This book gives a good overall view of the Canadian participation in the British Bomber campaign in World War II. The book has vignettes from Canadian aircrew, but also of Germans who were on the receiving end of their bombs. The book in it's brief 176 pages gives the reader a good feeling of what itwas to fly in the bombers over Germany at night during the war. He has many personal interviews interroven through out the book, these include stories from the author's father and uncle. The only negative is the book is a little slim for it's price. It also delves into the contoversey of carpet bombing and the ethics of the whole bomber campaign. On the whole the book is good, with old and new material included to give a good overview of what it was like to fly bombers in the war.

This book documents a journey on houseback from Mexico to Alaska. A true story set in 1976. Enjoyable easy reading.

Marian Engel's short novel Bear is an odd book. Winner of the Governor General's Award (Canada) in 1976, it clearly has attained critical success. In broad outline, Engel tells the story of a bookish young woman, Lou, working as an archivist in dusty historical institute, who is given the field assignment to catalog a nineteenth century library located on a remote island in Ontario. The only other inhabitant of the island is the pet bear of prior the occupants, and a strongly sexual - though not consummated - relationship develops between them The subject matter of this book may be very disturbing to some - an afterward in the Canadian edition to this book notes that many have described the book as "pornographic". I do not agree with this censor's view, but agree that it is not a book for children or prudes.

The real "subject" of the book is Lou's growth from retiring recluse to more confident woman; although the medium of transformation is through sexual awakening, this is not the sole or even principal end result.

Finally, a word must be added about Engel's wonderful writing. Her characters, settings, and descriptions are lively, strongly visual, and at times amusing. Take, for example, her musings on historical Canadians: "The Canadian tradition was, she had found, on the whole, genteel. Any evidence that an ancestor had performed any acts other than working and praying was usually destroyed. Families handily became respectable in retrospect but it was, as [Lou] and the [Institute Director] often mourned, hell on history." More such fine writing awaits the reader of this short but non-complacent novel, which I recommend.

Nicholas Jennings is the first author to write an entire book devoted to the Toronto music scene of the 1960's. He follows the making of the Toronto Sound, starting with the folk movement, through rhythm and blues, touches on garage bands and the jazz/country/rock/soul sounds which defined Yorkville music in the late 60's. The volumes of information imparted are astounding, and the story is very interesting, especially for those with an interest in the Sunset Strip, Bay area, Soho and Greenwhich village happenings. Jennings keeps the book flowing by using a time-line style, and manages to throw some of the more obscure names in the Toronto scene around. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a fascination for the music of the 60's, and I urge Jennings to keep on writing his fantastic books!

While on business in Canada, I was fortunate to pick up this cookbook featuring traditional and modern Canadian dishes and meals. There's everything in here! Yogi, the author, is right in promoting common sense in her cooking. This book is really unique and purely Canadian. From meat dishes to sinful desserts, The Best Little Cookbook in Town is a keep.

As a huge football fan with ties to the CFL and Canada I found this book to be entertaining. Jeff Giles pulls very few punches in this book. The way he views Canada and the CFL is very interesting! I have well over one hundred books on football in my collection and this one is a fine addition!

The Black Pit and Beyond is a gracefully written account of a young man's experiences as a Merchant Navy radio officer in World War II. J. Gordon Mumford shares with readers not only the grim realities of war, but also his personal story. While he was still only a boy himself, the author faced life-threatening situations, and at the same time was dealing with the emotional backlash of a traumatic childhood, the death of his father, and a turbulent relationship with his mother. It's these personal details that make his story particularly poignant. It puts a face on and real feeling behind a war that many of my generation have forgotten. The Black Pit and Beyond is a great read for anyone interested in this page in history told through a personal perspective.

I have seen performances of all three plays in this collection. All play like wildfire. Nolan has a talent both for stagecraft and evocative writing. Her characters glow with humanity, and their struggles are real and affecting. Best of all, although her plays all have serious intent, they contain a strong sense of humour. Anyone interested in modern drama should read this book.

Long on illustrations, photographs, and maps, but a bit lean when it comes to text, at least this account of the Juno Beach D-Day landings, written by J.L. Granatstein and Desmond Morton, reveals to the "outside world" that the Canadian Army was as much in evidence on June 6, 1944 as were the Americans and British.

All too often, early American accounts describe the Canadian contribution in terms such as "British and Commonwealth troops .." or just plain "British forces ..." - a bad habit that dates back to WW I accounts. We weren't then - and are not now -"British."

Although not nearly as good an account as Charles Cromwell Martin's "Battle Diary - From D-Day And Normandy To The Zuider Zee and VE", it's still worth a read. And those photographs and illustrations are outstanding.