This is another fine memoir from the author of "And No Birds Sang," "The Regiment," and "Aftermath," all books relating in part, to Farley Mowat's participation in the Second World War. (Although "The Regiment" does not specifically concern Mowat's adventures, much of its path is common to his own.) "My Father's Son" is also a tribute to his father Angus, and acknowledges the contribution made by him to Mowat's progress as a writer. Mowat senior was also a published author, but never achieved the pre-eminence of his son.

Most of the book is concerned with the military details of Mowat's own experience, starting with his failed attempt to be inducted into the army due to his youthful appearance! He eventually succeeded in getting into the Hasty Ps, his father's regiment. So father and son were able to salute each other in uniform for a time, the one as a major, the other as a private. From there we are taken through the lengthy process of training, embarkation, arrival and billeting in England and the further long wait to go to war. Those who know Mowat's writing will enjoy this book for the usual reasons; there is an urgency to his writing and a singular facility for finding the right words, even for conveying the mundane. Those who are interested in Mowat the person, will as usual, find him hesitant to completely open up about his personal life. Never mind; he tells us a great deal about himself by leaving certain things unsaid. This is a good read if you can find it.

Profane and coarse, this book has all the finesse of trench warfare in a mortar attack. It is a book I'd rather my daughters didn't read, yet I feel that they MUST. Like so much of Farley Mowat's work, MY FATHER'S SON gives a chapter of Canadian history that was never taught in school. Brutal, obscene and probably unfair at times, it consists mostly of a collection of letters exchanged between a son and his parents separated by an ocean and a war. It is refreshingly free of political correctness. The blunt honesty of a 20 something nature lover crouched in a slit trench while he dispenses death and comrades die around him -- comes with the uncensored vocabulary of men and women caught in hell. Distilled from the stink of gunpowder and the scream of falling shells in the muddy trenches of Italy, it is 200 proof, uncut. This tea-totaler has gasped at every sip, taken offense at the language and morals, yet ranked it among the most worthwhile books he has ever read. It won't be found on the shelves of Bible Book Stores, with good reason. Yet if this writer had the authority, it would be back in print and mandatory reading before any Canadian could graduate from High School. Out of the many thousands of books I have read over the years, MY FATHER'S SON is a story with few peers. It doesn't fit any genre, it makes its own. It doesn't read smoothly and comfortably, it rends the fabric of cozy prejudice. It doesn't glorify war, it paints it as the hell it is. Perhaps more than anything else, it reminds me of the price my freedom cost, a reminder I don't always want to receive.

This is a book that shouldn't be out of print, but copies are readily available on the used book market.

This book shows Canadian French words on a wide variety of topic areas along side those of words understood by European French speakers. It is definitely handy on a trip to Quebec and the Francophone regions of Ontario and New Brunswick. The Acadian French section was very well written and might even prove useful in Louisiana as well. The book is broken down into various topic areas, such as sports, politics, foods, etc which is quite helpful instead of a a random collection of words. When I lived in the states I frequently made trips to Quebec and was very glad to have this book with me on all my trips. What should really be added to future editions of this book is a small section on Western Canadian usage. In Manitoba some of the Quebecois words may not be understood by Franco-Manitobans.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Québécois culture and joual (or Quebec French). It is divided into many categories ranging from nature to sex to sports etc. At the end of the book features certain grammatical features and pronunciation features, in French and in English. It's pretty much accurate, because I checked this out with some of my Québécois friends. This book is a *Must-Have*. :) Je recommande ce livre à ceux qui s'interessent à la culture québécoise et le joual. Il est divisé par beaucoup de catégories, incluant la nature, le sexe, les sports, etc. Au bout de ce livre, il y a un guide sur la grammaire et la prononciation, en français et en anglais également. La plupart des informations sont exactes, j'ai checke ça avec mes chums québécois :) C'est livre est un *Must have*, là. :)

Those who know Gillian Adams will learn more about her in this, the fourth novel, because Gillian Adams has come home. And while she's home she meets up with old friends and old wounds. Gillian is lecturing at Stanton College near by and living with her mother Estelle and a cat named Rumpole. A student from her class is found dead and the result is murder. When an old acquaintance is arrested as a suspect Gillian doubts his guilt and goes in search of the truth. Her mother who has a weak heart can't help but put in her two cents and later Gillian receives a visitor who also can't help but get involved.

I enjoyed Old Wounds it was well done. Suspects are pointed out one by one as the twists and turns take us through this academic whodunit. I think readers will identify with Gillian as she remembers her past, deals with forgotten emotions and makes plans for the future. I found her relationship with her mother interesting. In Chapter 12, there is a scene where they discuss something they do have in common, solving the mystery, and Gillian has come home boasting of a clue and Estelle becomes indignant and reminds her that she is playing the part of Watson, not Holmes. To me, that moment was very poignant as to how we try to hold on to the parent role no matter the age of our children. Poisoned Pen Press will publish Gillian Adams first three mysteries. In the Shadow of King's was put out in August; Bad Chemistry will be out in 2000; My Sister's Keeper will also be out in 2000.

It's a very good read.

After holding the chair of her school's history department for a year, Professor Gillian Adams plans to take a sabbatical. She wants to spend time in London with her significant other Edward. However during a break, Gillian returns home to assist her mother who recently broke her hip. Gillian is shocked at how fragile her mother has become. Because of a weak heart, Gillian figures her mother has little time left. She changes her plan to spend time in Upstate New York with her mother. Gillian accepts a teaching job at nearby Stanton College.

However, the serene upper Hudson turns deadly when two students find the corpse of a peer, Nicole Bishop, in Dee's Pond. It initially appears that a hunting accident occurred, but soon evidence surfaces that someone deliberately murdered Nicole. The police find a semi-nude picture of the victim inside the home of the town's weirdo. Witnesses place the eccentric individual at the crime scene. In spite of the mounting proof, Gillian feels the prime suspect is innocent because she knows him quite well. However, as Gillian investigates, the police arrest someone else, who Gillian also thinks is innocent.

OLD WOUNDS is a slow moving, pondering academic mystery that challenges readers with each twist and turn. Action is not a by-word associated with this tale. The story line allows the delightful characters to show their true disposition and motives that dictate much of their behavior. Reminiscent of Joanne Dobson's style of writing, Nora Kelly has provided fans of academic cozies with a pleasant novel.

I had the privilege of playing David in the San Francisco production of this play. While it is, indeed, a play, and definitely makes its greatest impact in production, I can still recall the visceral thrill I got the first time I read it. Here's a play as messy as the lives most of us lead, full of characters who do wonderful things, who do hateful things, who do absolutely unforgivable things. Fraser has an uncanny ability to pack an astonishing density of information into short, punchy, razor-sharp scenes -- to limn entire emotional histories into exchanges that last just a couple of lines. I couldn't wait to get out onstage each night and get to "be" this character, and I know my fellow cast members shared the feeling. If you're weary of gay-themed material that either preaches to the converted or is so "politically correct" as to have no relation at all to life as it is lived, this script will send both a shock of recognition and a thrill right through you. Believe it!

I was one of the fortunate ones who saw Poor Superman in its premiere production in Cincinnati, OH in the mid '90's. The play caused such an uproar in conservative Cincinnati that it almost closed before it opened! I was lucky enough to see the play four times during its initial run, and have since seen another production at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, IN. This is a work which challenges the reader/audience member to look beyond him/herself into the lives of five rich, complex characters dealing with very real emotions and the realities of life, death, love and loathing. Brad Fraser's play is raw and visceral. The love scenes between the two male protagonists are explicit and incredibly erotic. The printed version of the play is quite beautifully laid out and includes photos from several productions (including the original Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati production). The front cover has a wonderfully campy cartoon drawn by Fraser himself. The back cover sports an unbelievably HOT photo of Mr. Fraser. I highly recommend this play for reading and for performing. Buy it! read it! Perform it! You will fall in love!

The real guide to Canadian universities is a tell-all guide to the ins and outs of the educational instituions of Canada. This book will fill you in on everything that isn't included in the university information packages and will contain all the information that your guidance counsellor is forbidden to utter.

Each university highlighted contains an insider's report about the real stuff that goes on behind the scenes including how easy it is to get sex. That's right, it includes your chances of getting some while at university in addition to attitudes towards same-sex love and fraternities. Other features include where the social scenes are, parking, and the ideal residences.

If you're in the process for applying to universities, this book would be a welcome addition as it will get on you the inside track of higher education.

Although dated this is the bets guide to Canadian universities that i've found -- far better than the anual Maclean's report.

I chose to read this book.... I was looking for a novel that seemed interesting. I also wanted to read a book with a different genre from most of the other books I've read...
The main character in this story is a young boy named Ben Mac Donald. Ben Mac Donald has two older sisters,... . and one older brother. Ben is the youngest of the four and also the quietest. He seems to be on the reserved side and it seems like he enjoys being home alone, and keeping to himself. Ben is also fascinated with nature, and loves to go and frolic with the wildlife on the prairie. At one point in the story, Ben even stays with a mother badger in her den...
I really enjoyed this book and I found it very interesting. I love the adventures that he goes on. Sometimes the adventures he goes on are to save the lives of others, other times it's to get away with his own. I give this book a score of 4+/5-; because the book just pulled me in I couldn't put it down. I really enjoy adventures both in books and in real life, and this book had plenty of adventures to keep me reading. I hope to read the next volume of this book series titled Incident at Hawk's Hill and experience more heart racing adventures that Ben Mac Donald goes on. Hopefully, none too dangerous though.

This sequal to Incident at Hawk's Hill was a great book. It was nice to find out that Ben MacDonold did well in school. When the familie's adventure starts, they didn't know that it would lead to a friendship with indians. This book was full of incredible suspense and action.

I really enjoyed this play. It had very humourous parts, and also provided a unique insight into the Native-Canadian reserves lifestyle. The women are depicted in a very unique style, and are very funny, and life-like. While reading this play, I quite often felt as though I were playing one of the characters myself. I had to read this for school, and I am glad, because it was very touching, and also a good learning experience, learning about other cultures in Canada.

This was a really dramatic play that expressed many issues that many people would never talk about in a book. It dealt with rape, death and solidarity among Native women. When it was assigned in my first year English class, I was not sure what to think before I read it. After I read it I found that it was one of the best plays that I have ever read and gives new insight into the Native culture in Canada.

What can I tell ya...its's got Spitfires and Canadians!!! Actually, this is a wonderful text containing various Canadian memories of the Spitfire in WWII with a few post-war Isreali adventures thrown in for good measure. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and artistic renderings of this most beautiful of aircraft. Of special note is the rich detail provided on every Spitfire featured and the inclusion of 5 plates denoting various colour schemes used by the RAF and RCAF. Model builders looking for authentic schemes in their creations will find this text invaluable. See more reviews at the "WWII Aviation Booklist" http://www.ampsc.com/~prophet/booklist.html

This is a beautifully illustrated book, with many personal stories of Canadian Spitfire pilots. Certain tactics used by the Spitfire pilots are also detailed, giving the reader an insight into the aircrafts capabilities. The photographs are quite unique, and most will be new to the reader, even if you are ( like me ) a Spitaholic, with numerous Spitfire tomes on your shelves. The colour plates are some of the finest I've EVER seen, boasting great detail and depicting a comprehensive crossection of wartime marks, from the Mk I to the mighty Mk XIV. This is not JUST a great book for people interested in Canadiana; it is also a superb book for anyone with a general to deep interest in the Spitfire or aviation. Highly Recommended!

If you like Animal Farm, 1984, Brave New World and other "creepy society" books, you'll love this one. Four intellectuals find a..., well, a strange manuscript, in a... copper cylinder, yeah. It is the account of a man's discovery of a literally "backwards" civilization where the social pyramid is inverted : people strive to be poor, and the wealthiest citizens are considered bums. Life here is torture, because the ultimate goal of every person is to die. Pick up this book to be intrigued and fascinated.

I actually picked up this book on accident - I had no idea what it was about nor had I ever heard of it. A wonderful masterpiece on society and cultutre, it includes much symbolism. The book makes us question what is truth -

George F. Walker has a knack for creating astonishing, vivid characters that exist beyond the confines of the stage. After seeing his plays, you leave convinced that these people were not simply dissolved into nothingness when the play concluded. Their lives continue on, as is sometimes most obvious when Walker revisits his characters down the road.

SUBURBAN MOTEL is a series of six plays, all taking place in the same (supposedly) seedy motel room. Each play stands alone, although some characters do pop up in more than one. The interconnecting theme, besides the location, is the despair that these characters feel.

As in most Walker plays, the plot is secondary. These are character-driven pieces, with no pat answers or Neil Simon-type wit. The inhabitants of these tales are stuck in lives they want out of, but with no clear idea as to how to leave.

Everyone will have their favorite play. Mine is CRIMINAL GENIUS, in which several criminals (including a few from previous Walker productions) decide to overthrow a vicious crimelord. Sadly, they fail miserably. I give nothing away by this; the enjoyment here comes from the characters, not the plot.

Overall, some plays don't measure up to others. They lack the bite of Walker's best plays (see ZASTROZZI or NOTHING SACRED). But less-than-perfect-Walker is still good theatre, and good reading.

There are six plays. Did you even read the damn thing