware close-ups, bring it all back in a great rush. It's a very difficult book to set down, time just seems to fly, as it seems those years did. It's a marvellous reminiscence of those larger-than-life men and the fastest road-racing machines ever built.

As I played only a very small part in the history of the Can-Am, I am deeply moved that Pete Lyons took the trouble to telephone me prior to the publication of his fabulous book. That he covered the Can-Am series in such detail as to include me is a measure of his dedication. I must say that it was an honour to be included. Those Can-Am days that nearly ended in tragity for me at Road America in Aug 1975, after the series had been canceled in 1974, were times of good racing,great friends and fabulous spectators. I shall never forget Mark(Donahue) comming to see me after a race (in which he lapped me twice!!)to suggest that I might want to change the rear roll stiffness of my car as he followed me for a lap to see what my car was doing!! or George(Fullmer) storming off in a huff at Mid Ohio after retiring with "driver brain fade!!" Pete...thanks for all the hard work and dedication for a "work of art of a lifetime" I am very glad that Doug Waters lived long enough to see the finnished work. He died alone watching his beloved Jaques win the World Championship accompained only by Lella and Kingfisher his two siemese cats.END

The wonderful collection of poems that comprise The Cinnamon Peeler were written by Michael Ondaatje during a twenty-year period. They are works of deep intimacy and dazzling beauty.

Not being a poet myself, I enjoy reading Ondaatje's gorgeous poetry to my novelist wife.

More than love poems, these works contain wonderful twists and turns that are both painful and funny. Ondaatje has obviously turned to both Rousseau and Wallace Stevens for inspiration, but he also contributes his own sense of the novel and his awareness of social strata.

This is a charming book, with a muted sense of humor. With The Cinnamon Peeler, Ondaatje takes us deep inside his own mind and heart. It is trip worth making.

Michael Ondaatje knows how to write poetry. Primarily, he is a poet. Secondly a novelist. This collection contains a great variety of poems about day to day life, love, marriage, deep observations about children, humour, history and many more.

My favourite poem is ""To a Sad Daughter" which has a universal appeal. Once, I read this poem to my wife just replacing the poet's daughter's infatuation: ice hockey players with our daughter's hobby. My wife remarked: "Great poem. So you write good poetry too!"

I also like other poems including "The Cinnamon Peeler", "A House Divided", "Women Like You", "Billboards" and "Postcard From Piccadilly Street".

Michael Ondaatje shares his great intimate moments with us including love, his recollection of places and relationships with us. If you want to understand Ondaatje's prose, one must begging with his poetry. For anyone 'The Cinnamon Peeler' is an entry into a dark and deep labyrinth painted with human experience. When you come out of it, you'll be a different person.

This book is a one I read over and over again when I'm both sad and happy!

Michael Ondaatje knows how to mix humor, beauty, sadness, and acute observation together to make lovely works of art. This collection contains a great variety of poetry, from simple and touching observations about his children, to deeply imagined distant moments of wonder. My favorite is "Pure Memory/Chris Dewdney" which actually made me cry twice for two different reasons when I first read it. I will say no more here. "Elimination Dance" is also a fun one to read out loud. "The Cinnamon Peeler" itself is a fantastic love poem. There is so much good stuff in this.

This is a wonderfully warm and inviting depiction of the plains region. For those of us who are from the prairie, the book stirs appreciation and love for the land that has helped shape us. For those who are not from the prairie, the author offers a viewpoint that helps in understanding the beauty of the land and the people of the plains.

I loved this seminal work from some of Canada's finest poets, and for me, the opening stanza sums up just what is right about the work of Bouchard.

"Oh elephant, your nose is long,
Do you not think that it is wrong?"

Stunning.

this book is beautifully done. the words paint pictures and the pictures tell a story. i read it to my 3rd grade class and am planning to buy one for my 83 year old father for christmas!!

I didn't mean to like Winnifred Eaton. After all, she was a bit of a fanfaronade and very much of a poseur, not at all the sort I wanted in my circle of intimates.

But Diana Birchall's sparkling biography changed my mind. Writing with unblinking honesty, Birchall describes the many lives that her chameleon grandmother lived, from journalist and novelist to story editor and screenwriter. Of most interest to me were the stories of her career as wife in two unconventional marriages and mother to four children. Birchall's graceful use of language is enhanced by her wit and intelligently ironic style. She concludes this delightful biography with the acknowledgment that sharing what she has learned about her grandmother has been a privilege and a joy. Surely it is no less a privilege and a joy for the reader.

Birchall's fascinating and beautifully written account of her grandmother's life is an important work for scholars in women's studies, Asian-American or American studies, Canlit, and the movie industry, and for the general reader seeking a compelling biography.

Other reviewers have mentioned Eaton/Watanna's background. I will stress instead the absorbing interest of Winnifred's successive reinventions of herself in societies that had no ready place for her. Like a brilliant slackrope walker with an increasingly awkward load, Winnifred managed to shift her balance not only to survive, but pulled off one tour de force after another. Her performances as a Japanese-American novelist, as a screenwriter and as a rancher doyenne would win applause from Daniel Defoe.

Eaton/Watanna has become a focal interest of American scholars in recent years. As her granddaughter, Birchall had informaitonal advantages in writing on her. Her graceful, well-considered book shows how glad we should be for Birchall's advantages.

"A jolly, laughing lady" are the first words of the bigraphy; the last ones are: "To be able to share what I have learned with others has been a privilege and a joy. Has not this journey been an enviable inheritance in itself?"

Inbetween these words Birchall indeed shares with the reader the life of Winnifred, in personal and intimate detail. Birchall also seduces the reader into not just reading, but thinking about the culture and times Winnifred faced in her own inimitable style, from her life in Canada as young girl down to the years of Hollywood.

Normally I am none too fond of biographies but this one enchanted me, by the content and by the style of Birchall's writing. Full of zest, lifely images and easy to read on and on. As non native reader I appreciated this very much; it was a joy and a privilege to share. Would that all biographies were such a good read!

This book is gold. Alan has made a guidebook, that has everything you need to know about a route, right in front of your eyes. From Elevation gain, approximate round trip time, difficulty, the map needed, route photos for every peak and a completely detailed description of the route. Also he has a colored mini photo album at the beginning of the book that shows some pictures of what you will encounter. He has included over 150 mountains that range from tiny hills that I could take my pet hampster up(jokingly), to glaciated masses of rock that can take a rope and multiple days. This book should be in every climbers pack. I erge you to buy it. It's well worth it.

The author, Alan Kane, does a great job of putting this guide together. This version is much better than the previous edition. Lots more peaks included. For the most part the peaks are all in alberta. Some in the south, others a bit more towards the north. Each hike includes difficulty level and other relevant information.

Alan has climbed every one of the peaks he described. The route descriptions reflect that intimate knowledge that the author has with each route. The details are excellent. Moreover, he really gives you a feel for the climb and from my experience reading the routes made for fewer unwanted surprises on the actual climb.

I'll also say that the book has a nice variety when it comes to difficulty of the scrambles. The concept of scrambling in many ways represents the highest degree of freedom you can have while climbing. This is because you needn't be weighed down by lots of gear (protection, climbing rope, chocks, etc) to do these scrambles. Yet they are more difficult and exciting than a regular walk-up. Kane has all the bases covered here. For a guide to scrambling in the canadian rockies, look no further. However, don't just take my word for it...Alan has a website where you can see some of the routes described in the book. I think it will give you a good idea of what to expect.

I just recently got this guidebook, and let me just say that it blew away all my expectations. Seriously, this is the finest mountain guidebook I've ever seen. Pictures for every mountain, great descriptions, introduction, etc. Bravo. Well worth the money. I had to try hard to keep myself from drooling on the book because it's an x-mas gift to my dad. There are certainly some great peaks to climb in Canada.

I was introduced to this anthology in a writing course. While compulsory reading is seldom as enjoyable as elective reading, I found myself returning to this collection of short stories long after the course ended. Stuart Dybek's "Pet Milk", a warm and rich introspection on the transition from childhood to adulthood, got me hooked and I soon read every story in this collection. Anyone who enjoys good writing but struggles to find time to read, or who appreciates finely crafted short fiction will enjoy these short but interesting stories. Highly recommended.

I didn't want this book to end; the stories were so enjoyable. Some were so intense I had to reread them immediately. I would love to take a writing course to try emulating them or using them as inspiration. One complaint: like many of these anthologies the editors don't give a hint of what to expect. Stories are ordered alphabetically by author's last name, but curiously each leads to the next. This volume is much better than ones that try to pick the best story (or stories) of the year and more enlightening than single author collections.

This is a wonderful selection of contemporary short fiction featuring a variety of authors and points of view and a great diversity of subject matter. Stories deal with such varied topics as homosexuality, the Holocaust, Native American mysticism and small time crooks. Women writers are well represented. This collection features some very different choices, including a ghost story from Joyce Carol Oates.
This collection will prove an invaluable resource for budding writers and literature majors alike. This would also be a great primer for someone unfamiliar with the most contemporary short fiction.

This is indeed a terrific guidebook for B.C. Previous editions, however, included Banff and Jasper National Parks, which admittedly are in Alberta, not B.C., but are usually included in Canadian Rockies travel itineraries. There's no excuse including Yoho (which is just over the border) but not Banff and Jasper, except to sell more books. So this is not an improvement.

I know of no better book to my home province of British Columbia than this Moon guide. On my travels as a semi-retired geologist, I also carry copies of the Lonely Planet and Frommer's book and have reviewed both of them and others at Amazon.com, but Moon Handbooks British Columbia stands alone for its usefulness. The other books have their good points, but this one encapsulates everything one needs to enjoy the wonders of the province, whether it's their first trip or they live here. It covers every single corner of BC and is thorough and up to date.

The Moon guide is cleverly written and arranged to appeal to all budgets. The bulk of the text relates to towns and parks of BC, with informative coverage of everything from museums to fishing opportunities and wildlife viewing. Each section ends with details of the best places to stay and recommendations for dining. If you're camping out or RVing I'd suggest also getting a campground guide, but the Moon book suggests at least one campground in each town, each of which the author has obviously visited. Motels are also detailed, and over previous editions I'm yet to find fault with the author's choices. Ditto for bed and breakfasts and restaurants.

In my opinion, thois is definitely the best allround guidebook for British Columbia

I've used Moon Handbooks for years and they are simply the best! I have the Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Alberta, and now the British Columbia book, and I've never been disappointed. These books include the usual stuff, such as lodging, restaurants, and recreation, but they also include local history and cultural information that makes them far superior to most guides. Buy a Moon Handbook that covers the state you live in--you will be surprised at how much you can learn. If you're going traveling, they are indispensable.

My first grade class at St. Theresa School really enjoyed this story. It's a great way to explore the seasons and holidays!

Elton the Elf is an outstanding book. It's fun for my class to help Elton through the various holidays and find the holiday he belongs to. The children are able to see many holidays that are celebrated throughout the year. They want to read it again and again.

This book was absolutely wonderful. The story is adorable, and the illustrations were splendid. Traveling through the holidays was great fun. I highly recommend this unique book!

This second collection of urban fantasy stories from de Lint's fictional city of Newford is almost as pleasurable as the first. As before, each story can be read and enjoyed on its own, but taken as a whole, they build subtly upon each other, and on stories from Dreams Underfoot, to create a whole portrait of a city that is greater than the sum of its parts. De Lint's lyrical, beautiful prose subtly underplays the magic, making it completely believable that there truly is this greater world beyond the one we ordinarily perceive.

The only reason I give this book four stars rather than five is the apparent influence that author/attorney Andrew Vachss has on this collection. Vachss's work crusading against crimes against children is indeed an admirable goal. However, several stories in a row in The Ivory and the Horn pick up on those themes--one even mentioning Vachss as someone one of the characters has had contact with--and it lends that particular section a samey sort of feeling, as opposed to the variety I prefer to find in short story collections. Individually, the stories are just fine. I simply would have prefered to see them presented in a different order, to keep the recurring themes from feeling so obvious.

I taught "The Pochade Box" and a student picked out "Dead Men's Shoes" from this collection to be taught by both of us. I read this collection originally some years ago and was delighted how much I loved re-reading it this spring. There are many wonderful stories in here.

This is always the book I recommend for those who have never read De Lint's work before. These stories show the magic of everyday life and provide inspiration for surmounting difficulties. De Lint is amazing for his ability to write from a woman's perspective...like one of the previous reviewers, "Bird Bones and Wood Ash" is definitely my favorite story in the collection. Anyone interested in the human condition, whether or not they are fans of fantasy writing, will be drawn in by this collection of stories.