1 comments about My First Years in the Fur Trade: The Journals of 1802-1804 (Wisconsin).

1. While the introduction and footnotes were very well edited, I did struggle through the actual journals themselves. This could be attributed to Nelson's writing style, my unfamiliarity with Lake Superior geography and/or the plethora of French nomenclature (which can generate confusion for some). Overall, the journals are insightful of survival strategies and day to day existence in the fur trade years of 1802-04 in northern Wisconsin. Nelson, who was only fifteen when joining the XY Company, was a keen observer of Ojibwa Indian customs, the interrelationships between company men and his immediate surroundings. If the writing of the journals had more continuity, it would have been an enjoyable read.

2 comments about 100 Days in the Jungle.

1. The airport at Quito is not that wild...does it need some order, yes? Are people getting hit by police? NO! That is absurd.

   I find the story intriguing, but craziness like the airport story, locals not telling the police about guerrillas, and the mere fact that the spanish used in the book is atrocious. Vamos means "Let's (we) go." Not "Vamoose" like Yosimite Sam. Also, Joto is called Hoto many times...where was the editor? There are other ridiculous translations and misuse of Spanish. It did not seem to be intentional because when the oil workers used their spanish it fit the situation...the other misuses did not fit.

   If you want to read a kidnap tail...read this. If you want to read about the real Ecuador...go to another source.




2. I do not doubt that the individuals characterized in this book had a harrowing and dangerous experience, but the accuracy of their adventure is brought into question by the obvious inacuracies of their discription of life in Ecuador. I found their description of the airport almost laughable. Airport Security Guards beating poor destitute locals with a stick!! I have lived in Quito for the last 5 years and have traveled through the airport many many times and have NEVER seen anything like what was described. I have also worked in the area they were captured. I agree that a certain danger exists in this area and one needs to be very careful. However, I have a hard time believing everything else when I found so many obvoiusly incorrect details. I think that the naritive would have been just as good and even more interesting had there not been inserted all the incorrect details to supposedly make the story more interesting. There a enough interesting stories here in Ecuador without all the literary license.

   Reader: Please take with a grain of salt all the violence and "agressively" poor people. I sincerely hope that the rest of the books narritive of the 100 days in the jungle is much more accurate that thier description of Quito. Despite all of this I found the book interesting and recommend it.

5 comments about The Danger Tree: Memory, War and the Search for a Family's Past.

1. I don't have a lot of time to write reviews, and I don't often write them, but I enjoyed this book so thoroughly that I'm sad to be finished reading it. It's one of the best memoirs I've ever read, though it's not really a memoir. One of the best family history books I've ever read, and yet it isn't that either. It is hands-down my favorite book about Newfoundland that I've read, though there are many more I want to read. Macfarlane is a masterful writer, and his work is filled with insight, thoughtfulness about the past, dead ancestors, and what they mean to those of us still living, even if we'd never met them. Though I'm wary of reviews that say things like this, he really does, quite improbably, tell a compelling story of Newfoundland itself through the story of his ancestors. The book somehow never descends into the maudlin or sentimental; it's quite a clear-eyed view of the meaning of World War I for Newfoundland and for the Goodyear family. The ending was striking--I'll probably never forget the image he painted on the last page. Loved it from start to finish.



2. Just a comment related to previous reviews: a) this is not a novel but a true story, and b) it is not really about Canada, since New Foundland was not part of Canada at the time. But it is an incredible story about a family blown apart by WWI. The documentary video is also great, but hard to find.



3. I am ashamed to say that although I have lived in Canada for 37 years, I knew nothing about Newfoundland's history and consequently nothing about Newfoundland's participation in the First World War. A university lecturer recommended this book to me, and I heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the First World War (and in Newfoundland, more broadly). It is a beautifully written, poignant book which compares favourably with Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That and in some ways is better than Graves; it has none of Graves' cynicism.

   This book inspired me to visit Beaumont Hamel on the Somme, where so many men from Newfoundland lost their lives on 1 July 1916. In the rest of Canada, 1 July is considered a day for celebration, because the country came into being on that date in 1867. Now I understand why Newfoundlanders cannot and will not celebrate 1 July as a holiday. For them, it is a day of mourning.

   Ironically, for us on the west coast of Canada, Beaumont Hamel is easier to reach than Newfoundland. Having visited the former, I hope one day to visit the latter.




4. This is a great novel about how a war can affect a family, the family business and the province for many years after the war. Before WWI Newfoundland was a the oldest and thriving member of the British Empire (they joined Canada in 1949). When they were called to war they sent their best sons, and they sent all of them. In one battle on July 1st, the Royal Nlfd Regiment was almost completely wiped out. This has effected the economy and liveihood of the island for years. The RNR monuments of a bellowing caribou on the battlefields of France are a testiment of their valour. While the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day on July 1st, to the Newfoundlanders it is a day of mourning and rememberance the RNR and the sacrafices they made. This book is a great testimony to the brave Newfoundlanders and their families during that time.



5. This is an amazing book: history, biography, auto-biograhy, philosphy all combined into a powerful tale of family character (and characters)that stays with you. In essence, a simple reflection on long past lives from a little corner of the world, Newfoundland, all wound up in the Great War, it becomes a haunting tour-de-force of the power of great events on everyday people.

   The chapter "Fire" is in itself a small masterpiece and one I find reading again and again even now two years after the first read.

   I picked this book up by sheer accident in a small bookstore in Banff and have been thankful for my good fortune of discovering this gem.

No comments about Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film.

2 comments about North Star to Freedom: The Story of the Underground Railroad.

1. As a Canadian fourteen-year-old, I found it refreshing to read about the importance of Canadians in the Underground Railroad.
   
   With excellent primary source images, Gena K. Gorrell provides biographies of those involved with the Railroad, excerpts of newspaper articles, and examples of various situations. Each well-written chapter includes an introduction which describes a fictional slave's struggle for freedom. I feel this helps the reader connect emotionally with the ideas discussed in that chapter.
   
   I fully enjoyed every part of this book, especially the examples of ways the stationmasters in the Railroad helped people escape. I like the fact the the author included stories about lesser-known people instead of focusing on the recognizable faces such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. This helps the reader understand the complexity of the system that led so many people to freedom.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone searching for an exciting source of history.



2. "North Star to Freedom" is a matter of fact Canadian view of the American Underground Railroad and the historical periods it existed written for children. Considering that Canaan and the Promised Land were used as code words for Canada in spirituals used in the Underground Railroad it is an intriguing viewpoint. People weren't happy as slaves but being a fugitive slave in another state or country was a tough situation. People risked recapture, started out poor, and struggled against racial prejudice. The Underground railroad is portrayed as varying from kind people acting on impulse to help a runaway to highly organized conductors and stations. Slavery is honestly shown as existing throughout Canada and the United States in different degrees. Occasional freedom from slavery through manumission and self-purchase through savings are mentioned. The only problem I have with the book is that it covers freedom earned by slaves fighting for the Loyalist Cause and emigrating to Canada but not the Patriotic slaves earning their freedom on the American side in regiments such the First Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. The result was a stable population of free African -Americans in Canada and New England sometimes assisting others to freedom and often camouflaging them. The 1793, Canada legislated the eventual freeing of all its slaves and declared any American slaves crossing the border were free. In contrast, The United States of America passed the first Fugitive Slave Law in 1793 to give slave catchers the right of search and seizure in any state. The Underground Railroad became organized around that time. Some slaves went all the way to Canada but many disappeared into the communities of free African-Americans in the North. Some became active in the Underground Railroad to help others escape, some became well-known abolitionists, some struggled to create a new life for themselves. The Second Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 put all fugitive slaves and some free African-Americans at risk of being captured and sent into slavery on the word of a slave hunter and any white person claiming to be their owner. Active abolitionists who had escaped slavery years previously were especially at risk. Roughly forty thousand fugitive slaves went to Canada. Some returned to fight for the North in the Civil War. After the American Civil War, about two thirds of the fugitive slaves returned to the United States. "North Star to Freedom" describes succinctly how and why the Underground Railroad existed. I would recommend it as a reference book for elementary and middle schools that could also be read for pleasure. The historical treatment of slavery and the Underground Railroad is excellent for the age group. The period illustrations create a parallel story to capture readers.

No comments about Sea Otter Chiefs.

No comments about The Soviet Ambassador: The Making of the Radical Behind Perestroika.

No comments about Steam Lion: A Biography of Samuel Cunard.

No comments about Finlay's River.

2 comments about Songs of the North (Classic, Nature, Penguin).

1. The description says the book is only 28 pages. This is either a misprint or a shortened version. It should be over 200 pages.
   
   "It was inconceivable anyone would travel this way for pleasure"
   
   Howard Mosher has selected 20 articles and assays from scores written by Sigurd Olson; wonderful introduction by Mosher.
   
   Olson taught at UW Wisconsin. He then moved to Ely, Minnesota and became Dean at Ely College. He started canoeing the wilderness of the Quetico-Superior territory in the 20's, later becoming a guide. Further on in his life he became a consultant and activist for various institutions. Sigurd read veraciously, such authors as: Thoreau, Whitman, Hemingway, Drummond, Thompson, and Mackenzie. These men helped influence his writings, and I recommend them highly.
   
   This book and others like it are particularly dear to my heart, for I have spent countless days in the wilderness of Canada's Quetico Park. I can relate to the spiritual peace that one finds unique only to the Quetico-Boundry Waters area. It is also a test of ones physical and mental self. I wish all could make a trip to this remote land, it changes ones life.
   
   Olson tells us of the hardships of these past voyageurs: the portages, the long paddles, the equipment used, the elements, the ghost camps. Beautiful observations: the wildlife, the drawing toward the wilderness, the humor, the scattered Indian tribes, the nuances we miss or never thought of in quite that way.
   
   "No country can ever be bleak or forbidding if it has once been a part of the love and warmth of those who have shared it with you."
   
   Wish you well
   Scott



2. For those who wish to explore the wonderful prose, thoughts and observations offered by this pioneering outdoorsman, I will highly recommend this book. Bringing together essay samples from a number of his books, the reader will enjoy the insights Olson offers as he journeys through America's wilderness. He provides a writing style that is comfortable to read and his words will transport you from your chair into the canoe with him as he paddles/camps his way through places many of us can only hope to go. It takes a chapter or two to recognize that Olson doesn't write with one chapter flowing into the next, but rather each chapter is a story in itself. And, with that understood, sit back, read and enjoy the trip(s)!