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Born in 1934, Peter Gzowski covered most of the last half of the century as a journalist and interviewer. This biography, the most comprehensive and definitive yet published, is also a portrait of Canada during those decades, beginning with Gzowski's days at the University of Toronto's The Varsity in the mid 1950s, through his years as the youngest-ever managing editor of Maclean's in the 1960s and his tremendous success on CBC's Morningside in the 1980s and 1990s, and ending with his stint as a Globe and Mail columnist at the dawn of the 21st century and his death in January 2002.

Gzowski saw eight Canadian Prime Ministers in office, most of whom he interviewed, and witnessed everything from the Quiet Revolution in Québec to the growth of economic nationalism in Canada's West. From the rise of state medicine to the decline of the patriarchy, Peter was there to comment, to resist, and to participate. Here was a man who was proud to call himself Canadian and who made millions of other Canadians realize that Canada was, in what he claimed was a Canadian expression, not a bad place to live.

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Transplanted to Toronto from his native Baffin Island, Atuk the poet is an unlikely overnight success. Eagerly adapting to a society steeped in pretension, bigotry, and greed, Atuk soon abandons the literary life in favour of more lucrative – and hazardous – schemes.

Richler’s hilarious and devastating satire lampoons the self-deceptions of “the Canadian identity” and derides the hypocrisy of a nation that seeks cultural independence by slavishly pursuing the American dream. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

"Canada wake up..."
Biting satire and black humour characterize this short novella about an Inuit poet who leaves his remote community for a visit to the big city, Toronto. Having been discovered by a fur trader, his poem had reached such popularity among the city folks that they wanted to see the "Eskimo" from Baffin Bay in person. Atuk, however, finds urban life so rich, in many different ways, that he decides to stay. Initially he may come across as an innocent fool, easily exploited and controlled by his "benefactors", but he is a fast learner and soon joins the games and schemes successfully to his own advantage. Until...

Published in 1963 when Richler was living in England, having left Canada in the 1950s, the story benefits from the author's physical and intellectual distance from his country.It thrives on the caricature of a set of Canadians and their machinations. There are, among others, the Uber-Canadian tycoon, the undercover police officer searching for a American colonel who disappeared on Baffin Island while spying, and the investigative journalist who discovers truths mainly about herself. The powerful TV chat show host meddles in controversy and the nice professor has his own secrets.The storyline cannot be revealed without giving too much away.Suffice to say, that it is deliberately farcical and outlandish, yet fast moving and at times confusing enough to keep the reader intrigued.

With Atuk Richler brings out the different political and social stereotypes of the day and, above all, takes Canadians to task over their self image and their national identity, their latent or conspicuous racism and bigotry, their consumerism, greed and tendency to admire all that is American. While written more than 40 years ago, his book has meaning beyond the historical. In addition is a fun read! [Friederike Knabe][

Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant...and Yes Funny Too
What a fabulous short novella! As a point of reference, I have read all of Richler's major works and a few of his early novellas. This was written near the beginning of his career and it is a masterful and brilliant satire on modern urban life. Atuk, a native or Eskimo as described in the book, is used as a metaphor for life in the materialistic urban world. Atuk takes advantage of his native culture to develop a commercial career exploiting the gullible. What has changed in four decades since Richler wrote this devastatingly funny book?

I like Richler's work, but from my reading of his novels it is clear that Richler went through a number of writing phases. If anything his middle books have too much sex or are even obsessed with sex, while some of his later books such as Solomon Gursky are a bit too ambitious or overly complicated. The present work is from the early years and does not have his St. Urbain theme.

Modecai Richler (1931 to 2001) grew up in Montreal and that city is the setting for many of his stories - but not all. Many of his novels are about Jews living in Canada and Britain post WWII. He is best known for his tales of life in and around St. Urbain Street. That is an area of three story buildings or walk up row houses located just east of the mountain in Montreal, and north of the commercial center of the city. At one time this was the center of Jewish immigrant life in Montreal.

His break out novel wa Duddy Kravitz which is still a great read whether you have seen the movie or not. Still, I like his last book, Barney's Vision, which is his best written piece of work. The novel lacks the edge and drama of Duddy Kravitz but has things that make it better. This present short novel was written early in his career and it is brilliant.

Without giving away the plot, it is about a native living on Baffin Island near the Artic who learns English, writes poems, and then is "discovered" and moves to Toronto, the financial and media center of Canada. Richler liked to attack Quebec "nationalism" and other pet topics of Canadians. Here he takes on "the Canadian identity" which he lampoons very successfully using Atuk and his fictional story. Underneath it all is a very universal story that applies to modern life on the planet.

This is a great book.

WOW
i just finished reading this book, and it amazing. It jumps back and forth between characters and situations, leaving you wondering what the heck is going on the whole time.SLowly, connections are revealed, and you can't wait to see what will happen next.After reading the last line i said out lou to my self "What the ****" it was great...i'm sick of reading books that are so straight forward that you don't even have to think when you read it. Highly recomended!!!!

Amazing Atuk
Mordecai Richler's characteristic wit pleases once again with his fifth novel, THE INCOMPARABLE ATUK. ATUK is delightfully funny and intelligently satiric. The book satirizes Canadian cultural "super-nationalism," but it the more widespread themes of identity, corruption, and reverse discrimination are also explored. ATUK is the novel immediately preceding COCKSURE, and it shows: In ATUK Richler satirizes political correctness and reverse discrimination almost as much as he does in COCKSURE. For that reason you don't have to be Canadian to enjoy this book. Also, if you know that Canadians don't all live in igloos and eat "reindeer knuckle," it's hilarious to read a work by a Canadian author who plays with such misconceptions.ATUK may be Richler's most overtly Canadian novel, but I think it's a book everone would be able to enjoy.

The Atuk Curse
Trying to order this! This is the book the "Atuk Curse" is based on. Supposedly this book was made into a script and was offered through out the years to several comedians who later died after reading the script- John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy and Chris Farley... ... Read more

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When Peter Gzowski died in January 2002, millions of Canadians felt a sense of bereavement. The magical intimacy of radio had meant that for them Peter Gzowski was a friend, one they would miss. So they poured out their feelings with rare eloquence, in newspapers, magazines and on CBC Radio.

This book collects the best of these tributes. The contributors include some of the most thoughtful and articulate people in the country: writers like Alice Munro and Jane Urquhart; fellow journalists like Robert Fulford; broadcasters like Michael Enright; and commentators like Stuart Maclean and Rex Murphy.

Yet matching the contributions by the great and famous, the people who knew Peter Gzowski well, are the memories sent in by ordinary Canadians – from their tractors or fishing boats or their kitchens or offices – who felt that they knew him, and whose lives he had touched. By letter, by e-mail and in phone calls they sent in their memories, touching, affectionate, varied, often surprising and in summary forming a delightful tribute.

The selection of the very best of these tributes was made by Peter’s long-time editor Edna Barker, his partner Gill Howard, and by his colleague Shelagh Rogers.

Royalties from this book will go to two of Peter Gzowski’s favourite charities – Frontier College, to fight illiteracy, and Trent University’s Peter Gzowski Scholarship, to encourage greater contact between Trent students and Canada’s North. ... Read more

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The man who affected the reading habits of millions of Canadians gives us the work of a lifetime

Long before he became a radio voice Peter Gzowski was a writer. This book is an anthology of his best writing over a career spanning more than 50 years, starting with pieces from his time writing for The Varsity, and his early days as a young reporter caught in a forest fire.

Each entry forms a new chapter and typically begins with an introduction from Peter Gzowski today, setting it in context. When he was a young writer at Maclean’s in 1959, he did a piece on Gordie Howe which still stands up today. In the same period, he wrote articles on racism in Saskatchewan (“This Is Our Alabama”), and, in 1961, a profile of an interesting young man named Trudeau.

Later, we follow him into the world of his books, with choice excerpts from his best work. From his book on the Edmonton Oilers, The Game of Our Lives, for example, there’s his famous piece on skating, and another much-quoted passage on Wayne Gretzky. Look for choice pieces from The Morningside Papers (1984–95) and three pieces from his autobiography The Private Voice, and many pieces from here and there including “Song for Canada,” which he wrote with Ian Tyson.

Above all, look for exciting new work never before collected in book form, including a thrilling account of sailing in Antigua in seas so high that the boat is dismasted, at the mercy of the waves. And there is a lovely piece about his earliest boyhood days growing up in what was then Galt, and by contrast, a look at Canada today.

This is a cornucopia of Gzowski, selected by Peter himself, that is a tasty blend of the personal and the objective, and always good reading.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Purely Canadian
For most Canadians, Peter Gzowski needs no introduction, especially after the publicity surrounding his recent passing. As the former host of CBC Radio's "Morningside," and as a journalist, he has in many ways been the embodiment of the voice of Canada. This book is a collection of his favourite essays, many of which appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines over the course of a lifetime.

His journalistic reach in these pieces is extensive, touching on almost all things Canadian. From professional hockey - "Eighty nights a year they do this, all of them, thrashing their bodies about at inhuman speeds, trying to focus on a bouncing puck while some of the best and toughest athletes in the world hack and pound away at them, and they, in turn, hack and pound back"; to baseball - "But our real heroes were the local boys who'd made good: Moth Miller, as quick as an antelope in the outfield, with his pants tucked in like plus-fours, running down every ball he could see, which, considering his Coke-bottled eyeglasses, was a remarkable percentage...."; to the disappearing landscape of his youth - "Many of the mills and foundries replaced by the humming prosperity of sophisticated technology - and one of them a restaurant too. Much of the countryside now scattered with subdivisions and shopping malls, with car-washes and fast-food franchises - the agricultural setting of my youth has given way to the growing, busy, modern world"; to his reluctance to let it go - "Do boys still play tibby [a game similar to cricket, using a broomstick for a bat] in the spring? Yes, I think, forever."

There are tales, or rather confessions, of a young eager journalist grabbing headlines during a forest fire - "Every tree in creation seemed to be aflame. Except mine. [One on which he'd affixed a sign warning of 'the dangers of smoking.'] I put the [camera] on the ground, ran desperately to the very edge of the surrounding fire, ripped a small branch from a jackpine and plunged it into the flaming underbrush till it caught. Then I sprinted with my torch back to the tree I had prepared for fame and - how good it feels to tell the truth at last! - I set the perfect spruce alight myself. The picture, with flames framing the warning sign in terrible irony, won the Canadian Press Photo of the Month Award for May 1955...."

He writes about being a "Canadian sex symbol": "I was approached, as I have been so many times, by a winsome young woman, fair of countenance, gentle of bearing. As so many others of her description have done, she approached me shyly. 'Excuse me,' she said deferentially, 'but aren't you Peter Gzowski?' and when, equally shyly, I replied that yes indeed I was, she said, as say her counterparts from coast to coast to coast, 'My mother is your greatest fan'"; and about being "unkempt" - "It's just that clothes and I don't seem to get along. Shirts sprout ink-stains on their pockets the day after I buy them and their tails seek daylight every time I put them on. Sweaters unravel. Trousers wrinkle and droop. Cuffs fray. Socks get divorces in my drawers. Though I seldom wear ties or jackets, burns and coffee stains appear on those I do as if by magic, like frost patterns on a winter window. Belt-loops dodge my fumbling fingers. Zippers languish at an embarrassing half mast, and buttons fall from anything I wear like the leaves of an unwatered ficus benjamina."

There is much homage paid to Canadian writing - "it was a revelation for me, a signal that people could make drama and literature out of the same experiences that had formed me, that Canadians had something to say that was worth listening to...."; to memories of a Canadian childhood in winter - "A big dog that wouldn't stop chasing my sled. Soakers from a winter creek. Making angels in the snow. The way the snow matted in your hair and around the edge of your parka. Just being cold, the exquisite pain of nearly frozen toes and fingers, and the equally exquisite relief from a warming fire"; and ultimately, to Canada itself - "This is a great country, staggeringly beautiful, endlessly welcoming, constantly surprising. You have to know it as well as I have come to know it to know that no one will ever know it at all."

There are anecdotes about, among other things, sailing mishaps - "The masts came down at 3:05 the next afternoon, both of them, as suddenly and swiftly as if God had flicked them with His fingers"; and finally, reflections on a full and wonderful life - "I've got to meet the Queen, eight prime ministers (nine if you count Margaret Thatcher, who had a cold and couldn't hear my questions but kept on answering what she'd have liked me to ask anyway), four governors general, two chief justices, two Nobel Prize winners, the world yodelling, whistling and bagpipe champions (all Canadians) and every winner and most of the runners-up of the Giller Prize for Literature. I've danced with Karen Kain (well, I made a lifting motion and Karen sprang in the air, light as dandelion fluff), sang with Leonard Cohen (well, Leonard sang and I chanted along to "Tower of Song"), played chess with Boris Spassky (I moved, he moved, I asked if he wanted to resign, he grinned, said sure and we shook hands), golf with George Knudsen, cribbage with Gordon Sinclair and...hockey with Wayne Gretzky."

Pieced together, the essays provide so many snapshots of Gzowski's life and work the book could almost be considered an autobiography.

Gzowski's writing is as Canadian as anything there is and it is our good fortune that he has left this collection for us to remember him by, to remember Canada by. ... Read more

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In this best-selling timeless classic, Peter Gzowski recounts the 1980–81 season he spent travelling around the NHL circuit with the upstart Edmonton Oilers. These were the days when the young Oilers, led by the teenaged Wayne Gretzky, were poised on the edge of greatness, and about to blaze their way into the record books and the consciousness of a nation.

Unlike any book ever written in the annals of hockey, The Game of Our Lives beautifully weaves together the anatomy of a modern NHL team with the magnificent history of the game. Here are the great teams and the great players through the ages—Morenz, Richard, Howe, Orr, Hull—the men whose rare and indefinable genius on the ice exemplified the speed, grit, and innovation of the game.

This is also a book for anyone who as a kid dreamed of making the NHL and never lost the love and thrill of the game. It captures the sheer delight of hockey, especially when played outdoors, as Gzowski did as a child in Gault, Ontario.

While the story of the early Oilers embodies the book, The Game of Our Lives is much more than a retelling of one season in the life of an NHL team. This is a book about hockey like no other. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Collector's item for hockey fans
Despite being written in the early 80s, The Game of Our Lives is still a fascinating, and relevant, book about a season in the NHL.As a young kid at the time, I followed Gretzky and the Oilers as much as one could growing up in central Pennsylvania.But this is a hockey book for all hockey fans; not just a story about the pre-championship Oilers, but an engaging insight into the history of the Canadian game.I highly recommend it.

The Game of Our Soul
I first read this book when I was 11 years old and once again 12 years later. Both times it made me realize that hockey in Canada is a right of passage that is one of the few threads holding our nation together. It also helped me to understand that for those of us who love this fast graceful and violent game happiness is only a frozen pond away. The book follows the trials and tribulations of the 1980 pre champion Edmonton Oilers. The team is a group of young unproven players with a few cagey veterans mixed in for guidance. Under the helmanship of Glen Sather the team rises above their lackluster regular season performance. Gzowski travels with the team and becomes a trusted companion which allows him a rare look at the inner workings and social power structure of a professional sports team. Led by the pasty faced 18 year old Wayne Gretzky the Oilers eventually gell into a close knit team which will eventually dominate in the future but must first learn some valueable lessons. I found myself caring for the players and I stopped viewing them as helmeted thugs who compete more for money then for their team. The book enabled me to realize that a successful team can only succeed if it has a good supporting cast of grunts. It's a refreshing read in this day and age of spiralling salaries and inflated egos. Gzowski also includes insights from his childhood growing up in rural Ontario which are very effective. A great read. ... Read more

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This is a bestselling account of one woman's journey into remote British Columbia, where she cleared a piece of land and built her own home. Illuminated by the author's own drawings, Cabin at Singing River is an inspiring book, realistic about how beauty can only be appreciated with hard work. The dream of shedding urban responsibilities and returning to nature is universal, and this book will inspire anyone interested in her experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An interesting tale of life in the wilderness
This is the story of Chris Czajkowski (pronounced the same as the composer Tchaikovsky). Wanting a quieter life, she leaves Salmon Arm, in British Columbia's Okanagan region. She sets up her new life some 700 miles to the northwest, in the remote Coast Mountains of South Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Her only neighbors are Jack and Trudy Turner who have a homestead across the river from her.

This book chronicles Chris' experiences in setting up a new life south of Lonesome Lake, along the Atnarko River (the "singing river" in the title refers to the musical sound of the water, not the name of the river itself). It takes a day (sometimes two) to hike to Highway 20, so she's almost entirely on her own when it comes to building her cabin. The Turners help when they can, but when the chainsaw breaks down or new materials are required, a hike out to civilization is often required. The story of the 18-month project of building the cabin is interspersed with tales of life in the wilderness. She tells of the rhythms of the seasons, the wildlife she encounters, and the explorations she undertakes to familiarize herself with the surrounding area. Her descriptions enable the reader to see the gorgeous British Columbia scenery as if they were there themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Many of us have, at some time or another, dreamed of living off the land, away from civilization. This book allows you to do that vicariously through Chris' experience and also makes you realize just how hard it is!

A reminder of the essentials
This book is inspiring, you melt away while reading it, wishing to just take her place. It also makes you realize of all we don't really need and how beautifull nature truely is. The accomplishment of this woman is amazing. Her journey is beautifull. I honestly cannot find other words to describe it... other thn bearth taking. ... Read more

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Here's a recipe for success: mix more than 60 Canadian writers with the west coast's most prestigious literary festival, add illustrations from a Governor General's Award winning artist and an introduction from the country's favorite broadcaster. The result: 130 recipes where these famous cooks will thrill your tastebuds as much as their work stimulates the mind.Much more than a cookbook, The Great Canadian Literary Cookbook offers unexpected glimpses into the private lives - and personal tastes - of Canada's literati. Pierre Berton's three page recipe for clam chowder includes a dialogue and a murder. Judy Gill augments her culinary contribution with a "Magic Formula for Deep Serenity," Patrick Lane offers the "best quick chicken dish ever" (scotch whisky is a major ingredient) and Christie Harris reminds us that when cooks are at their wits' ends, they can always explore the frontier of "Creative Blobs."Also on board are Sharon Butala, Edith Iglauer, W.P. Kinsella, Mary Meigs, Susan Musgrave, Knowlton Nash, Ben Wicks, Carol Shields and many others who are better known for their work with a keyboard than a Cuisinart, as well as acknowledged pros such as Susan Mendalson, Jean Pare and Umberto Menghi.Distributed by Harbour Publishing in support of the Festival of the Written Arts, all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Sechelt Festival so it can continue its marvelous tradition of success. ... Read more

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For years, a monthly article by Peter Gzowski, the host of CBC Radio’s Morningside, was one of the most popular feature in Canadian Living, one of Canada’s most popular magazines. This is a selection of those columns from the first five years: Gzowski on everything from kissing the cod in Newfoundland to playing golf on the Arctic ice; on learning to cook and losing it at pool; on gardening, diets and wines; on being a parent, a grandparent, a grandson, a friend, an occasional (and reluctant) public performer, and, as he says, “a mushroom of the electronic age.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

mornigside papers
I first read this book probably 35 years ago.And while I never heard a single one of his broadcasts, I felt as a tribute to my Canadian mother and having lived my first 13 years in Canada , I bought this book and have read it to the point that I broke the spine and pages threatened to fall out.Do I recommend this book?Absolutely!!As a man born in the States, I think of my home as Greenfield, Ontario, Canada. ... Read more

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From 1972 to 1997, each weekday morning, Morningside host Peter Gzowski guided what he considered the most intelligent listeners in the country through three hours of the most intelligent radio programming in the land. He took us through the briars of political and social policy debate, entertained us with the best of Canadian music and song, challenged us with the mysteries of science, tipped us to the better books of the season and introduced us to their authors, gave us tested and mouthwatering recipes, read aloud our best letters to him, and took us off the beaten path of Canada to show us who and where we are.

The program lives on in The Morningside Years. In these pages – and on the accompanying free compact disk – you’ll find a collection of the most memorable items from the program’s years on air. Here you’ll rediscover Gzowski’s interviews with the stars of Canadian literature – Margaret Laurence, Robertson Davies, W. O. Mitchell, Alice Munro, Timothy Findley, and Margaret Atwood. The heartbreaking drama by Emil Sher, Mourning Dove, is presented in its entirety, as is the exceptional panel discussion of Louis Riel’s trial. There’s a chapter of the fifteen best letters to the program, as well as a mini-Morningside Papers – “The Sixth (and Definitely Last).”

There are photographs, too: a Morningside family album and a series of candid shots taken in the studio during what may have been the most exciting day in the program’s life – the day spent preparing for the 1997 Red River Rally. There are conversations with scientists, and letters from abroad and from the North. And, on the accompanying CD, among other memorable pieces, there are excerpts from a classic political conversation among Eric Kierans, Stephen Lewis, and Dalton Camp, a hilarious conversation with Stuart McLean, a moment with Margaret Visser, a new arrangement of “O Canada,” sung a cappella by Quartette, and an unforgettable discussion among all the Canadian women who ever swam Lake Ontario.

Dalton Camp, one of the most companionable fixtures of Morningside, contributes a funny and surprisingly tender foreword, but Gzowski has the final word in the book: an essay in which he reflects on what Morningside was and what it meant to him.

His retirement as host of Morningside in May 1997 occasioned a flood of affection for the man and accolades for his journalism that was unprecedented in Canadian broadcasting. Many lamented not just the passing of Morningside, but also the loss of a daily presence who, with the tools of unfeigned curiosity and simple courtesy, tended a vast field in which Canada’s tallest poppies thrived.

A priceless keepsake, The Morningside Years is Peter Gzowski’s salute to his listeners and an enduring memento of Canadian broadcasting at its best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Collector's item for hockey fans
Despite being written in the early 80s, The Game of Our Lives is still a fascinating, and relevant, book about a season in the NHL.As a young kid at the time, I followed Gretzky and the Oilers as much as one could growing up in central Pennsylvania.But this is a hockey book for all hockey fans; not just a story about the pre-championship Oilers, but an engaging insight into the history of the Canadian game.I highly recommend it.

The Game of Our Soul
I first read this book when I was 11 years old and once again 12 years later. Both times it made me realize that hockey in Canada is a right of passage that is one of the few threads holding our nation together. It also helped me to understand that for those of us who love this fast graceful and violent game happiness is only a frozen pond away. The book follows the trials and tribulations of the 1980 pre champion Edmonton Oilers. The team is a group of young unproven players with a few cagey veterans mixed in for guidance. Under the helmanship of Glen Sather the team rises above their lackluster regular season performance. Gzowski travels with the team and becomes a trusted companion which allows him a rare look at the inner workings and social power structure of a professional sports team. Led by the pasty faced 18 year old Wayne Gretzky the Oilers eventually gell into a close knit team which will eventually dominate in the future but must first learn some valueable lessons. I found myself caring for the players and I stopped viewing them as helmeted thugs who compete more for money then for their team. The book enabled me to realize that a successful team can only succeed if it has a good supporting cast of grunts. It's a refreshing read in this day and age of spiralling salaries and inflated egos. Gzowski also includes insights from his childhood growing up in rural Ontario which are very effective. A great read. ... Read more

Product Description
Tender, personal, deeply felt, and beautifully crafter, Peter Gzowski’s columns in Canadian Living are models of the essayist’s art.

In Friends, Moments, Countryside, Gzowski has gathered sixty of his favourite columns about the undercelebrated people, the fleeting moments, and the special places that have most affected him. And especially to introduce this collection, he’s penned a lengthy and thoughtful essay on the changes in Canada he’s observed from his various vantage points.

This is Peter Gzowski at his best: intimate, reflective, and very, very Canadian. ... Read more