5 comments about Gordie: A Hockey Legend.

1. Gordie a Hockey Legend is book is a great book for anyone who knows about hockey and what the sport is and how it has evolved for its early stages with the popular players like Gordie Howe, He really set the bar in hockey back in his days. He held the NHL scoring title with the most goals in his career with 801 goals until "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky passed him in April of 1993.Gordie is really a Hockey legend.
   
   Gordie is really a legend. He was Known for his ability to be tough anytime during a game, and get the goals, and stand up for his team at anytime needed. This Book was really good in my view. It described his great career, and his life leading up to and being in the NHL.
   
   I would recommend this book to a lot of my friends, especially to my friends that like, and or play hockey. This book really shows the meaning for, and how hockey started to become more popular especially in the United States and in Canada. I really liked this book, and it is one of my favorites, and I would recommend it to anyone. This is truly a great book.



2. Gordie Howe: A hockey legend tells about his whole life. From when he was little kid, to when he made it in the NHL. It tells about how he first came upon hockey as a little kid. It tells about his carrer and the NHL. I thought that this book was ok. Not horrible but not excellent. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about gordie howe, or wants to read about him.



3. This book tells about Gordie Howe, one of the best hockey players ever, and his career in the NHL.In the beginning, it tells about his first couple of seasons, and then tells more about his great career and facts about him toward the end. I learned a lot about him from this book, for example, I learned that he has played for two teams, the Hartford Whalers and the Detroit Red Wings, and that he was considered one of the greatest players of his time.



4. As a lifetime fan of the Detroit Red Wings, I was overjoyed when I found that there is a recent biography of Howe that is much more up to date than many written in the 60's and 70's. This book gives the reader an inside look at what it was like to get into the NHL in the 50's, and what it took to stay there and become a star. Mackskimming is very candid when talking about the front office's team management "politics" The reader also gets an up-close look at other great stars of the era such as Red Kelly, Ted Linsay, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, and coach Jack Adams. A must read for any TRUE hockey fan.



5. The book starts out covering Howe in excellent detail. Several pages cover his first seasons. Then as if the author lost interest, the decades go flying by. My reasons for reading the book was to find out, why Howe was considered great, how Howe compared to Richard, how the game changed over the years and what it was about Howe that enabled him to play for so long. The book only addressed how Howe established his early greatness.

No comments about It Ain't Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues.

1 comments about The Real Winnie: A One-of-a-kind Bear.

1. Did you know Winnie is short for Winnipeg? And that Winnie the bear started his life as an orphan and friend of the Canadian Military? These and other little known details in the life of the "real" Winnie are revealed page by page in this delightful biography. I have enjoyed using it for years in Storytime on the anniversary of A.A. Milne's birth -- and I hope you will find a place for it, too!

4 comments about A Cruel Paradise: Journals of an International Relief Worker.

1. I will be forever amazed at the bravery of this young nursing professional. Leanne previously lived and worked in a prosperous, secure, Canadian city and hospital before deciding that she wanted to dedicate a portion of her life and nursing expertise to residents in devastatingly war torn nations, most of them developing African nations. I am a registered nurse who encounters the day to day nuisances of working in a big city hospital; having to wait short periods of time for back ordered supplies, waiting minutes!!!! for a delivery from pharmamcy for life saving intravenous meds., working "short" because of call-outs or because of unplanned admissions and so on. BUT.... never could I imagine needing to be equipped with a bullet proof vest, traveling 3 hours to a nutrition center (one way)to get to work, crossing a raging river alone in a Save the Children loaner raft to get to that work destination, and traveling home again the very same way at day's end. Leanne had essentially NO medical supplies, no IV fluids, no anibiotics, no dressing care supplies, few vaccinations, and rarely physicians. (at times she didn't have food for herself) Everyday she was stopped at road blocks and was harassed by rebels, soilders, etc.. She was routinely placed in harms way in nations that most of us can't find on a map. She put her life on the line everyday. She fell in love with the nationals, she gave so much, but she writes of receiving so much in return. I will never complain about running out of supplies again or having to walk a couple of blocks to get to work. Leanne has easily earned my respect and admiration. She is undoubtedly one of the bravest women I have read of. The book doesn't provide a lot of detail regarding clinical care and practice, diseases, or treatment modalities, but is a must read for any nurse!!!!! or anyone wanting to know the true nuts and bolts of international relief work. Much of the book is in journal, diary format!!!! GO GIRL!!!!! YOU ARE ONE IN A MILLION!



2. A cruel paradise does a very good job presenting a day to day picture of the lives and activities of humanitarian aid workers. The picture the author paints is not trying to make her life more spectacular than it is, nor does it try to present humanitarian aid work as anything overly romantic or adventurous. What it does do is give an insight in the reasons and motivations, the problems and difficulties, as well as the joy, happiness, saddness and tears of humanitarian aid workers who with a healthy dose of idealism and enthusiasm, as well as professionalism and realism, try to contribute to improving the world that we live in.



3. A Cruel Paradise records Leanne Olson's time with two humanitarian aid agencies ... Doctors Without Borders (Nobel Peace Prize 1999) and MERLIN. This book has three distinct styles: diary entries, letters home to a friend and her own bare narrative. This pushes the author into three voices. Her brief attempts to describe local political situations are simple but do set the context of the conflicts within each country. Much more interesting is the daily, moral battle to remain professionally neutral despite the obvious excesses of one side, or the other the next day. Olson focuses on the frustrations of deals with corruption, warlords and petty bureaucrats, while trying to deliver aid to innocent human beings in immediate need. She describes short holidays away from the crowds and intense pressures. It's not surprising that the destination is always a remote island with isolated, beautiful beaches.

   The most revealing scene takes place within the safety of the Nairobi airport. Weeks after witnessing the aftermath of a brutal massacre of civilians at a Trappist monastery in Zaire, alone she finally breaks down waiting for her connection to Amsterdam and is comforted by a complete stranger. The nurse is nursed. The irony is overwhelming. For years I've watched aid workers on TV standing in their T-shirts in those inevitable circles of refugees, but only after reading this book, did I finally begin to understand.

   Olson freely admits she didn't have a clue what she was getting into on that first assignment. She is also honest enough not to sugar-coat what she considers occasional, poor operational decisions by Doctors Without Borders head office and country managers. From a recruit too shy to squat beside her first rural African bus to a woman implementing diverse programs for an entire country three years later, she writes a remarkable history of growth.

   Shortly after reading the Canadian edition of this book, I also read Anthony Loyd's My War Gone By, I Miss It So. The two authors' times in Bosnia overlap. Although working under different ethnic controls, armies, random militiae and ballistics, they share the same war. As Olson and her team are evacuated when conditions become too dangerous, Loyd inches ever closer to the front-line. He watches the wound open. She tries to fix it. Perspectives differ but together they ride the exact excitement of being "on the edge", realizing the gradual, hard estrangement of family and friends at home who can't understand these new, formed worlds and motives. They share the grit and grime and blood-flows of violence. And the grace of a single humanity.

   Although later brief chapters are snapshots of evaluations of possible projects in a number of countries (Albania, Angola), the earlier chapters are fully-formed portraits of specific missions (Liberia, Bosnia, Burundi, and Zaire after the trauma of Rwanda). Not one minute is easy or safe here.

   The publisher should consider rudimentary maps in future editions.




4. A Cruel Paradise is one of the most moving books that I've ever read. A book that should be read by everyone who lives in a safe world, without war, without hunger and without despair. Leanne Olson takes you by the hand and leads you to places we only see on tv in documentaries and newsitems. But unlike the documentaries, Leanne Olsons story stays with you. The book is fast paced, reads like a dream and manages to give you a deep insight in what it is that doctors, nurses and logisticians do in these troubled wartorn countries and why they are doing it. Why she herself chose this path. And why we should support them. Always. Apart from that, this book is also a moving story about the authors personal growth, her coming to terms with things no one of us should ever have to see, let alone experience. Still, it is a story about hope and the sheer strength of people. And finally this book is a love story. About how she met (during the war in Bosnia), fell in love with and married the logistician that she worked with and has been working with ever since. This book made me evaluate my own life and very grateful that I live in a peaceful country. It also made me say a prayer every night for the reliefworkers who are out there, and yes, taking risks, because the work is getting more and more dangerous. Please Oprah, if you pick a book for your selection, pick this one.

No comments about Robert Whyte's 1847 Famine Ship Diary: The Journey of an Irish Coffin Ship.

No comments about Gerhard Herzberg: An Illustrious Life in Science (NRC Press Biography).

1 comments about Convoys of World War II: Tales of Survival, Hope And Bravery (Amazing Stories) (Amazing Stories).

1. Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (3/06)
   
   For most of my life I've loved history, often with an emphasis of great deeds performed by people in times of crisis. In the case of this book Ms. Pedersen presents us with a series of anecdotes from sailors who operated in and survived the trials of natural and man-made issues. We have often studied American servicemen and the great accomplishments they made. It has been a rare time when we reviewed what our good friends from Canada did. Ms. Pedersen gives us the opportunity to hear from nine sailors. These average men were often put in positions of great danger and performed commendably. It is always appropriate to hear from these good people.
   
   Ms. Pedersen's book is well written, presenting the thoughts and feelings of men in continual danger, and how they reacted under high stress to get the job done. Her writing puts the reader on board with these men who helped get innumerable ships containing precious cargo to the allies fighting World War II. She provides us with insight into their courage as they performed their duties while under fire with neighboring ships being destroyed, often with considerable loss of life.
   
   I have often remarked about the greatest generation. Ms. Pedersen gives us yet another reason to believe. Well done.

1 comments about Soapy Smith (Amazing Stories) (Amazing Stories).

1. I have always been curious about the preposterous stories of the Klondike gold rush. This wild period in history features gold fever lunacy -- a desperate stampede -- boom-town lawlessness -- wilderness hardships -- gambling -- hard work -- hard drinking -- hard women -- and shattered dreams -- all the ingredients for some light adventure reading.
   
   You will be introduced to colorful gang members: Old Man Triplett, Fatty Gray, Canada Bill, Doc Baggs, Slim Jim Foster, Reverend Bowers, and Red Gibbs. Of all the determined characters of that frantic period, their leader, Soapy Smith is the most engrossing.
   
   Stan Sauerwein is the author of Amazing Stories' "Soapy Smith: Skagway's Scourge of the Klondike", the entertaining biography of this legendary boomtown crime boss.
   
   Jefferson Randolph Smith Jr. as a teenager tried his hand in a cattle drive to Abilene, Kansas, where he acquired a life long taste for cards, liquor, and loose women.
   
   Once back in San Antonio, Smith was soon cleaned out by Clubfoot Hall, playing the shell game. Smith was hooked and begged Hall to teach him all he knew. Smith was sent to Leadville, Colorado to learn under the master: V. Bullock "Old Man" Taylor. It was in Leadville, Smith first saw the infamous soap bar game, and fell in love with it.
   
   Soapy moved through the west, building his gang and adding new scams.
   
   Hearing about the gold strikes in the Klondike, Soapy and six members of his gang sailed to Skagway, Alaska -- the jumping off point to the gold fields. Here, Soapy quickly set about fleecing the thousands of stampeders pouring into Skagway.
   
   He first opened a high class bar with gambling in the cozy back room -- customers routinely were robbed on their way to the outhouse, behind the building.
   
   Soapy's gang operated numerous phony businesses such as barber shops, information booths, map sales, a freight line, phony US Army recruiting center, and weather forecasting, all with one purpose -- size up the suckers and rob them blind.
   
   At the height of the gold rush, Soapy hit upon the idea of a phony telegraph station in Skagway. "For only five dollars for 10 words, every stampeder could send home news of this safe arrival." Often the miners received urgent pleas from the miner's families back home for money (actually sent by Soapy's gang). "Soapy's men, of course, accepted the miner's money for transfer -- not back home, but directly to Soapy's strongbox", relates Mr. Sauerwein.
   
   Soapy had always limited his targets to new comers -- never preying on the locals. Soapy explained that robbing newcomers was really a community service by preventing amateurs from being stranded in the wilderness. Soapy sometimes paid their passage back home -- mainly to get rid of complaining victims and to make room for new suckers.
   
   In "One Poke Too Many", the reader will find out the ultimate fate of Soapy Smith.
   
   Mr. Sauerwein tells his story in a clear, informal, entertaining style complete with dialog that brings a stage play feel to his tale.
   
   The book contains ten chapters covering 131 pages and four interesting pictures.

No comments about Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919-1939.

3 comments about Perfection of the Morning: A Woman's Awaking in Nature.

1. Some books are good because they tell a good story; some are good because they are funny; some present new and intriguing ideas; some are simply well written. Sharon Butala's Perfection of the Morning is good because it is uncompromisingly honest, and that alone gives it tremendous impact. She writes about her transformation from an urban, academic feminist when she marries a rancher, moves to rural Saskatchewan, and finds herself living among rural women in the midst of nature. It would have been easy for her to have either romanticized the rural life, or to have poked fun at the men and women in whose world she had come to live. She writes about what can best be described as spiritual experiences in nature, and she could have exaggerated them and couched them in "feminist" or "New Age" terms. Instead, she writes about her perceptions and reactions simply and clearly, without fanfare.
   
   She writes of her life on a ranch in the middle of virgin prairie grassland, her frustrations and her achievements, and her insights into her relations with her new neighbors, both human and non-human, domesticated and wild, animate and inanimate. The book is wonderful because she is careful to be truthful and clear about the changes she went through, not glossing over either her difficulties or her breakthroughs of understanding. She describes the lives of rural people who spend most of their time out of doors, and in particular, the lives of ranchers who spend many hours of every day in all kinds of weather with their animals on the prairie. She talks about how living in the midst of nature affects the way people think and feel, their awareness of the world around them and their relation to it. The book describes cultural differences which are so profound that it is difficult to explain them to those of us who have grown up in suburban and urban environments. And yet she succeeds in this gem of a book to make us crave the opportunity to experience the awareness she describes. It is a pity that so few of us will be able to do so.



2. The author claims that having left behind her urban comforts to live in rural Saskatchewan eventually put her closely in touch with nature. Unfortunately, I was deeply disappointed with her version of 'in touch with nature'. I expected to read the words of someone who respects animals and wilderness. Instead I read about her views on mice as pests, how she and her husband made their living fattening cows before the slaughter, and her twisted comments about hunters having a greater capacity for pain and suffering than the animals they cruelly kill. Exploiting animals has clearly become an inherent part of her livelihood on the farm. She thinks nothing of attending rodeos where animals are wantonly abused, and she has no trouble inflicting pain on cows through branding without anesthetics. She describes environmentalists as mostly "urban" people who are only capable of fighting the corporate world and governments by attempting to put Nature in their own terms. (Huh?) She fails to realize that if us crazy "urban" environmentalist all moved out into the wilderness, there would be no wilderness left! (I for one am proud to live in the city, leaving wild areas free for the animals to roam.) The author also totally fails to acknowledge that an animal-based diet (which she and her husband directly rely on for their livelihood) is behind much of the mass-destruction of wilderness observed in the last century. I suppose I wouldn't have been so shocked reading this book had it not been advertised as "an apprenticeship in nature". I'd sooner see it called "a treatise in exploiting nature".



3. Sharon Butala has written a deeply personal book with universal application. She tells of her journey from a fulfilling but hectic urban life to one of isolation and introspection. She joins her new husband on a cattle ranch in southwest Saskatchewan and leaves behind her university teaching, her graduate studies, her support network of feminist friends, and her teenaged son. In her long, lonely hours of interaction with "Nature," she encounters the mysteries and messages of the natural world and experiences the gradual healing of her own wounds. As I read Butala's book I found myself stopping to write about my own pains, my own healing, and my own mysterious encounters with Nature. It was a journey we took together, and I am stronger for the experience.