Customer Reviews (1)

From The Inside Flap:
Of course this book is dated. All classics are. It is nevertheless timeless.

The array of recipes in this rare collectiomincludes such mouth-watering treats as "Rapee Pie" and "Pepper Steak Flambee." "Coquilles Eskomo" and "Oyster Canadian" set the pace for exotic delicacies, and those who like to live dangerously can try some culinary curiosities: "Squirrel Pot Pie," or "Pemmican Rub-a-Boo," among others. But the recipes are only half the fun. Very much to the point is the fact that they are complemented by a veritable archive of Canadian writings on every aspect of food and drink, gathered from the works of Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Sigurd F. Olson, Stephen Leacock, Sir Sanforn Fleming, and other authors, journalists and dignitaries. As well, there's an intriguing collection of historic engravings, cartoons, advertisements, and menus, plus a wealth of appealing full-colour photographs.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good writing advice from the frozen North
Pierre Berton, Canada's most accomplished popular historian, has written a practical and lively guidebook for those who aspire to be published and those who are already authors but could use a bit of advice from one who's long-accomplished in the writer's craft.

The opening chapter consists of letters that Berton has received over the years from would-be authors who expound at length on their fantastic book ideas and beg for the secret ingredient to getting published. Mind you, they usually don't like the answer: work hard. Berton goes on to offer practical suggestions about researching your subject, dealing with rejection, and equally important, dealing with success.

As a writer, I appreciated that he also acknowledged the fact that we can be a pretty difficult lot to understand. During the research phase of a given project, we're out there in society, making contacts, interviewing people, and participating in lively discussions with those who share our interest in the subject matter. When it comes time to put it all in manuscript form by a certain deadline, we're in the Bermuda Triangle of our lives. Berton writes:

"It is during this period when the pieces are being fitted together that a writer becomes difficult to live with.... He drives his car erratically, scarcely speaks to his wife, ignores his children. All this anti-social behavior is understandable, because what the writer is doing in those moments is WRITING. She is thinking about people, events, and sources, struggling to put them into some kind of order and perspective. She can no more cut off this flow of thought than she can cut off the flow of her own blood." He adds ruefully, "During these intensive periods, as my friends and family know, I'm not much fun. When the time comes to do the actual typing, I try to cut myself off from the world, refusing invitations, ignoring the television set, and letting others answer the telephone with a curt 'He's busy'." When Berton tried to contact author Farley Mowat for his take on the matter, Mowat's wife "reported that he was writing and had absolutely refused to take telephone calls."

He acknowledges that writer culture is a bit like police culture in that you're in a business that isolates you from the mainstream. Therefore your closest friends tend to be other writers, or those who also find their lives taken over from time to time by huge projects with vicious deadlines. This has been my experience too. It's not a bad thing, although Berton admits that many would-be writers back off from their dream because they fear accusations of selfishness, etc. Look at it this way- needier people are the only ones who will take issue. What you'll be left with are the more stable friends and associates who will cheer your success instead of resent it.

"The Joy of Writing" can be taken as an instruction manual or a witty literary memoir. For me, it was both.

A must for every non-fiction writer.
Pierre Berton has written an excellent book about writing non-fiction.I've read the book once already; now I'll study it.It's a book that every non-fiction writer should read over and over. ... Read more

Product Description
Over 1.5 million Canadians were on relief, one in five was a public dependant, and 70,000 young men travelled like hoboes. Ordinary citizens were rioting in the streets, but their demonstrations met with indifference, and dissidents were jailed. Canada emerged from the Great Depression a different nation.

The most searing decade in Canada's history began with the stock market crash of 1929 and ended with the Second World War. With formidable story-telling powers, Berton reconstructs its engrossing events vividly: the Regina Riot, the Great Birth Control Trial, the black blizzards of the dust bowl and the rise of Social Credit. The extraordinary cast of characters includes Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who praised Hitler and Mussolini but thought Winston Churchill "one of the most dangerous men I have ever known"; Maurice Duplessis, who padlocked the homes of private citizens for their political opinions; and Tim Buck, the Communist leader who narrowly escaped murder in Kingston Penitentiary.

In this #1 best-selling book, Berton proves that Canada's political leaders failed to take the bold steps necessary to deal with the mass unemployment, drought and despair. A child of the era, he writes passionately of people starving in the midst of plenty. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Of Mice and Mice
Like the rest of the world, Canada experienced great hardship in the 1930s. Unlike our southern neighbours, we floundered through the times completely lost in a maze of choices blinded by a fog of misapplied moral principles.

Berton paints a picture of the whole of Canada, from the Atlantic provinces, to the Pacific coast while going through Quebec. He tells heart breaking stories of a lost decade. Why did Canadians go hungry in the midst of plenty? Why weren't food and clothes distributed to the needy? Why did a little girl in Saskatchewan come to school every other day, only when it was her turn to wear the dress she had to share with her sister? Why did a father too poor to buy wood for the stove have to wake up to find his baby frozen to death? Why didn't the government do anything? It could easily have: as soon as war was declared in 1939, resources to clothe, feed, and pay hundreds of thousands of young men magically appeared.

Berton's answer is simple: Canada had no leadership. Our two prime ministers of the thirties, R. B. Bennett and William Lyon Mackenzie King, were two gentlemen stuck in classical economics mode. They saw people starving and balanced the budget. They saved the Dollar instead of saving lives. Bennett and King weren't heartless; they were just blind to what the government could do and should have done. When they did set themselves to action, it was to repress "agitators" and "revolutionaries".

Berton's narrative isn't wholly bleak. Among the tragedies shine a few bright spots: a young couple falling in love here, children playing there. We get a picture of Canada in the 1930s, and I personally learned a thing or two of "l'ancien temps" as my mom and dad have always called their childhood.

Compare Berton's history of the Great Depression in Canada against Conrad Black's excellent biography of Franklin Roosevelt and one thing will be clear: where the United States had a man leading it through the Great Depression, Canada had a couple of mousey prime-ministers.

As a Canadian, I'm happy that we've learned our lesson. Sure our leaders are still often mousey (think Lester Pearson, Joe Clark, and even Stephen Harper) but at least they've shown a commitment to leadership and responsibility. Pierre Berton's magnificent book hopefully ensures that this lesson will be remembered a long time.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

INFORMATIVE PORTRAIT OF 1930'S CANADA
The first thing the reader should be aware of is that this book is about the Depression in Canada.Many may know this, but I did not.The title never specified Canada.I believe books should make things like this clear in the title.

I found the book quite interesting in any case.Berton covers the depression year by year, giving the reader a better feel for the era than books that jump from one time period to another.He writes well and knows how to keep our attention.As with most books on the depression, though, this one suffers from a leftist bias.The institutions of the day are all portrayed in a negative light and the reforms of the era are never questioned.Berton is right to criticize the Canadian government for its disregard of civil liberties, yet he fails to appreciate that communism sought the destruction of the Canadian way of life.The government may have over reacted, but it could not completely ignore the 'red menace'.

Finally, I wonder if Berton would be as concerned about civil liberties in Canada today.It is now the left which controls the situation and is censoring speech.Perhaps he should write a book about this.

The Depression Years from a Canadian Perspective
This is a compelling, often chilling, account of this period in Canadian history, and is also a fair warning regarding the future.I found this tragic story of the depression in Canada to be an eye-opener.Being one ofthe "nice Canadians", as well as being too young to have anypersonal experience of this time, it will certainly change the way in whichI view our past.Written in typically well-researched and entertainingBerton-style, this is a should-read for every Canadian and any historybuff.Other books by Pierre Berton that I recently read and enjoyed were"Niagara" and "The Dionne Years". ... Read more

Product Description
An introduction to the arts of door to door salesmen. A witty expose of mail order shouses, dance studios, song sharks, con men of every breed. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Intresting book!
This is a really neat book for those Canadians- and Americans too! Pierre Burton retells the battle of Lake Erie in an interesting, exciting way, from both sides point of view. Definetly a good book for first time Burton readers ... Read more

Product Description
English Version By Alice Mattullath. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent overview of Klondike Gold Rush
Excellent first book for anyone interested in the Klondike gold rush.Provides accurate overview of the events that made this such an important event in history.

For the reader already generally familiar with theKlondike gold rush, a good second book is the one written Tappan Adney;that book provides excellent details about everything imagineable.

GaryChristenson ... Read more