Buckler's book is tops. The story follows the life of an unpublished writer who must sacrifice his dreams to run the family farm. The prose reads like poetry, the images are breathtaking. It is so beautifully written it made me want to weep. In fact, I had to stop reading the novel for awhile and move to another book, then resume reading it about a week later. The novel is so dense, it reminded me of visiting catherals in Europe or gallery after gallery of museum masterpieces -- the senses can only absorb so much, before you are in overload and need a break. Perhaps that's why the author's body of work is sparse.
I am going to recommend this great read to friends. Although there is not much action, the emotions and thoughts of the characters are true and timeless. I must confess I did shed a tear or two at the end. Like a lot of great literature, The Mountain and The Valley is sad.

The Mountain and the Valley started out as a PERFECT look at growing up in a rural landscape. Buckler, through his careful choosing of his language, created an atmosphere of perfect beauty. The story is about one who is born with the soul of an artist, and Buckler transforms the novel into art to fit with that theme. I did say that it started out this way. Partway through the book, art begins to become at odds with the ruggedness of the rural landscape. This conflict begins to transform the beautiful book into something truely haunting and sometimes almost scary. Was the book ruined by this sudden shift? There will be mixed feelings about it. On one hand, the beauty of the perfection was ruined by it. But this is a real life book, not fantasy. On the other hand, there had to be pain. For artistic vision cannot go left unattained, even when living in an environment where it is not supposed to exist. Either way you take the shift of the books tone, it will leave you with a feeling that you have read a story that needed to be told so that you do not make the same mistake.

Ernest Buckler has captured a true reflection of the Canadian experience and spirit in The Mountain and the Valley. It is one of the most moving and compelling stories I've read, profound in its simplicity. A whole university course could be taught on its imagery alone.

Great color photos and and discriptions of the carvings and artwork. I would definatly recommend this to anyone that is interested in Northwest Coast art.

Profusely illustrated with brilliant, full color photography, Gary Wyatt's Mythic Beings: Spirit Art Of The Northwest Coast is a superb introduction to aboriginal art including totems, wood sculpture, masks, stone carvings and more. Wyatt's informative text is an outstanding survey placing each art piece within their cultural context, enhanced with the artist's own descriptions and commentaries. Mythic Beings is a very welcome addition to personal, academic, and professional Native American art and cultural reference collections.

Mythic Beings is an unassuming but impressive book. The major organizing theme is that spirit art captures the rich cultural and aesthetic traditions that permeate regional artistic expression. Northwest Coast art can be intimidating because it has a complex cosmology and iconography. Wyatt, however, makes this complexity accessible by using two underlying principles. The universe consists of separate but interrelated realms (e.g., sky, underwater), and each realm has its characteristic real and mythical creatures. Mythical creatures have distinctive physical representations used in both sacred and secular representations.

Mythic Beings features 75 beautifully reproduced photographs of masks, robes, and rattles representing the work of 34 artists. Each artist provides a commentary about his/her piece. This provides an opportunity to become familiar with the physical depiction and mythological roles of the creatures depicted by the artists.

Mythic Beings is a gem. It is a wonderful gift book for anyone interested in indigenous art and First Nations peoples.

I found this little pound cake cookbook by accident here on Amazon.com, and I am so happy I did. The author, Bibb Jordan explains what the meaning of pound cake is, it's origins, and how to make the "perfect" pound cake. I have a website for Home Baker's and I choose to include on my site a wonderful recipe from this book: Chocolate Truffle Pound Cake. This cake is amazing, like so many of the other ones in the book. I also make a recommendation on my site for home baker's to definitely purchase this book. I highly recommend it for the "Pound Cake Lover", and anyone who loves to bake wonderful pound cakes.

I would like to make one suggestion to the author, and that is to include how many servings the cakes make. Otherwise, the book, like the pound cakes are perfect.

This tiny little book is filled with more info on this country's most beloved cake than any other cookbook I've found. It has clear and concise recipes with a cake for every taste. If you love poundcake you have to get this book!

If you love pound cake and are looking for something different to do and eat this book is great! try the awesome marble pound cake recipe.

As a student, this book proved to be a vital supplement to lecture topics concerning both the design and analysis of reinforced concrete. I would recommend having at least some understanding of structual mechanics and concrete material properties and behavior before buying this text though. It can be best used by upperclassmen undergrads and by professionals who need to brush up on basic concrete design skills. Covers analysis and design of beams with tension and compression steel, transverse reinforcement design, deflections, torsion, one-way and two-way slabs, continuous beams and more. It is HIGHLY recommended that you supplement this book with the current ACI building code for concrete.

This book is great in this sense that it illustrates the philosophy behind the numbers used in ACI code and the limit states of each design parameter. It is great for understanding the behavior of reinforced structural systems as well as practical design.

A comprehensive book, explains all concepts in detail. Suitable as a textbook for beginners as well as a reference for practising engineers. I enjoyed the chapters on torsion, short columns, slender columns,and strut and tie models.

Donald Graves has broken new ground in that he has written what constitutes - without qualification - what is simply the finest regimental history ever to see print. He blends perfectly the veterans' experience with detailed historical research, and supplements the package with hundreds of original photographs and superb line drawings of everything from the tanks themselves to local campaign maps. His appendices are the best I have ever seen.

Regardless of the depth of your prior knowledge of the Canadians in WW2, finishing Graves' SOUTH ALBERTAS will leave you awestruck, wishing for more. I would hope that this author and others might consider similar, follow-up works on other Canadian regiments, while the veterans are still with us; there can be no greater tribute to their sacrifices. Other, popular histories are but a pale imitation.

Donald Graves has written the book by which any small unit history will have to be measured in the future. At the risk of repeating what Michael wrote - the book contains a most impressive narrative of all the actions of this regiment, including the full treatment of the celebrated stand at St. Lambert-sur-Dive that won the only VC for the Canadian Armoured Corps, and it is lavishly illustrated, with photos and maps explaining the situation on the ground. Donald Graves' writing is concise, to the point, and very successful in bringing the story to life. The most touching point is the identification of every single casualty of the regiment by name, their pre-war occupation, age and family status, setting a memorial for the men. As someone with a strong interest in the Commonwealth military of WW II I found this a superbly done book, teaching me more about the way things were then for the men fighting than any other book I have read. It is well worth any cent it costs, and I hope it will stay available for a time to come.

Outstanding, from the colour photo section, to the detailed appendices, and the "war manual" for those not versed in WW II military terminology or practices (this is helpful for civilian and current soldier alike, as much has changed in 50 years). The book is solidly researched from primary sources, lavishly illustrated with photographs from personal collections, and contains many personal stories and reminiscences. The darker chapters (two men being drummed out of the regiment for raping a Dutch woman) are given equal time with the regiment's loftier achievements. A great book about Canadian tankers in WW II and a must read for anyone interested in the Canadian Armoured Corps in WW II, or Canadian soldiers at war in general. Thank you Mister Graves for setting the standard.

This book ranks among the best--Farley Mowat's "And No Birds Sang", included--about a Canadian's experiences during the Second World War. It is, however, not always a light-hearted account, and by no means a glorification of war. As is readily clear, McIntosh--like many of his peers--was not an overly enthusiastic participant, yet undertook his duty with much courage. Terror in the starboard Seat is a fine testament to this courage as well as the sacrifice that so many made in order to rid the world of Naziism.

Perhaps it comes from living next door to Americans, but Canadians have a knack for staring tragedy in the face and remembering something to laugh about afterwards. It's little wonder that many of the funniest modern comedians, from John Belushi to Peter Jennings, are Canadians.

World War II produced "the greatest generation," says Tom Brokaw, who wasn't there. Dave McIntosh was there, flying 41 combat missions in the navigator's seat of a Mosquito night fighter, and he calls it "the scardest generation." It takes common sense to be afraid; fear is often the one element that provides the extra margin of caution needed for survival.

It helps explain why the 24 Mossies of 418 Squadron achieved the highest scores in RCAF history, with 105 aircraft destroyed in the air, 74 on the ground, 9 probables, 103 damaged and 83 V-1s destroyed. Not bad for planes built of Ecuador balsa, Alaska spruce, Canadian birch and fir, and English ash, often by furniture makers. The twin engine Mosquito had a crew of two, but it carried the same weight of bombs as a B-17 and could fly at 400 miles an hour.

Granted, McIntosh volunteered for the RCAF. He schemed to get into 418 City of Edmonton squadron, which flew night intruder missions. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of Canada's highest awards for valor. He wasn't looking for a safe and comfortable seat to sit out the war. Most veterans who've been in actual combat have little to say; those who do talk often emphasize the humor. One of their favorite songs had the lines, "When the compass course is west, that's the time that I love best" -- in other words, heading home, away from the enemy. It's little wonder he took until 1980 to write this book.

It's a different kind of war memoir. Americans brag, Brits keep a stiff upper lip, Germans are betrayed heroes, Russians are 'zhlobi' -- crude and uncouth. Canadians are like hockey players in a power play on the goal -- all of the above, and then some. It has the same mood as 'The Corvette Navy' by J. B. Lamb, the loneliness of fighting men who are trivialized by everyone not in combat. Only the Canadian military trains "zombies." There's a common feeling the government compromises anything to avoid upsetting anyone on the home front -- an attitude American soldiers didn't acquire until the Vietnam.

Sidney Seid, a San Francisco Jew who joined the RCAF before Pearl Harbour, was the driver (pilots were never called pilots) for McIntosh. Seid loyally stayed with the Canadians even though he could have doubled his pay by in the US forces. It wasn't an easy life. McIntosh tells of one crew that spent its ops circling off the coast of Holland, afraid to cross into enemy territory, faking complete combat reports including targets visited, burning bombers, fires, weather, the whole thing. It was one way to cope with the terror of facing the enemy.

Canadian aircrews flew operations, or "ops." The American "missions" sounded too much like a crusade. On one occasion, on night ops over Holland, McIntosh and his driver suddenly heard a English voice in their earphones, "Waggle your wings . . . or you'll burn." The driver waggled. Wildly. "OK, son" the voice added. A British night fighter had found them in the dark; had they been caught by a German plane, they wouldn't have heard the bullets hit.

No wonder McIntosh was scared. But, as he told an army friend just back from the D-Day landings, "At least when I'm shot at I can run away at 400 miles an hour." His friend replied, "Hell, that's nothing, you should see me." Yet, for more than 41 ops -- if they were chasing Buzz Bombs, or only went a short distance over Europe, it was only half an op -- they went back again and again.

Any veteran will sympathize. Non veterans can only wonder how they did it.

McIntosh, who became a Canadian Press reporter after the war, presents a vivid story of the deadly realities of war. It's too good of a story ever to be made into a movie; but then, life is generally far better than any movie. So is this book.

This book kept me up until 4 in the morning, laughing, crying. It's got it all. RCAF navigator McIntosh wrote with pathos and honesty. He puts you right inside the Mosquito with his Jewish/American pilot, with whom he had a kind of Butch & Sundance relationship, all that same kind of loyalty and snappy reparte. This is one of the best WWII books I've ever read. Just like with a great suspense novel, you'll find yourself really whipping those pages over. And yet, I was sorry it had to end.

I was very impressed with "Through Footless Halls of Air", and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about history. Despite the fact that Canadians feature prominently in the book, I believe that people from other countries could also benefit from reading it. My compliments to the author.

A new printing of Through Footless Halls of Air will be off the press in plenty of time for Christmas shopping.With a newly designed cover that maintains the colourful painting of a Lancaster bomber, there will also be several excerpts from the hundreds of reviews that have been published over the past three years.Inside the book will be a page of excerpts from hundreds of letters that the author received from around the world, including those from individuals actually involved with the stories that unfold in the book's six chapters.The 311 pages and photos mark this book as one of the more personal vehicles yet available in which the stories of those who made the supreme sacrifice have been told. If you have already read this book in its earlier edition, you will surely want to share this new new printing with friends and acquaintances interested in Second World War aerial history. Encourage them to read about those who flew in the Hampden and Wellington bombers, the Halifax and Lancasters, the Spitfires and Hurricane fighter aircraft.Share with them the courage of an RAF flight engineer who climbed out onto the wing of a Lancaster flying over Germany, in an attempt to extinguish a fire in the engine. Follow his plight as he falls off the wing while being attacked by a night fighter, and survives.Share with them the events that took the lives of more than 600 airmen (RAF,RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF and others) including 113 Canadians and Americans, on that infamous Nuremberg raid of March 30-31, 1944.They can also read about the sacrifice of my two brothers.Did all of these young airmen die in vain? You be the judge.Earlier editions of Through Footless Halls of Air have sold out quite quickly. Don't miss it.

This is a very touching and insightful look into the lives of those young Canadians who made the Supreme Sacrifice. In each chapter the author gives you sense of knowing the individuals he writes about. He seems to have the ability to get you to come to the realization of just how much these young men were willing to give so that we might have a future of peace. If you are interested in the ordinary everyday individual who was willing to give his all, then this is just such a book.

This book about the 1940s-70s in Canada surprised me.I had seen the documentary "The Un-Canadians" about the way the RCMP persecuted left-wingers but the book takes it much much further. A powerful look at how things went awry after people got scared of views contrary to their own.

If you think Canada is a boring place, try this book. This is a good read- a book which contains over 50 fascinating interviews with people who were blacklisted for political beliefs-in labour, the entertainment industry, teaching- during the cold war in Canada.Historians and children of the blacklisted also offer their take on the events. Even an interview with those who took part in the blacklisting. An eye-opener about McCarthyism in Canada.

I loved this book. I was particularly touched by the stories of innocent Canadians whose lives were ruined by the Canadian version of the McCarthy era. Unbeknownst to many, the witchhunt was alive and well north of the 49th parallel.

In my opinion this is a novel of unusual freshness and outstading quality.
The novel is about engaged activists and others around them who are trying to bring public opinion, diplomacy, and charity to bear on situations of great distress at home and across the world. They are trying to ease suffering and end torture and murder. The characters are alive and human. They are interesting in their inner and their outer lives.
The novel does not depend on "plot" because it tells several intertwined stories. All of the stories are exciting and important.
I found the writing to be lyrical and sensual and exact.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It's a very powerful look at what might seem like a minor event, the killing of a Canadian in faraway East Timor, and the lives it touches around the world. Maggie Helwig has taken a large number of characters' lives and made them real people.

Maggie Helwig's books of poetry have a well-deserved reputation for being powerful and moving, and that's equally true of her first novel, one that should be of universal appeal especially in this time when the world seems less safe than ever before. Those who have heard about East Timor will want to pick this book up; those who haven't will want to read it to see what can happen when small countries are abandoned for great causes.

Once i started in on this book, i couldn't stop reading until i'd finished it all. (And yes, the ending was worth the sleepless night.)

Maggie Helwig's _Where She Was Standing_ centers on Indonesian-occupied East Timor in the early 1990s. There has been a massacre of Timorese demonstrators. Lisa James disappears in the aftermath -- only one of many disappearances, but she's a foreigner, and she may have filmed the demonstration.

The dangerous search for Lisa drives the taut, suspenseful plot; it's also the lens for the book's powerful exploration of how to find balance in our damaged world. What surprised me most when I first read this book is how much it made me love the world we live in. After all, it's a book about terror and atrocities; bad things happen to people, and justice is not often done. To quote from the book, it's a world "where it is so easy to lose people. In some places, they go out in the morning to a demonstration and they never come home, or they are arrested at work or at school. In some places, they walk into the city at night and are gone, not even gone into some mass grave but just gone, maybe alive but absolutely changed. Maybe they are at King's Cross Station saying fantastic things to their shoes. Maybe they have walked into the lens of the security camera and vanished there. One wrong step, and you are no longer part of the world."

All these things are true. And maybe that's why the passionate sense of hope that slowly builds throughout the book had such an impact on me. Yes, it _is_ easy to lose people, but the lost ones persist in a thousand unexpected ways. Lisa's absence links together a network of characters on three continents, and the traces of her that remain bring change to all their lives. Just a few of the people touched by Lisa are Rachel, a human rights researcher in London who puts together the first few clues in Lisa's case; Hasan, an Indonesian teacher who has chosen to throw his lot in with the Timorese resistance and is endangered simply by carrying Lisa's possessions; and Lisa's mother Melissa, who will finally uncover the truth about her daughter's disappearance.

The hope that I found in the book comes not only from the characters' compassion and their struggles with grief and fear; reasons to love this world, despite its damage, are woven through every page of the book. Helwig is a poet as well as a novelist and it shows in the way she chooses small moments from these disparate lives to paint the strange, often-overlooked grace of everyday life.

All in all, I feel like this review is failing to do adequate justice to this unique and powerfully moving book. I loved it, and I recommend it as strongly as I possibly can.

David Harper edits 2002 North American Coins & Prices, which appears in its 11th updated edition to provide a comprehensive guide to US, Canadian and Mexican coins. Over 45,000 prices accompany an illustrated grading guide, tips to the latest 'hot buys' and collecting trends, and black and white photos of many of the coins.

Comprehensive source of information on coin prices. Gives a good amount of info on coin background. Also provides useful information about coin collecting in general. It is short on historical details but overall an excellent guide and I recommend it highly.