Canadians Who Innovate - The Trailblazers and Ideas That Are Changing the World
Regular price $35.00Profiles of some of the most inventive and creative Canadians and the ideas that are making Canada a leading nation in innovation.
From saving lives to saving harvests...
From discovering ancient diamonds to identifying the first exo-planet...
From driverless cars to quantum computers...
From Nobel laureates to your next-door neighbor...
This book offers uplifting stories of innovative Canadians.
Canadians Who Innovate includes two Nobel laureates, an astronaut, extraordinary business leaders, the godfathers of artificial intelligence, and top quantum experts, including the inventor of what may be the next quantum computer. It features profiles of the first director of engineering at Google, who is now working on nuclear fusion; a medical researcher who communicates on TikTok about the efficacy and potential for RNA vaccine technology; and a PhD in nuclear physics who has twice won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Meet the linguist who works with Indigenous people to make online dictionaries, an internationally consulted specialist on migration, an agri-tech investor, a world specialist on permafrost, and the expert in systems and number theory who has a way to fix health care. And don’t forget the engineer who grew human cells on apples, a feat that is leading to the creation of replacement organs that do not require donors—not to be confused with the aerospace technology developer who created a tethering system to clean up space debris and a 3-D printer that prints biological tissue.
Featuring brilliant thinkers from coast to coast to coast, and others from around the world who now call Canada home, Canadians Who Innovate paints a promising picture of a cleaner, healthier, more innovative future for us all.
Folklore of Canada
Regular price $21.99Body Positive: A Guide to Loving Your Body
Regular price $29.99What does it mean to be beautiful? How can a girl embrace and develop her individuality and unique qualities when the world is constantly comparing her to the plastic perfection of Barbie?
Body Positive: A Guide to Loving Your Body is the number one resource for young adult women who desire to redefine and understand true beauty. Focusing on correct body image, self-improvement, thinspiration, mental health, bullying, sexual harassment, and more, Body Positive is packed with introspective questions, guided activities, and inspiring, un-retouched photographs that display the bodies of real, everyday women. Body Positive is a helpful, informative and inspirational guide that will help any girl transcend society’s standards.
Two-Spirit Journey
Regular price $24.95From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community, Ma-Nee Chacaby's extraordinary story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social and economic legacies of colonialism.
As a child, Chacaby learned spiritual and cultural traditions from her Cree grandmother and trapping, hunting, and bush survival skills from her Ojibwa stepfather. She also suffered physical and sexual violence, and in her teen years became an alcoholic herself. At twenty, Chacaby took her children and, fleeing an abusive marriage, moved to Thunder Bay. Despite the abuse, racism, and indifference she often found there, Chacaby marshalled the strength and supports to help herself and others.
Over the following decades, she achieved sobriety, trained and worked as an alcoholism counsellor, raised her children and fostered many others, learned to live with visual impairment, and came out as a lesbian. In 2013, Chacaby led the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay.
Ma-Nee Chacaby has emerged from hardship grounded in faith, compassion, and humour. Her memoir provides unprecedented insights into the challenges still faced by many Indigenous people.
Innovation Nation
Regular price $16.99_________________
About David Johnston
One of Canada's most respected and beloved governors general, David Johnston is a graduate of Harvard, Cambridge, and Queen's universities. He served as dean of law at Western University, principal of McGill University, and president of the University of Waterloo. He is the author or co-author of twenty-five books, holds honorary doctorates from over twenty universities, and is a Companion of the Order of Canada (C.C.). Born in Sudbury, Ontario, he grew up in Sault Ste. Marie. He is married to Sharon Johnston and has five daughters and fourteen grandchildren.…
Maple Leaf Moments
Regular price $19.95Leafs fans remember the ups. And, oh boy, do they remember the downs. But how many know Harry “Big Mum” Mummery’s (1911-1923) habit of broiling a steak on a shovel over the Mutual Street Arena’s coal furnace before each home game? Or that two-time Stanley Cup champ Ken Randall (1917-1927) once paid a fine with a sack of pennies? Or that legendary goalie Johnny “The China Wall” Bower (1958-69) wrote and recorded a children’s Christmas song that charted with The Beatles’ “Yesterday” on Toronto’s Top 100 list?
In this quirky collection of stories from the first century of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ history, renowned hockey columnist Bob Duff offers over 200 of the most memorable, unlikely anecdotes that all fans of the old Blue-and-White are sure to love.
The Running-Shaped Hole
Regular price $23.99A searching, self-deprecating memoir of a man on his way to eating himself to death before discovering the anxiety and fulfillment of distance running.
“Uplifting, emotional, and just plain hilarious, The Running-Shaped Hole may even inspire you to put down your fork and pick up those running shoes.” — JAY ONRAIT, TSN host and broadcaster
When Robert Earl Stewart sees his pants lying across the end of his bed, they remind him of a flag draped over a coffin — his coffin. At thirty-eight years old he weighs 368 pounds and is slowly eating himself to death. The only thing that helps him deal with the fear and shame is eating. But one day, following a terrifying doctor’s appointment, he goes for a walk — an act that sets The Running-Shaped Hole in motion. Within a year, he is running long distances, fulfilling his mother's dying wishes, reversing the disastrous course of his eating, losing 140 pounds, and, after several mishaps and jail time, eventually running the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon.
At turns philosophical and slapstick, this memoir examines the life-altering effects running has on a man who, left to his own devices, struggles to be a husband, a father, a son, and a writer.
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Robert Earl Stewart’s first book of poetry, Something Burned Along the Southern Border, was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, and his poetry has been published in This, Magma, and The Best Canadian Poetry. He spent fifteen years as a newspaper reporter, photographer, and editor. Robert lives in Windsor, Ontario.
Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary
Regular price $24.95“You have taken our civil rights—we want our human rights.”
On April 14, 1971, a handful of prisoners attacked the guards at Kingston Penitentiary and seized control, making headlines around the world. For four intense days, the prisoners held the guards hostage while their leaders negotiated with a citizens’ committee of journalists and lawyers, drawing attention to the dehumanizing realities of their incarceration, including overcrowding, harsh punishment and extreme isolation. But when another group of convicts turned their pent-up rage towards some of the weakest prisoners, tensions inside the old stone walls erupted, with tragic consequences. As heavily armed soldiers prepared to regain control of the prison through a full military assault, the inmates were finally forced to surrender.
Murder on the Inside tells the harrowing story of a prison in crisis against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in the history of human rights. Occurring just months before the uprising at Attica Prison, the Kingston riot has remained largely undocumented, and few have known the details—yet the tense drama chronicled here is more relevant today than ever. A gripping account of the standoff and the efforts for justice and reform it inspired, Murder on the Inside is essential reading for our times.
Includes 24 pages of photographs.
The Idea of Canada | David Johnston
Regular price $19.95From our former Governor General, a series of fifty (of several thousand) carefully chosen letters he has written to people he has admired and befriended over his seventy-plus years, that sets out David Johnston's frank, informed, and novel thoughts about Canada.
Touching on a wide range of topics ranging from learning, the law, kindness and courage, to the monarchy, Aboriginal education, justice, bilingualism, mental health and hockey, David Johnston has always used the letter writing form to tackle the passions, challenges, and goals of his incredibly accomplished and varied life. From his earliest years at Harvard, he has written several letters each day, starting with those to his large family, and broadening out to an ever-widening circle of friends that includes ministers and monarchs, educators and entrepreneurs, and many extraordinary Canadians who have deepened his perspective and touched his heart. The letters included in this beautiful volume are all about Canada -- a project to help him understand and share his views on this great country, past, present and future.
Presented in three parts -- What Shapes Me, What Consumes Me, and What Comforts Me -- The Right Honourable reaches out to everyone from his grandchildren, Kevin Vickers, Clara Hughes, Chris Hadfield, the Aga Khan, Tina Fontaine, Mike Lazaridis, the teachers of our country, a grade five class in Winnipeg, an unknown Inuit boy he met at Rideau Hall, and many others. The perfect gift for graduates, this unique and lovely book should find its home in every Canadian's library.
_________________
About David Johnston
One of Canada's most respected and beloved governors general, David Johnston is a graduate of Harvard, Cambridge, and Queen's universities. He served as dean of law at Western University, principal of McGill University, and president of the University of Waterloo. He is the author or co-author of twenty-five books, holds honorary doctorates from over twenty universities, and is a Companion of the Order of Canada (C.C.). Born in Sudbury, Ontario, he grew up in Sault Ste. Marie. He is married to Sharon Johnston and has five daughters and fourteen grandchildren.…
Policing Black Lives
Regular price $25.00Deluxe Canadian Rocks & Minerals
Regular price $16.99A solid introduction to amateur geology – featuring Canada's coolest rocks!
This fascinating kit will help kids learn about Canada's seriously cool rocks! Thirteen rock samples and a mini-magnifier are included inside, along with a 32-page fullcolour book that gives the lowdown on the basic information every rockhound needs to know. The 13 rock samplesincluded are: amethyst, brecciated jasper, beryl, smoky quartz, labradorite, quartz sandstone, dolomite, selenite, nephrite jade, amazonite, chalcopyrite, granite and tourmline.
As a special bonus: a double-sided, full-colour poster features a map of where you can find these earth-bound treasures on one side and a “Canada Rocks!” wall poster on the other.
Budding young geologists will have to agree — Canada's rocks ROCK!
Best Bike Rides Canada
Regular price $37.95Lonely Planet's Best Bike Rides Canada reveals 35 incredible two-wheeled escapes - with maps - so you can experience even more of this extraordinary country.
Get ready for an unforgettable bike ride across Canada and discover exhilarating cycling adventures that range from a couple of hours to a full day. Admire wild and rugged beaches with stunning coastal views, indulge in gastronomic delights, and explore historic and charming cities.
Inside Lonely Planet's Best Bike Rides Canada :
Lonely Planet's Best Bike Rides Canada is our most comprehensive guide to cycling trips in this amazing part of the world, with all the inspiration you'll need to plan your next big trip on two wheels.
Mother Earth is Our Elder
Regular price $36.00Black Public Joy
Regular price $34.00Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America
Regular price $55.00One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against
Regular price $36.00Fantastic Cities
Regular price $25.95 Sale price $19.00This unique coloring book features immersive aerial views of real cities from around the world alongside gorgeously illustrated, Inception-like architectural mandalas. Artist Steve McDonald's beautifully rendered and detailed line work offers bird's-eye perspectives of visually arresting global locales from New York, London, and Paris to Istanbul, Tokyo, and Melbourne, Rio, Amsterdam, and many more. The adult coloring book's distinctive large square format offers absorbingly complex vistas to color, the crisp white pages are conducive to a range of artistic applications, and a middle margin keeps all the artwork fully colorable. Complementing the cityscapes are a selection of mind-bending labyrinthine architectural illustrations for still deeper meditative coloring adventures and imaginative flights of fancy.
On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer
Regular price $15.95Writing is, and always will be, an act defined by failure. The best plan is to just get used to it.
Failure is a topic discussed in every creative writing department in the world, but this is the book every beginning writer should have on their shelf to prepare them. Less a guide to writing and more a guide to what you need to continue existing as a writer, On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer describes the defining role played by rejection in literary endeavors and contemplates failure as the essence of the writer’s life. Along with his own history of rejection, Marche offers stories from the history of writerly failure, from Ovid’s exile and Dostoevsky’s mock execution to James Baldwin’s advice just to endure, where living with the struggle and the pointlessness of writing is the point.
Praise for On Writing and Failure
“The Canadian novelist and essayist describes the defining role rejection has played in his career and reflects on its importance in the lives of notable writers, from Ovid to Dostoyevsky and Baldwin.”
—New York Times
“I want to buy up a big lot of Marche’s contribution and hand them out to anyone struggling to write”
—Vanity Fair
“[Marche’s] writing style is buoyant and funny. […] When the stars are aligned, someone writes a work as provocative, informed and droll as On Writing and Failure.”
—Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“While writing starts with one person, an empty page and an urge to say something, it ends with another person reading your words, digesting them and making a judgment. In the process the reader owns your words and makes something of them […] That’s why I’m keeping On Writing and Failure on my desk—for encouragement—which I am guessing is Marche’s true purpose in writing the book.”
—Globe and Mail
“On Writing and Failure romps through a series of anecdotes about the thwarted aspirations of authors so as to instruct a ‘kid writer’ not to hope for anything.”
—Literary Review of Canada
“In On Writing and Failure, Marche attempts to reset the way we talk about such struggles. He stomps Freytag’s Pyramid flat. […] Marche’s book isn’t a pep talk, but it’s not intended to cut you off at the knees. His sole prescription is stubbornness. ‘You have to write.'”
—Washington Post
“Marche reaches something deeper when he reminds us that many of these famous literary figures couldn’t make a living wage with their writing […] The book is endlessly quotable, and at times very funny.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Marche’s purpose is not to discourage young tyros from taking up the pen but to inform them—via repeated commands of ‘no whining’—that writing is not the path to success, riches or even, often, respect; writers write in spite of failure.”
—The New Statesman
“Marche is reluctant to give generalized advice, but what he does offer cuts right through the bullshit.”
—Broken Pencil
“On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer must be considered essential reading for anyone seeking to write for a living, be it as a novelist, essayist, poet, columnist, or any other writing genre. Itself exceptionally well written.”
—Midwest Book Review
“On Writing and Failure is a slim little truth bomb I wish had been written when I first harboured notions of writing to be published.”
—Policy Magazine
“Marche’s advice to writers, then, is to ‘keep throwing yourself at the door.’ Keep racking up rejections, keep amassing failures. Endure long enough, and eventually there will be a breakthrough, however arbitrary, however fleeting. On Writing and Failure is thus both a dark glimpse into the trials of creativity—and a comfort, a consolation.”
—Lean Out with Tara Henley
“Not only could I brave it; I managed to relish it.”
—Miramichi Reader
“On Writing and Failure is less about writing and more about perseverance. Reading it reminded me of all the things I thought impossible before I tried them and now find impossible to live without. Writing is one of those things.”
—Compulsive Reader
“A sparkling cocktail of bittersweet jokes and fizzing truth bombs.”
—Jonathan Coe, author of Bournville
“Number 6 in the Biblioasis Field Notes Series. A tiny book that holds enough to be a repeated reference. Any writer will benefit from having this honest exposure to the importance of failing. It is a harsh, and still kind, reminder that the effort is more important than the result—because without the effort there isn’t a chance of anything at all.”
—Carrie Koepke (Skylark Books), The Columbia Daily Tribune
“A paean to persistence, a celebration of art for its own sake, and my favorite entry yet in the excellent Field Notes series from Biblioasis.”
—James Crossley, Madison Books
“A central (perhaps the central) paradox of the writing life is this: in order to churn out the freest, most generous, truest work possible, the writer must embrace the utter and complete futility of the task of writing. As a writer at the beginning of a new project, I couldn’t ask for a better companion to carry me through the coming, inevitable, necessary days of failure, joy, and frustration. Marche’s essay is such a heartening guide through the writer’s life (of failure). As a reader, Marche’s perspective on the lives, hopes, frustrations, and failures of some all-time greats is nothing short of a marvel. It’s like being able to see into the upside-down of centuries of literature. Any person interested in language, books, stories, and meaning-making will find themselves richer for reading this exceptional little book.”
—Chris Lee, Boswell Book Company
Praise for Stephen Marche
“How Shakespeare Changed Everything is fun and informative, with more than its share of ‘Aha!’ moments packed between its diminutive covers. Mr. Marche’s thesis is compelling and probably more true than we ever imagined.”
—New York Journal of Books
“So dazzling, so unsentimental … A work that is both beautiful and confusing. In other words, an honest love story.”
—New York Times
“Stephen Marche is capable of writing … any darn thing he wants.”
—Globe and Mail
“Brilliant … Marche has created a stunning, evocative, and impressionistic account of the ascent of wealth in the twentieth century. . . . The Hunger of the Wolf could be Marche’s breakthrough novel.”
—Booklist, starred review
“A dazzling virtuoso piece. Marche turns the making of a family’s fortune into a fascinating, bloody fairy tale.”
—Emma Donoghue, author of Room and Frog Music
“Untrammelled, unfettered, unprecedented, unselfconscious and friggin’ unbelievable, this book busts the novel open, makes literature an open question, and maps out brave new worlds for the reader to spelunk. With Raymond and Hannah I knew this guy was up to something brilliant. Shining at the Bottom of the Sea tells me I hadn’t the faintest idea.”
—Daniel Handler, author of Adverbs
