It is difficult to respect the opinion of a man like Scott Taylor who in his entire military career rose no higher than the rank of Private. His "professional" opinion of the inner world that exists in the command structure of the Canadian forces is simply invalid.

As an ex-soldier I must admit that I had little time for Scott Taylor and his endless self promotion (usually at the expense of the military's reputation). However I finally got around to reading this book.....And I have changed my mind (or perhaps I should start reading more books by Brian Nolan). While those of us in uniform could follow a lot of the scandals and see from our own perspective the corruption in the Forces, Tarnished Brass takes the reader through all the background and reveals the true rot at the top. What we only suspected, Taylor & Nolan reveal in a very disturbing amount of detail. I don't believe that much has changed since this book was first published in 1996....And perhaps that explains why morale is so low, and so many soldiers (myself included) simply walked away.
An excellent read.

Taylor and Nolan reveal a Canadian Military hierarchy that has rotted from the top down. Their well researched and detailed expose illustrates the systemic corruption through a myriad of individual cases. The power and controlling influence of the normally invisible bureaucrats is shocking, but even more repugnant is the manner in which the Senior serving Officers have broken faith with the rank and file. Tarnished Brass is a very disturbing read, but it is a work that should not be ignored.

George Parkin Grant was Canada's leading political philosopher this century. A so-called "red tory," he was a critic both of statism and the market, a position almost unknown in the United States. He was above all a critic of modernity, of modern Western man's technological "fate." He deserves to be much more widely read. Unfortunately, this volume is marred by too much editorial intervention. Grant wrote with extreme economy, and his prose style is positively noble, yet time and again the editors cut and chop his essays while inserting lengthy editorial introductions. I am thus still waiting for someone, anyone, to publish a complete edition of Grant's Collected Works.

Here we go again. TAKE 2. I liked the book a lot; however, I think the worst aspect of the book is the absence of direct comment, by Grant, on Plato's works and in particular, 'The Republic'. Grant makes several references to friend, Professor James Doull, and writers, Simone Weil, Leo Strauss, who aided him in his understanding of Plato and Socrates. Obviously, Christianity also gave Grant perspective on the pagan philosophers; nevertheless, the careful reader cannot help but feel cheated by the lack of direct comment on the 'Republic' in particular. If Doull 'taught' Grant how to read the central books of the 'Republic', I wish he would have shared it. I humbly think Book V of the 'Republic' is the republic. You understand Book V, you began to catch a glimpse of Socratic philosophy before Plato, before the Athenian law court acted. That's my only complaint. I think the reader shows well how Grant was influenced by Heidegger, Simone Weil, Leo Strauss and others. The political essays are worth reading for anyone with an interest in Canadian history, and the abortion essays, although I do not agree with them, are intellectually and morally honest expressions of genuine thoughtful concern.

The worst aspect of this reader is it's inability to show what Grant thought about the 'core books' of Plato's Republic. In several essays Grant makes mention of how indebted he is to Dalhousie Professor James Doull for 'teaching' hm to read the Republic's central books.Which books? Book 5? Book 4,5,6, and 7. Moreover, the material on Plato in the 'Thinking Their Thoughts' section is wholley inadequate in giving the reader much incite into Christian's claim that Grant was deeply affected by Plato's writings. How so? It's obvivious Grant admired Heidegger and it is shown why. Regretably this failure doesn't mortally wound the overall work.

This book is thorough and well researched, but the prose is rather pedestrian and a good editor could have helped a lot. The pictures alone are worth the price for a real Neil fan.

A detailed account of Neil's life before Buffalo Springfield. (Einarson also wrote a book on BS with Richie Furay) "Don't Be Denied" is probably the most valuable book available for people wanting information about Neil that is not otherwise widely known by Neil fans (and who else reads these types of books).

Einarson writes more like a small town newspaperman than "an author" but that is part of the charm of this book. Einarson is obviously proud that a fellow Canadian has achieved all that Neil has and unlike many who write these types of books never tries to place himself as a peer of the subject. I found the book informative and enjoyable.

My only complaint is that the copy i bought was not well manufactured with several pages at the end out of order and duplicated which made it cumbersome to read.

Of all the books on Neil Young I've read, this one is the most interesting and informative. He really delves into the man and the music. It's not gossipy at all, but very interesting.

Badly written & BORING!

I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up all night to read it

This is a really good read. He has found some incredible stories about some of the most mysterious shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nautical history. It is well written and illustrated, and has handy maps.

Well, i had to read this book for a university history class. and one word describes it quite well......BORING. oops i lie, 3 words. BORING AS HELL! dont waste your time.

Perspectives on sweeping social change in rural Quebec and insights into early 20th-century farm life in Quebec and French-Canadian points of view make this book an excellent document for historical inquiry. I personally found this book most rewarding, however, for its views on the relations between parents and children. The journey of the book's central character from his role as family builder and provider toward a position of increasing irrelevance is particularly poignant.

Beautiful sociological view of Quebec a century ago--traces
life of a family from rural Quebec to its sad decline. Excellent
for use in history of Quebec classes.

I read this anthology in hopes of discovering new depths and interpretations of familiar fairy tales. Dark interpretations are usually quite insightful and I thought that this would be an entire collection of chilling and clever retellings.

Nope.

Truly Grim Tales are simply not a lot of fun to read, though (or perhaps because) they certainly live up to the title. The emphasis seems to be purely on making the tales grim, rather than adding new perspectives. I found the resulting stories to be leaden and often revolting, rather than fascinating. Unless you enjoy grimness for the sake of grimness, I would advise skipping these tales in favor of Patricia C. Wrede's remarkably clever and creepy retelling of an old ballad, "Cruel Sisters" (in The Book of Enchantments) or Vivian Vande Velde's equally clever Rapunzel retelling, "Straw into Gold" (in Tales from the Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird). For dark novel length retellings, Donna Jo Napoli's Zel (Rapunzel) and The Magic Circle (Hansel and Gretel) are a must.

I've always relied on the likes of Angela Carter, Datlow & Windling, and Tanith Lee (among a myriad of others) to feed me my daily dose of fairy tale interpretations, but Priscilla Galloway has prepared such a sumptuous offering of delightful shorts that I've added her to my collection of favorites. You have to applaud the gorgeous Rapunzel tale told from the birth-mother's point of view and set among the Bedouin peoples. If not, try the Cinderella story told by a heartbroken Prince with an undeniable foot fetish, or a Jack and the Beanstalk story in which giants must grind 'pygmy' bones for their bread to curb the effects of a fatal genetic bone disorder. My favorite of them all, though, is the retelling of Hansel and Gretel from the witch's/stepmother's point of view...delightful, dark, and desperate. The writing flows well, perfect for an early teen to adult audience without being either condescending or insultingly simple. Give it a chance, and you won't be disappointed.

Ms. Galloway is able to put an interesting and very entertaining spin on the retelling of classic tales, we've all heard as children. Her unique writing style is both humerous and captivating. I found her Truly Grim Tales to be an imaginative and unique collection. I would highly recommend it to any young adult who enjoys, mystery, science fiction, horror or folklore.

I much prefer autobiographies to other biographies. Biographies tend to be clumsily assembled or stitched or thrown together and filled out with plodding prose. And so this biography. Well, at least you get some kind of overview of Leonard Cohen's life and here and there some fragments of Leonard Cohen's incisive wit. Two samples:

Author: My publisher wants to know if this can be considered an authorized biography.

L.C.: It can be considered a tolerated biography, benignly tolerated.

Leonard Cohen is interviewing his famous actress girlfriend Rebecca De Mornay:

Rebecca: The great advantage to having you interview me is that I won't have to field questions about Leonard Cohen.

L.C.: Yes, let's talk about Leonard Cohen. What's he really like?

Recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

This is a fascinating book. However, it is not a conventional biography, in that the author (Ira Nadel) does not fully succeed in weaving the events of Cohen's life into a flowing narrative. The story proceeds disjointedly, and the reader follows it with a feeling of uneven coverage and missing pieces. Ira Nadel is clearly in personal awe of Leonard Cohen (as any of us would be, I suppose), such that he shies away from offering much analysis (psychoanalysis?) of his work and conduct of his life, beyond what the work and facts of his life suggest readily. For example, Cohen's long, tortured relationship with his wife Suzanne is described by a series of vignettes, as cold as news reports, spiced only with relevant-seeming quotations from Cohen's work. Nadel doesn't do the interpretive work of suggesting was going on in Cohen's mind, and what was causing that, which is what biographers usually do for us (and we judge them on whether they do that well or badly). There are ocassional Freudian interpretations, as when Nadel compares Cohen's relationship with his lovers to that with his mother. But we don't get a feel for how the relationship developed and began to sour. In fact, we barely get any feel of "development" in Cohen's life at all, which makes it seem like disconnected reportage rather than a biographical narrative. This quality could be seen as a plus, as it gives the book a cryptic feel, rather like the work of Leonard Cohen itself. I learned a lot, and enjoyed the distant quality of Nadel's writing for what it was, but I was left wanting to know more. Perhaps Cohen, whose work often veers into playful impenetrability, perfers it that way.

While Leonard Cohen's music, writing, and intreaguing life are enough to satisfy any romantic, this book manages to give a clear and accurate depiction of Cohen's motivations, influences, and understanding of life. From his innovative novels to his influencial and engrossing music and poetry, Cohen's life is portrayed as a constant exploration into the soul and the true meaning of love, sacrifice, and isolation. However, it is impossible to convey the passion and emotion that Cohen transmits in albums such as "Death of a Lady's Man" and "Songs of Love and Hate." In only this aspect does "Various Positions: A Life of Leanord Cohen" fall short of possible expectations. But perhaps Cohen's emotion is something that prose writing simply cannot capture. Leonard Cohen's life is certainly something worth reading about.

The book is full of advertisements of the author's company. At least one third consists of things like addresses of Canadian embassies, occupation list etc (which is free on Canadian government's website). Almost all of the information and suggestions in the book can be found (free!) on various immigration-related internet sites. What's more, the scripts on the sample forms and tables at the end of the book are so small that it is almost impossible to recognise and read. The printing quility is REALLY POOR and the pages are simply put into a spring binder.

This book is exteremly essential for a person who wish to apply for Canadian Immigration under skilled worker category

It cover's all the details of Immigration process along with providing necessary useful address helpful to potential Immigrant

It is a do-it-yourself kit. It contains: 1) how to assess yourself (most engineering and natural science degree + English/French communication ability); 2) how to apply; 3) where to apply; 4) major steps; 5) how to prepare interview; 6) the benefit of becoming a Canadian citizen. It saves you several thousand US dollars laywer or consulting fee.

I looked at Mr. Baxter's book at the public library and being a member of the Victoria Genealogical Society I was most interested in his observations on our society. I was shocked at the incredibly inaccurate comments that he had published.

The entry starts with the society's name - which he correctly entered. However he then gives the reader an address that is several years out of date. In early 1993 the VGS changed it's address to: Victoria Genealogical Society, P.O Box 45031, Mayfair Postal Outlet, Victoria, BC, V8Z 7G9. Checking in the Genealogical Research Directories (GRD)it was noted that they have published the correct address since their 1993 edition. To cover himself he states that "the addresses given are accurate at the time of writing" but surely Mr. Baxter has access to the GRD.

The rest of the article continues with inaccuracy after inaccuracy and it becomes clear that Mr. Baxter has not done any research into the VGS.

He states that the society "holds few meetings". The fact is that for most of our twenty plus years the VGS has held regular, well-attended meetings ten months of the year. No meetings are held in July or August. Meetings always feature a speaker.

He states that the VGS "does not appear to have any ongoing projects". One large project can be seen on the B.C. Archives website, namely the indexes to births, marriages and deaths. These indexes, produced mostly by VGS members, set a standard that other provinces should emulate. He does mention the indexes briefly under the B.C. Archives stating "Please note, the indexes to Birth, Marriage, and Death registrations are located in the Vital Events section of the Web site". No more details are given to this most useful tool.

Among the other ongoing projects are the extraction of details from coroner's reports and the indexing of stones and burial records of Royal Oak Cemetery. So far over 67,000 burial records have been extracted at Royal Oak and all the stones have been recorded. This is a work in progress and will be published in the future.

He states that the VGS "produces a Surname Index only at occasional interval". The last two were produced in 1997 and 1999. The 1997 version was produced on paper and microfiche. The last one is an ongoing surname index and can be viewed on the VGS website. It is being updated regularly.

To try and justify his contention that the VGS is "the least active of all the provincial-capital societies" he quotes an un-named and totally un-identified person. This person states that "this lack of activity is caused by the fact that only a handful of our 150 members have any British Columbia or Vancouver Island roots". We actually have nearly 400 members and are very active.

He omits to mention that the VGS has one of the finest genealogical libraries in Canada. He also omits the fact that the VGS has an active and effective queries committee.

He fails to mention that the society has hosted two very successful daylong seminars in the last two years. Lady Tiviot, May 1998, and Cindy Howells (of Cindy's List fame), Oct 1999, were the feature guests to the sold out events.

What a pity that Mr. Baxter was too lazy to check the VGS website . Why didn't he write a letter to our president asking for comments or find some way to give the society a chance to defend itself against such untrue statements.

When writing a fact based book every effort should be made to be thorough, accurate and fair. On just this one page I have been very disappointed to find that a man who produces many genealogy books may be too busy to get the facts right.

In his book I was not able to find any comments on the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid (OCFA) or the British Columbia Cemetery Finding Aid (BCCFA). These are two of the best research tools and are freely available to all but he does seem to know about them. Both are produced by two members of the VGS. He also makes only a passing comment on the extremely important 1871 Ontario Census Index.

He seems to think that there is a provincial genealogical society in B.C. In fact the British Columbia Genealogical Society is the Vancouver area genealogical society and has no status as a provincial body and does not claim such a status.

I won't read the rest of his book or any other of his books. He has lost my trust.

Gives a great general over view of many Canadian record sources sorted by province. Greater detail is needed in the western Canadian provinces. More information on accessing Latter-Day Saints Collection and other resources which are availiable for research outside of local collections is needed. As well as more information on organization of research material. Which is essential to productive research. One of the best resouses for Canadian genealogical research. Great resource for those just starting out to the expert genealogist.

Mr. Baxter starts with the assumption that you know nothing about genealogy and takes you step-by-step in the genealogical process. He makes it seem very easy but also warns of pitfalls that may occur. Along with his other books, In Search of English & Irish and In Search of German Genealogy, you will never need any other genealogy books. He has not written one for US research but he has the rest of the world covered. He tells you where to write for information, what kind of data you can expect from these places and gives examples of his own Canadian research. Buy this book and you will never be disappointed.

This book had some merit as a description of the War of 1812. While reading it though, it was impossible to escape the fact that it was written by a Canadian. The bias in this book was incredible, and often hid some of the points that needed to be made. I am not saying this as an American who only wants to read pro-American history, but this book became to biased to convey the facts the author was apparently trying to get across.

It works as a good overview. This is not the author's only book about this event, so I trust he knows his facts but I wouldn't be able to verify that. One small drawback is that the author assumes you know the location of certain places so you might become geographically lost at times. It was a quick read on the war which was all I was looking for.

This book is a good overview of the war that does not get bogged down in extensive details pertaining to each individual battle. Those looking for a detailed analysis of the war may want to look elsewhere, but those who are more interested in the general events and the reason for the choices made during the war will likely be pleased with this. My only real qualm is that the book lacks good maps to accompany the descriptions of advances, retreats, etc. Overall though, anyone looking for a general explanation of the events of 1812 and especially the reasons why certain choices were made during the war will likely be pleased with this book.