No comments about Champlain's Dream.

3 comments about Hockey: A People's History.

1. This book is an outstanding history of the sport of hockey. I saw the Canadian multi-part TV program of the same name several years ago and always wanted to get this companion book. I'm glad I finally did. This is a beautifully done book, with many color and black and white photos from throughout the history of hockey. It's really a coffee table style book, oversized and with many photos. It's true the book is a little oriented more towards the Canadian perspective, but not overly so.
   
   I highly recommend this book to hockey fans everywhere...and if you ever get a chance to watch the TV show, do it. One of the best I've seen about the sport.



2. Having been a Hockey buff for just over 50 years, I found this volume to be the most comprehensive and complete treatment of the subject that I have read over the years, having read several. It reveals some information not generally known to those not in the "industry". I found this book to be a fascinating, don't want to put it down read. My congratulations to Michael Mckinley.



3. If you're a hockey fan with an appreciation for the history of the game, *this* is the book you need to read... Hockey: A People's History by Michael McKinley. This both entertained and educated me, and brought the history of hockey alive in a way I've never seen it before.
   
   Contents: Prologue; The Temple and the Chalice; Gold After Silver; Blood and Champagne; The Dustbowl Dream; A Cool Medium; Us and Them; The Soul of a Nation; Hope and Betrayal; The Winter of Our Discontent; Reclaiming the Game; Acknowledgements; Index
   
   This is a coffee-table companion book to a CBC series of the same name. Not living in Canada, I can't say I've seen the series. But if it's anything like the book, it must be outstanding. McKinley goes back to the beginning of the game we know as hockey, back to 1875 when the first game was played in Montreal. Many other variations of the game existed before then, but generally speaking, this is when the game started in its modern form. Lavishly illustrated, he works his way up through time, from the birth of the Stanley Cup to the lockout season of 2004-2005. In between, you learn about the great names of the sport who often are just names attached to trophies unless you know the history... Hobie Baker, Frank Calder, Conn Smythe, and many others. The stories of teams put together to challenge for the Stanley Cup, back in the day when it was up for grabs to just about anyone. There's even coverage of the Portland Rosebuds, who challenged the Montreal Canadiens in 1916. Junior and women's hockey also figure prominently in the story, so whatever your particular interest niche is for the game, you'll find it in here.
   
   I remember a few years back when my kids attended a hockey camp in Penticton, British Columbia. The final day included a game played in the city arena that was home to the Penticton Vees. It's an old-time barn, with plenty of memorabilia from years gone by. But until I read this book, I didn't realize just how big a deal that team was. That team went over to Germany in 1955 and beat the Russian team for the World Championships, and was the toast of Canada in the midst of the Cold War tension of the time. Walking through the arena, you could almost feel the ghosts of history, the thousands of games that had been played there. It's hard to explain, but hockey in Canada is more than just a sport, it's a national identity and obsession.
   
   I don't know that I've spent as much time lingering and savoring a book than I did this one. It's a pleasure to read, and will add immensely to your understanding and respect of the game.

5 comments about Grass Beyond the Mountains: Discovering the Last Great Cattle Frontier on the North American Continent.

1. My wife visited the area of Canada described by the book when she was a child, and we plan a return visit this summer. The book is an essential prerequisite, and a very enjoyable read!



2. Here I am ordering another copy of this book. I keep "loaning" them. I received my first copy in the mid-1950s as a horse/cowboy-loving teenager in Indiana. My USFS Ranger uncle sent it to me because he knew....!!! Knew it would be another huge nudge in getting me out to the Great Pacific Northwest other than just for visits. I made it in 1968 and my husband and I have visited the area depicted in the book countless times. I will soon turn 70 and have enjoyed reading this book every few years throughout my life. It is most compelling. The reviews of others are definitely right on. What more can I say other than, read it?



3. A personal look in living real life in a land that little is known



4. Pan Phillips had the "Pan Phillips International Airport" at his fishing camp beyond Anahim Lake B.C. For several years, we flew into his little airport between 2 lakes. Pan told us some of the same stories that are in this book. Louis Soukup was one of the first pilots to the area. Louis would fly in, any equipment that Pan needed, on the pontoons of his airplane. This book gives the stories as though you were sitting at the feet of the men who were the first settlers in this area of British Colombia. It is really an adventure to read.



5. We own the Legacy Ranch high in the mountains of Northeastern Utah. For years we have loved the beauty of the unspoiled wilderness. Nursing newborn elk calves, watching Canadian Lynx outside their lairs, and many other adventures have cast us in the mold of lovers of the wilderness. To read the adventures of true cowboys, who started with nothing else but their "grit" and ended up with lives spent plumbing the depths of fun and hard work was one of the top literary experiences of our lives. This book, far better than the sequels, will be part o four Christmas giving this year.

5 comments about William Osler: A Life in Medicine.

1. I purchased 5 of these books as a "Thank you" to 5 excellent physicians who supported me as an oncology nurse practitioner. Since I was retiring, I wanted to say "Thank you" and each physician was thrilled to receive a copy.



2. This is one of the most absorbing and readable biographies of Sir William Osler. Michael Bliss' book is considerably shorter and easier to read than the monumental Pulitzer Prize winning book by Harvey Cushing, Life of Sir William Osler.
   As a retired general practitioner, Sir Willam's life and example is particularly close to what I have been practicing for the past forty years. When one reads this account one can begin to fathom this great man's ability, perception of human suffering, natural curiosity and dedication to the patient's welfare. This book reveals to us some of his other unique abilities and qualities namely his bibliophilia,vast reading, writing close to 170 papers, teaching scores of students, and having the honor of holding responsible and prestigious positions in the fields of medicine and the humanities. In addition to all these were his literally developing Johns Hopkins Hospital and University into the best in the world in his time and marshalled the achievements of hospitals in Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto. As Regius Professor at Oxford from 1915 to 1919 he was a towering giant . He therefore stands in my eyes as the greatest doctor of the 19th.,20th. and perhaps the 21st. centuries. Not Sydenham, not Hunter, not even Lister could do all that Osler managed to do and do so with so much energy, dedication and humility.
   We doctors who were not with him on hospital rounds, clinical demonstrations,lectures, lunches, teas and dinners and amazing conversations with him are very envious of those who were blessed with these opportunities.
   He set a living example to his protege the way a doctor should live and work to earn that mark of nobility that the profession has had for centuries. He was the healer of all healers and inspired many to literally follow his foot steps. To mention two such would be too few but the likes of Harvey Cushing and Wilder Penfield come to mind and they both became superb neurosurgeons even though their hero, Osler , was an internist. I was astounded to read the great numbers of international luminaries who were treated by him. He ministered to doctors and their families, medical students and staff and was thus a doctor's doctor both as a teacher and physician.
   His love of little children, the youth, the aged and his own extended family was exemplary to say the least.
   How sad that such a doctor left the world at a mere 70 years of age. Three great nations, Canada, the U.S. and Britain all claim him as their own son. That honor and adulation no one and no doctor has the distinction of achieving. He served all of them so well.
   We all stand in awe of this stalwart of modern medicine and Michael Bliss has opened our eyes to this individual so well.



3. Despite almost a century since his death, William Osler persists as the `the grand old man of medicine', a life devoted to doctoring and doctors, who has supplied inspiration for many generations of physicians in the United States, Canada, Britain and the Continent.
   
   Osler's life was a remarkable achievement as a medical teacher, (important in America in giving medical students real medical experience, as clinical clerks in hospitals) physician, prolific author, councillor, researcher and mentor to literarily thousands of men and women embarking on the profession in the medicos. It was the philosopher and great teacher, William James, who commented to Osler, marvelling and his energy and interests. Osler replied, that he was terribly conscious of time that it was a commodity he wished he could buy more of, as there was so much he could do with it. (p. 502) Osler's zest for work and unbounding passion for medicine set the standard for medical women and men in the twentieth century.
   
   After reading Michael Bliss's brilliant biography of the pioneering neurosurgeon, Harvey Cushing, another remarkable medical man, and Osler's first biographer, it seemed only natural to read about Cushing's mentor. Both biographies are first rate and it really would be a disservice to compare them, because both works are thorough, educational, inspiring and definitive contributions to the greats of medical history.
   
   Osler is the author of the currently classic text, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, which became the core textbook for students and practicing physicians during his life. It became a yearly task for the doctor to revise later editions, (sixteen in all) and in present time, for modern doctors, according to Bliss, has now become patient-centred and a historical document of the state of 19th century medicine.
   
   Osler is famous for his bedside manner, the notion of empowering patients and autonomy in clinical practice. The man's faith in medicine and the legendary "aura" of healing that surrounded him, causing patients to regain the faith in their own healing ability, has caused a renewed interest in humanities joining forces with science, a proper balance, ensuring an optimal treatment and outcome for the patient.
   
   How did the man accomplish so much in one lifetime? Similar to the 18th century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, people close to him could adjust their clocks to the second by the philosopher's movements. Osler was the same: his day was usually planned down to the minute, rising at seven and retiring by ten-thirty everyday.
   
   He was also a man born with writing disease, never a day would go by without putting pen to paper, as his articles, correspondence, speeches and books certainly reveal. A consummate bibliophile, his collection of medical texts and related subjects, at the end of his life reached eight thousand, taking many years to catalogue, ending up being donated, as was his wish, to McGill University.
   
   An excellent biography of an extraordinary man of medicine.



4. William Osler remains an iconic figure in American medicine. Osler is taken often to epitomize the physician who brings a crticial and scholarly approach to the bedside in conjunction with compassion and empathy. In this very well written biography, Bliss traces Osler's life, his achievements, and examines how he assumed iconic status and whether or not this status is deserved. Bliss is particularly well equipped to undertake this task. A well known specialist on Canadian history, he has written other fine books on medical history in a Canadian context.
   Bliss presents Osler as a product of the rising British Victorian middle classes. The remarkable son of impressive parents, Osler was the son of an English naval officer turned Anglican minister and his equally intelligent wife. Raised in rural Ontario when this part of Canada was still a frontier, Osler's parents inculcated respect for learning, dedication to hard work, and clearly taught the value of community service. William Osler was not an outlier in this family. One of his brothers became a prominent businessman and two other brothers became important figures in Canadian law and politics. An early interest in natural history (biology) lead Osler to medicine. Trained in then provinicial Toronto and Montreal, he finished his education in some of the great teaching hospitals of Europe. Spotted by his mentors in Montreal as a future star, he was brought back to McGill to teach at the modest medical school. At McGill, Osler launched the career of careful clinical observation, pathologic correlation, and teaching that would propel him to the apex of his profession. His growing reputation led to appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and then to the nascent Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. At Hopkins, he became the first Professor of Clinical Medicine and introduced the teaching methods that revolutionized medical education in the USA. Relatively little of what Osler did was truly novel. Clinico-pathologic correlation has been standard method for expanding medical knowledge for decades and the clerkship method of teaching had been used in Britain and continental Europe for some time. Osler carried these methods to new heights. In his clinical practice, in his teaching, and in his great textbooks, Osler summarized and codified almost all of 19th century medicine. He was not a notable scientist, though his description and characterization of several important clinical conditions was very valuable, but he brought the best science of his time to the bedside and set clinical medicine on the course of drawing from systematic scientific work. In terms of his personal accomplishments and the example he set for his numerous trainees, his impact on 20th century medicine was immense.
   Osler's reputation as a fine physician was deserved. Bliss shows him to be an warm and compassionate individual who was regarded often with great affection by his patients. Blessed with a generous and kindly personality, he enjoyed a wide circle of friends and a happy family life. In important respects, Osler exemplifies some of the most important and most admirable features of the Victorian period. His sense of virtue and service was very strong but he was not a prig and had relatively liberal values. Traveling in Germany towards the end of the 19th century, he noted and deplored rising anti-Semitism. He appears to have been devoid of overt anti-Semitic feelings and had a number of Jewish trainess, all of whom he appears to have treated with his usual combination of high expectations and civil behavior. Alone among the faculty at Hopkins, he supported the admission of women, though he did not really believe in female equality. Bliss spent years immersed in Osler's extensive writings and tremendously extensive correspondence, clearly likes and admires Osler, and his regard for Osler is reflected in the tone of this biography.

   Osler was also that quintessential Canadian, the provincial boy who achieves fame on the wider stage of the USA or Britain. At the peak of his fame, he was the best known physician in the English speaking world and something of a minor celebrity.
   Like all fine biographies, this book is about more than its central subject. It is valuable on the development of Canadian society, the growth of universities in the USA and Canada, the history of medicine, and the devastating impact of WWI.
   This will be the standard biography of Osler and it is worthy of its subject.




5. This is, quite honestly, a hefty tome, but no less may be expected when writing about the greatest American physician who ever lived. Bliss presents us with a detailed, well-paced, and engaging biography of Dr. Osler, from his childhood days in Canada to his final years at Oxford. Being both a student of medicine and a Baltimorean (currently), I took a special interest to the chapters devoted to his post as the first chief of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

   Unlike the time-honored work by Cushing, Bliss's book is no hagiography; it makes no false overtures about Dr. Osler's iconic grandeur, instead letting the reader discover for himself (or herself) that Dr. Osler was, in fact, as great a man as people say he was. (All that being said, I still value the two-volume Cushing biography, and there is no way I will rid myself of the precious first-edition set I snatched up last year at the Maryland Historical Society bookshop!)

   One need not practice Oslerolatry (that is, the veritable worship of Dr. Osler expressed by many of the older faculty at Hopkins and elsewhere) to appreciate this book, though having an interest in medicine and/or medical history may help. Critics often lament that American doctors no longer have any professional integrity, and that taking the Hippocratic Oath is a sham. Read this book, and discover how great the American physician can be...and THEN lament that they don't make them like they used to.

1 comments about High Latitudes: An Arctic Journey.

1. A sad book. High Latitudes focuses on the disintegrating culture of North Canadian Natives. Much of the book is transcription of the natives in their own words and gives excellent insight into their plight. An overriding theme of the book is the devastating effect bureaucratic decisions of government and big business has had on these Inuits (Eskimos) and others.

   This wasn't the adventure story I was expecting from Farley Mowat like "People of the Deer" in which he lived with an arctic community. This trip, taken in 1966, he travels by plane. Still none the less an adventure, he keenly describes a variety of northern communities including: Churchill ("a ...collection of mostly wooden structures between taiga and open tundra"), Povungnituk (the place that stinks), Old Crow (where "people catch lots of rats, won't let you go hungry there"), and many others. In typical fashion, Farley Mowat creates a gripping pathos about past cultures and events never to return, and often includes rich historical background for places he explores.

   If you're a Farley Mowat fan, I would rate this as important but not as engaging as some of his other books (I've read four others: "People of the Deer", "And No Birds Sang", "Never Cry Wolf", and "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float"). The book ends somewhat abruptly but he saves a great anecdote from the Yukon Territory for the end. A frustrating aspect about the events you read about in this book is that they took place in the sixties. I'd like to know how these settlements he visited have done since then. I'll probably never know.

4 comments about Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake.

1. Another good read from Anne LaBastille, but the schtick is starting to wear a little thin. I loved Ms. B's first book, and was looking forward to this second installment.
   
   Don't get me wrong - I liked it enough, and I finished it with no problems. Anne's adventures start to wear a little thin after the excellent first book though ("Woodswoman"). She builds a second cabin, animals die, she hurts herself, she meets a man, etc. It its details, it is really very much like the first book, only a little more old-hat, and a little more preachy. However, if you are interested in following the author's story, it is of course, just what the doctor ordered. I find it a bit braggy, and a bit of a bore now and then.
   
   The book bills itself as "her decision to retreat further," which I certainly do not find to be the case. In fact, it is more like "her decision to retreat less."



2. With the Adirondack setting, Woodswoman II, by Anne Labastille, captures a way of life most people will never know about. The way Anne talks about her life as a woodswoman pulls the reader into her world and life. There are also many good details. While building her second house, Anne faces many difficulties including temporary blindness when she gets cement dust in her eyes, and dropping a large spruce on her leg, injuring herself so she cannot walk for two months. As she chooses her dog, the decision becomes the reader's and the excitement is on them. Around Anne her beautiful world is disappearing to acid rain and people. As the reader progresses through this story he or she will find the true meaning of the woods. The setting and unusual way of writing brings this book together to make a fabulous story of Anne's life. Her unique way of writing shows who she is. She talks about smaller details in great detail, talking about the general one a small mystery. When Anne was building her house, she talks about when her boat flipped when carrying supplies to her cabin. She also talks about her feelings a lot in her autobiography. She explains how she likes her doctor more then why she was temporarily blind when she gets some cement dust in her eyes. Another reason I give this book five stars is the way she decries her surroundings and her land. When Anne is on a walk she Comes upon a cliff and transfer you there in to the fog and wet green moss. She plants a photograph in the reader's mind so that the reader can find every thing in Anne's cabin. As you see there are reasons to like this book. There is one and only one reason why I would not recommend this book is that it skips from one topic to another for example, she talks about building her house, she suddenly starts the next chapter talking about acid rain and polluting. This also happened when she got hurt and talked that in the middle of a chapter about her house. This reason is not bad enough to make this book a book I would not recommend. This book is a wonderful Adironacks story about a young woman and her dogs.



3. This second installment of the 'Woodswoman' trilogy is a step up in maturity for Dr. LaBastille. "Woodswoman" (one), dealt largely with the purchase of land and the building of a dream cabin on a remote lake. This books becomes more real, as Dr. LaBastille begins to have to worry about trespassing intruders, acid rain and the real threat that the government can pose in this unique environment. Determined not to let these new problems destroy her outlook or her life, Dr. LaBastille begins to build a second cabin - further into the wilderness. Encompassing both the new thrill of building a more isloated respite along with some freinds, brings another insight into Anne LaBastille's life ten years later. Numerous elderly Adirondack guides become great friends, sharing their own stories of the wilderness. A new romance evolves and the author has to deal with the reality of having to deal with both worlds. This book speaks not only of the wilderness, but the grand people that make and keep it unique. Of course, Dr. LaBastille's dogs are always given star treatment and her love of these animals is heartfelt. More refined and a little less naive, this second 'woodswoman' book will break and warm your heart at the same time.



4. Woodswoman II is the continuing biography of author Anne LaBastille, who found peace and solitude in the log cabin she built for herself at Black Bear Lake, in the Adirondack Park of upstate New York. This is the engaging, compelling, sometimes inspiring story of how Anne decided to retreat a half-mile father into the wilderness behind her main cabin and build a second, tiny cabin (fashioned after the one in Thoreau's "Walden") in which she could write and contemplate. Woodswoman II focuses on her renewed bond with nature, her companionship with two German shepherd dogs; and her sustained and sustaining relationship with a man fully as independent as herself. Highly recommended reading for anyone who has ever contemplating leaving the stress of urban life behind for the contemplative isolation of the wilderness.

1 comments about Klondike Women: True Tales Of 1897-1898 Gold Rush.

1. I really loved this book. I bought it in conjunction with a research project about Nellie Cashman, longtime resident of Arizona and one of American's earliest female mining experts. The details about the trials and tribulations of these people (women and men) are extrodinary. The author has really done her homework. She tries to tell the story of the Klondike by illustrating the trails with diary entries, personal accounts and contemporary pictures. I think she succeeds in doing just that and more. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history, in Mining history or even in Women's Studies.
   
   GOOD BOOK! BUY ME NOW! :)

5 comments about Get a Life! (Star Trek).

1. You can tell that a lot of research and time was put into making this book and it really shows because it is so hard to put down once it gets going. If you have ever wanted to know the workings of and behind the scenes stories of Star Trek conventions, then this is for you.
   
   In "Get A Life!", William Shatner gives the history of the end of Star Trek (which is just a retelling of the story that is in his other book "Star Trek Memories") but it sets up the story of how the conventions began beautifully. Not only that, but Shatner interviews cast members as well as those who worked behind the scenes of the series, fans and conventioneers who run the conventions. Needless to say, you get an insight into this world.
   
   If you loved other books that he has written on Trek, then this is no exception. I'm telling you, it is just a real page turner because you can relate to these people in the interviews if you are a Trekkie. Shatner literally goes undercover in make-up at a convention to get the true feel of a Star Trek convention, so this is also first hand experience speaking the entire time. The best thing is that by the books end, you get the feeling that Shatner (finally!) understands the fans and knows why we love it so much. Overalll, really fun! Definitely a must have in your Star Trek library



2. Funny, witty, creative, insightful, deep hearted, informative..etc. So many differnet terms you can use to describe this very enjoyable write up by the former Admiral Kirk himself.
   
   This late 1990's book takes the reader through a wide variety of emotions, knowledge and underground information when dealing with all things that go on at the various and too many to count "Star Trek Conventions" around the country and even the world. William Shatner has always been facinated by the type of people that show up at the various conventions, dressed up like characters on the show and worshipping every word he has to say as if it was from the mighty ship captain himself. But one thing Mr. Shatner never did, was actually focus on what was going on around him. He would fly into the location, quickly be escorted in right before he was to speak, do his 45 minute talk to the crowd quickly, wave goodbye and get his pay check and head back home and do it again when he was up to it. That was all it was to him. But suddenly the Captain was killed off in Star Trek: Generations and had no more TV shows to do. Now he was being booked to more conventions then ever, and thats when he realized, that he had never even understood the people that he was addressing all of these times. That was until he decided to write this book and quite a book it is.
   
   You will go through the entire gambit of emotions with this book. It is never nasty or spiteful. If anything William is very humble and seems to be genuine in his hopes to learn about the fans and the conventions that he has always thought was just full of crazy fans who need to "Get a Life" as he famously said on the just as famous Saturday Night Live skit so many years ago. Mr. Shatner has a way of being friendly, down to Earth and talks in this book not as a serious author, but as the same William Shatner we have always seen and heard everytime we see him. He learns everything there is to learn about the people who go to these conventions. The types of things they buy. The types of costumes they wear. The history of how the conventions started in the first place. Talks a lot about things that he himself has to deal with when associating with the fans. Answers a lot of questions he has been asked over the years. And even has some very touching and deep moments when some of the fans are explaining why they love Star Trek so much. It is quite surprising when you hear some of the answers they give and how much the show and entire series really means to them.
   
   This is a must read to anyone who is into Star Trek, gone to a convention or just enjoys learning more about the Star Trek fan base and history. It is quite informative and just very interesting. William even goes undercover in a mask at various points so no one will know that thier beloved captain is walking amongst them and has some interesting revelations as he observes first hand what is going on at the various tables, shows and speaker sessions that each convention is made up of. I really couldn't put this book down. The moment I started reading it I was hooked and I'm not even that big a Trekie. I never even been to a convention and still haven't even seen every episode. But something drew me into this book which really just had a very high intrest level that won't bore you for a moment. The interviews are short and sweet and the humor constant and even gets in a few moments to poke fun at a certain Mr. Nemoy who Shatner has kept close contact with over the years.
   
   I really was quite surprised in all honesty at how good this book was. We all know the image we have of Shatner. Being a hammy, over acting so and so who steals lines, talks in huge pauses and seems to eat up the screen time. And he freely admits to or even tries to explain all of these views people have on him without holding back any shame of admiting truths or non-truths to us. But after reading this book you are almost humbled and regretful that you even thought of him in that way. He truly shows a new side of him that you never expected. It is not often that actors on a TV show would even care to learn more about their fans or the people that worship them so dearly. I will definitely be reading this book again soon enough just to see what I missed and to laugh yet again. Some of the stories and situations are just laugh out loud moments that you can't believe you are reading. He doesn't hold anything back and you really get a new respect for the man we had watched in various movies and television episodes over the years. Most of all he has always cherished and loved the fact that he played Captain Kirk and doesn't run away from the fact of what people percieve him as any longer.
   
   Anyone who is into Star Trek or even those non-Trek fans who want just a nice light read when they have read all the deep Non-Fiction pieces out there.. has to read this book. I can promise you, it will be a pure enjoyment and enlightening experience that will break some of the images and stereotypes the majority of people have had over the fanatic fans who frequent these conventions. The only complaint I had was I wanted even more. It just never seemed enough. The captain may have died in the movies but this book is proof enough he isn't going anywhere any time soon. He will be with the Trek fans for a very long time to come. And I think we should all be very nervous for that fact as he will be watching from now on.



3. The book title comes from a bit William Shatner performed on Saturday Night Live where he bellows out the line when the audience at a Star Trek convention gets a little....well, out of the galaxy.
   
   It started an oftentimes silly debate on whether Shatner actually meant what he said, with fans lining up in several camps of thought. Shatner had avoided appearing at the ever-popular conventions and books by other castmembers were none-to-kind at times to the fine captain.
   
   But as anything in the entertainment business, never means never doubt that things can change. Shatner agreed to promote Star Trek Generations through a series a speaking engagements. And this is where his humor takes over.
   
   Shatner takes a basic premise - chronicling the phenomena of Star Trek through fans, castmembers, memorabilia dealers and convention promoters - and turns it into an event shrouded in mystery; he dons a monster outfit and sets out to interview folks at the conventions.
   
   The pictures are priceless and the text not only gives the reader a true appreciation on what the series has meant to so many people, but how the research gave Shatner a vehicle to come to terms with the legacy he left through the TV series and movies.
   



4. This book is part biography & part the history of the "Star Trek" fans. Throughout you see Mr. Shatner as a driven & often anxious man who is in the pursuit of both critical & commercial success.
   
   The first chapter where he describes the death of Kirk's character and the author's interviews were the most entertaining. The author using plenty of humor admits that for ages he was clueless about what "Star Trek" truly meant to the shows fans. This part gets a little erratic. But, he gives numerous examples of how he learned to appreciate both the fans and the show that made him famous.



5. The man who popularized the phrase, "Get a life!" writes a book to deal the dirt on those people for whom the expression most applies. It sounds like a wacky idea, but it actually turned out quite well. William Shatner and his co-author Chris Kreski have a pleasant, enjoyable, breezy prose style and what they're talking about it actually interesting. There's an entire strange sub-culture that goes on in science fiction fandom and it's fascinating to get a peek at it. Unfortunately, since this comes from William Shatner, it's not going to get at the darker side (through no fault of the author), but for what it is, it succeeds.
   
   First of all, I should state that while I'm a fan of (a few of) the Star Trek series, I'm not terribly big into fandom. So while I'm certainly not ignorant of the vocabulary, I was a bit fuzzy on the details. But once the stories and the backstage secrets are revealed, well, it turns out there aren't that many big surprises. Shatner may have been astonished to learn that fans were as interested in hanging out with each as with the "stars", but it shouldn't come as a shock to most other people.
   
   The book is more a journey of exploration than a straightforward journalistic look at fandom. The journey belongs to William Shatner. Apparently at one time he was famous among fan-circles for arriving shortly before his appearances, saying a few quick words and then counting his money on the next flight out of town. But after his character was killed off in one of the Star Trek movies, he decided to take a closer look at what went on at the convention scene.
   
   GET A LIFE! begins with a potted history of organized Star Trek fandom. Given that Shatner freely admits to have had nothing at all to do with that, I can only assume that this portion of the book was researched by either Shatner or Kreski. Although the progression isn't exactly unexpected, I enjoyed reading about how it came about.
   
   The book then moves into Shatner's relationship with fandom. Moving from his aforementioned "take the money and run" approach to gradual curiosity to understanding, reading his journey is quite interesting to see how someone from outside looks in.
   
   Now, human nature being what it is, we can gather that not everything is warm hugs and embraces within fandom. I'm no fool; a quick look around the Internet can bring up thousands of flame-wars, feuds, angry grudges, various "he said / she said" battles and, in some extreme cases, lawsuits and restraining orders between various members of fandom. The book never gets into this topic, which I found a bit of a disappointment.
   
   The portrayal of fandom is almost overwhelmingly positive. Lip service is paid to the looniest aspects - the folks who dress in Star Trek uniforms to inappropriate venues - but for the most part, anything negative is glossed over. The reasons for this rest on the author. I imagine it must be virtually impossible for William Shatner to go to a convention and not be greeted by a venerable wall of yes-men who happily tell him that everything is running fine, everyone connected with the organization is well liked and that there's nothing bad going on at all.
   
   Still, despite possible inaccuracies and/or omissions, I did enjoy reading this one. It's funny, amusing and quick to read. There are numerous unrelated anecdotes, but I didn't find them at all distracting. Overall, I liked reading this. It's not the deepest sociological study you'll ever read, but the look it takes at certain individual fans is especially interesting. The thought of William Shatner donning a latex match and wandering through the dealers room to do research is certainly an amusing idea.

4 comments about And No Birds Sang: The Farley Mowat Library.

1. Outstanding and emotionally wrenching memoir of the Sicilian and early part of the Italian campaigns. The book start off with hijinks and comedy, but progressively descends into despair and terror. Highly recommended.



2. Farley Mowat impressed me with his writing years ago. Even more impressive is the fact he is still prolific and as sharp as ever. I thought I'd re-visit this book before starting one of his new ones. I enjoyed it as much as the first read, for so often I find things I missed. He has a journalistic style when he writes that isn't dried-out like some of the non-fiction I read. Farley has the talent to write about real events while retaining the entertainment flavor fiction readers love. I believe this is why so many readers who like a variety of genres say they turn to Mowat when they need to appease their appetites for great nonfiction story-telling. I highly recommend Farley Mowat's books.
   Chrissy K. McVay - author



3. Mowat developed into a fine writer, and you can see that he was destined to record his generation's fight with the Germans. He's that classic "writer guy" immortalized in so many books and movies.
   
   Unlike most of those, he is utterly real, and thus, believable. The result is that the non-battle portions of the book are just as gripping as the battle scenes, and there are plenty of fine examples of both.
   
   When his unit is sent to scale the cliffs behind the Germans, it is fabulous reading. I had never heard of the assault on Assoro, so following Mowat as he leads the men climbing up the cliff, I had no idea how it would come out.
   
   It's better than fiction - as it should be. I'm now going on to read more Mowat!



4. This is a much overlooked classic now days. Mr. Mowat has given us a vivid first hand account of his expierences during WWII and this book ranks at the top of such works. Not only do we get a first hand view of the actual fighting (found in many/most accounts), but we also see the other side of the war. The horrible loneliness and boredom. Mr. Mowat is an acute observer of human nature, something he uses with a cutting edge in this book. For this amature historian of this period, and those just passingly interested, this is a good read and I highly recommend it.

3 comments about Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy.

1. This enjoyable and well-written cowboy memoir takes readers to the hinterlands of central British Columbia during the war years of 1939-1942. The author and his partner Panhandle Phillips take over the two-million-acre Frontier Cattle Company, located in grassland valleys among the mountain ranges, several days' ride from the nearest town and over 200 miles from the nearest rail line. It is a land where winters are severe, and the first challenge facing them is a December cattle drive that ends in near-disaster as the men are overtaken by a fierce blizzard and sub-zero temperatures.
   
   The son of an admiral in the U.S. Navy, Hobson is an educated Easterner living a life of pioneering adventure on one of the last western frontiers on the continent. His story is peopled with a large cast of memorable characters, including cowhands, ranchers, storekeepers, and Indians. His gifts as a writer are many, as he intensifies the suspense and drama of several high-risk enterprises and fully relishes the humor in others. The attempt to transport a herd of wild horses by night from an offshore island to the Vancouver stockyards is told with a masterful grasp of knee-slapping farce. There's even a little romance, as our cowboy hero goes in breathless search of the girl of his dreams, armed only with a snapshot of her standing beside a prize Jersey bull. Readers will also enjoy Paul St. Pierre's short stories and novels set a decade later in the same remote ranch country.



2. I've read all three of Hobson's excellent books about his adventures in the Canadian wilderness. My son, who is a real cowboy in Montana, told me about the books, saying, "These books tell the real story, mom--this is what it's like out here, particularly during the long, lonely, winter days and nights." Hobson's writing style, simple yet eloquent imagery, is perfect. I actually got chills when reading about grizzly attacks and those 70-degree below nights when both man and beast had to work to stay alive. Great stories, great writing!



3. AS exciting as the other two books.Humerous,yet portrays the adventure and hardship of that era.