Product Description
The Black Joke is a rousing sea story in the tradition of the great classic pirate tales. The time is the 1930s. The loot is bootleg liquor, not pirate gold. And the ship is the “Black Joke,” the speediest, nimblest craft on the Newfoundland coast – Jonathon Spence, owner and master. An unwelcome passenger enmeshes the boat and her crew (young Peter and Kye) in danger and near destruction…until the fiercely independent people of the island of Miquelon are caught up in the fate of the “Black Joke” and the cargo aboard her.


From the eBook edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gripping boys' yarn, but grating
The style of this novel has not aged well.Written in the bad old days of sex role stereotypes and thoughtless use of insensitive racial epithets (in this case "Frenchies"), I almost put this book down after a fewchapters.(The book does treat the French with affection, however.)But Icontinued reading and it turned into a gripping boys' adventure tale, andprovided a glimpse of that bizarre phenomenon, a tiny piece of France onthe eastern North American coast (the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon,off the coast of Newfoundland), and an interesting piece of history, theseislands' participation in prohibition-era rum-running to the U.S.But thecharacters are all stock, which, I guess, is only to be expected in a boys'novel of this era, especially the two peripheral female characters.FarleyMowat is for me one of the best writers of our time, as he is not afraid tocall a spade a spade when it comes to telling the truth about what ishappening and has happened to northern North America in the 20th century,the unbelievable cruelty and and rape of nature and indigenous peoples. This boys' adventure story though is both interesting and irritating.

An inventive novel of Newfoundland and St-Pierre
I think what I like best about "The Black Joke," is that it introduces the reader to a little known corner of North America: Newfoundland and St-Pierre and Miquelon. The other thing I like about it is that it provesthat Farley Mowat can write just about anything he sets his mind to.

With an historical background that is not negligible (nor does it mattermuch to the actual plot), the book Mowat has set out to write is ostensiblyfor children. It follows a classic "Boys Own" formula of putting the actionsafely into the hands of a pair of enterprising youngsters who then have todeal as well as they can with the baddies. It is really an excellent storyof the sea; readers of maritime literature will love the boat that lendsits name to the book, and bewail its apparent fate near the end. I supposechildren will also like this book, although it seems so old-fashioned inmany ways. Nevertheless, if you can convince a 12-year-old to have a lookat it, you may make another convert, both to Mowat and the art of reading.Just don't forget to read it yourself!

Mowat seems to have tried anexperiment with this book and I am confounded a bit to know why he didn'ttry and take it a bit further with other volumes. He had already writtenone of his Arctic stories for children, "Lost in the Barrens," by the timehe wrote this one, and he subsequently wrote a sequel to it. But "The BlackJoke" has to stand alone and I suppose all one can say is that, based onhis output since its 1962 publication, it has nothing to do with fearingthe hard work of writing. Excellent and underrated book. ... Read more

Product Description
On 2 September 1939 the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment was mobilized and began training for war. For the next six years its members lived the heartbreak, the horror, and the glory of a bitter conflict on foreign soil. This is the heart-and-soul story of the Hasty P's and their part in the Second World War, told by their most eloquent spokesman. First printed over fifty years ago and out of print since 1982, The Regiment has lost none of its immediacy or emotional power.

Customer Reviews (1)

Canadian Troops in WWII
I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about Canadian troops in WWII.I've read several of Farley Mowat's books so I'm familiar with him and like him as an author.I've read many books about WWII, and wanted to read a history of the Canadian forces.I knew they had served with the British under Montgomery, but didn't know they fought in Italy against strong German fortifications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Learn to love a tug boat . . .
I occasionally take a trip off the beaten path to read on a topic in which I have no experience or much prior interest, such as taxidermy, the Canadian Barrens, or in the present case - marine salvage and the life story of a famous ocean going tug.

"Tug boats" and marine salvage.I suppose the Rodney Dangerfield of maritime subtopics.Even the term tug boat rings a bit derogatory.Disregarded and disrespected.But . . . .

I am excited to report my discovery of this extremely well authored true story of the proud ship, Foundation Franklin.Built by the British as HMS Frisky in 1918, and between the Wars, rescued from a mothball yard in Hamburg and put into service by Foundation Maritime Company as a deep sea rescue/salvage tug out of Newfoundlandand Nova Scotia.Renamed "Foundation Franklin", the Franklin and her men performed heroically for decades, extending through and beyond WWII, saving hundreds of ships and thousands of lives, often operating under absolutely deadly conditions.

I'm impressed.I learned something about a little part of the world and the men/ships that work it which I will never forget, nor forget to appreciate.Farley Mowat wrote superbly in this work, which was at times pulse-pounding.I learned to grow fond of the Franklin, and mourn her absence maybe as if I had steamed on her myself.

A rather obscure topic and title, but this is a great maritime story, lived out and told in the tradition of The Cruel Sea and The Caine Mutiny.Very much recommended.

Perfect Storm, eat your heart out!
The ocean-going salvage tug, `Foundation Franklin' was more than a match for the worst the North Atlantic could throw at her, including Force 10 hurricanes and Nazi U-Boats.Perfect Storm, eat your heart out!Here is the real book about the great-hearted men and their staunch little ships that survived blow after blow from the Atlantic and bobbed up for more.

If the author, Farley Mowat is sometimes guilty of over-the-top prose---well, he lived and worked on the Franklin, and he loved her sturdy lines, her jaunty roll, and every rivet that held her together while she rescued ships that were Goliaths to her chubby, little Baby Huey.No work could have been more dangerous; none required a higher degree of seamanship and courage than dropping a line on a berserk, lunging, steel-hulled freighter, and then towing her through the maw of a mid-December gale, or the shoals and `sunkers' of the Newfoundland coast---something the Franklin did so many times that her crew lost memory of all but their most freakish or man-killing expeditions.

"Grey Seas Under" will give you an interesting perspective on the true maritime heroes of World War II.Farley Mowat doesn't pull any punches when he describes the tension that existed between the expert seamen on the ocean-going salvage and rescue tugs, and their relatively `amateur' counterparts on Canadian and American naval warships.Some of the funniest scenes in the book involve convoys of merchant ships under the `protection' of corvettes and destroyers.Once a U-Boat had been sighted and the merchants steamed for cover, it was up to the Franklin to rescue the ones that ran into each other or shoaled themselves.Usually, the tug had to perform her duties without any cover from the warships.

"The days the salvors (tugboat seamen) spent tethered to fat and crippled merchantmen, crawling along on a straight course at a speed of two or three knots like mechanical targets in a shooting gallery, were the kind of days that would drain the courage from the most heroic man alive...The Germans knew, that for every rescue vessel sunk there would be a score of crippled merchantmen who would never make safe port."

This is a great book about men against the sea, even though the language gets very nautical at times.Read it and you will learn all about Lloyd's Open Form, and the tricks that wrecked merchant masters play to cheat tugs out of their salvage fees.You'll learn to tell the difference between `Monkey Island' and the poop deck---and the difference between `brass monkeys' and true seamen.You'll thrill to the dangers of sunkers, beam seas, and Arctic white-outs.You'll bite through your pipe-stem, just like the Franklin's captain did during those tows when his sturdy little tug steamed back into port with barely enough coal in her bunkers to "cook a pot of beans."

Someone ought to make a movie out of "Grey Seas Under."It's got everything---romance (between man and ship, at least); life-and-death adventures; heroism; humor; and the treacherous ice, wind, and sea of what the author respectfully refers to as `the Great Western Ocean.'

Foundation Franklin
I have read this book twice and I loved it.Mowat wrote as if the tug was a living thing.It was wonderful.I actually cried at the end when Franklin came into the harbor with barely any power left and covered entirely with ice, thus ending her life.The people who captained Franklin intriqued me as well.In the book they were the only ones that really cared for her.

Riveting slice of marine history
This book is an unexpectedly riveting episode-by-episode story of the Foundation Franklin, a marine salvage tug that sailed out of the ports of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the 1930s and '40s.This working ship, built in Scotland in 1916 to craftsman's standards, eventually found itself unused in a Hamburg shipyard in depression-strapped 1930 where it was identified as a possible vessel for the Canadian maritime salvage fleet.From that day to its final heart-stopping drama, the trials of this unprepossessing high seas coal-fired tugboat are recounted in all their adrenalin-filled reality in Mowat's gripping and evocative prose.Managed by callous profit-seekers, officered by experience-hardened seamen and crewed by men desperate for employment, Foundation Franklin's story is, as well, a slice of social and commercial history.The mood is workaday danger, fortitude, struggle and courage, marred by a single passing dismissive remark about "union mechanics".

First-Rate True Saga of the Sea
I first discovered "Grey Seas Under" about 15 years ago, appropriately enough as Able Seaman on an Ocean Salvage Tug. I was immediately enthralled. Out of the many books on the sea I have read, this one remains very dear to me (not that you have to be a mariner to enjoy it). Grey Seas Under is the true story of the ocean salvage tug, FOUNDATION FRANKLIN and the brave men who battled the North Atlantic to save hundreds of ships and thousands of lives. Farley Mowat, a master srory-teller, passionately desribes the exploits of FOUNDATION FRANKLIN with geat admiration and humor. Grey Seas Under is a true masterpiece saga of the sea. I've read this book probably 6 times in the last 10 years and I'm sure to re-read it for many years to come. I cannot recommend this book enough.I also highly recommend "The Serpents Coil" also by Farley Mowat, another first-rate tale of the sea. ... Read more

Product Description
No one writes about the Arctic and its inhabitants better than Farley Mowat. In Walking on the Land, he returns to this subject and, in the tradition of The People of the Deer, brings to life the plight of the Ihalmuit, or Barrenground Inuit, a people almost wiped out by famine and epidemics. Enlivened by vivid descriptions and larger-than-life characters, this book brings Mowat’s writing full circle, and will stand as a testament to his lifelong passion for the Arctic and his unparalleled talent as its champion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

People of the Deer revisited
When I was a boy in the 1950s I read Farley Mowat's "People of the Deer" serialized in an outdoor magazine.That I remember the book 50 years later testifies to Mowat's narrative power in telling the story of the near extinction of the Ihalmuit people in far northern Canada. The Ihalmuit are Eskimos (Innuit) but unlike their sea-dwelling relatives live inland and depend on the barren ground caribou for their sustenance. Mowat is the indispensable source of information for the Ihalmuit and turned out a classic in "People of the Deer."

In "Talking to the Land" Mowat describes his revisit to the Ihalmuit in 1959. This book lacks the high adventure of "People of the Deer."It indicts the Canadian government, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Catholic missionaries, and big business for their uncaring and criminally stupid behavior in dealing with the Ihalmuit. There are many vivid scenes and characters in this short book. The most touching describes his meeting with the last survivor of the Ihalmuit who sought him out in 1999 and inspired him to write this book.

Mowat is a gifted advocate and writer, but I won't give him top marks because his reputation is that of a subjective writer, striving for effect and impact rather than objective truth. Knowing that, I am sympathetic with his views but also a little mistrustful. Did he really have the experiences he describes?Is his assessment of the situation that led to the extinction of the Ihalmuit accurate?Can he be trusted or is he a teller of tales masquerading as a writer of fact?

Smallchief

Hooked on Mowat
Mowat once again deals with the subjugation of Inuit peoples by the Canadian government, the Episcopal and Catholic churches as well as various companies who decide there's big money to be made in the arctic. The government ignores pleas that Inuits are facing starvation and medical crises. Churches try to convert and some officials feel justified in relocating children to specialized schools. Company employees exploit native women for sexual favors in exchange for food for their starving families. There are some good guys here but they are few and far between. Mowat has written a series on this subject which include "People of the Deer" and "The Desperate People" all of which report the history, mythology, customs, habits etc of the Ihalmuit people who lived in what is now the new Canadian province of Nunavut-just north of Manitoba. Various pressures, the greatest being starvation, reduced their numbers to less than 200. They were relocated as is related in this book to a coastal region which they were unused to and were not adapted to surviving there. This was another government folly. The Canadians came later to their own chapter in conquering native peoples as this takes place in the 1950's. I say this as a general term because there were and are Canadians who appreciate Inuit culture and attempted to intervene. Mowat himself was not well liked by any of the major players in those episodes which he is very candid about.
I am totally hooked on Mowat's work. He is a cultural anthropologist but he's such an adventure writer, a person gets so caught up in the unfolding drama. The characters are so richly portrayed and their customs explained so well that their way of life as it was will forever be recorded in his books even if it has disappeared. By the way "walking on the land" refers to an Inuit custom of going out into the cold to die. It was done by gracious elders whose younger families faced starvation in order to save children. It was also done by people who felt they had outlived their usefulness.

Canada's Conscience
With gritty and brutal honesty, Farley Mowat carries the reader back to the Artic regions in a follow up to PEOPLE OF THE DEER and A DESPERATE PEOPLE and the treatment/mistreatment of the natives by the Canadian government and church authorities.Mr. Mowat paints a vivid picture of the artic region and the various boondoggles designed to "help" the native peoples (which certainly parallels the wretched treatment of Native Americas in this country).What was particularly shocking was that much of this happened in the 1950s.While the subject matter can't always be defined as enjoyable, I did enjoy this armchair travel with the amazing Mr. Mowat.-Mamalinda ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

ahead of his time
Mowat anticipated the ecology movement.Has a lot of interesting commentary on the relationship of our production-based system and our world, and compares it to what he was seeing on his trips to Siberia in the 60s.

Fellow traveler or useful idiot?
I get the feeling Intourist wrote this book for Mr. Mowat.His picture of Soviet life is so wonderful that people will wonder how the USSR could ever have collapsed.

"Mirny has everything.Its 38,000 people have a TV and radio station, daily newspaper, library with 200,000 volumes, two theaters, five cinemas, the most modern hospital I have ever seen, paved roads (WOW!), a brewery and a vodka distillery (well, duh), an advanced educational system including a technical school with eleven hundred students, dance groups, choirs, children's musical schools, and...you name it, Mirny has it.Most of its citizens live in cleanly designed five- to seven-story apartment blocks, intelligently sited, and tinted in gentle colors to take away the blight of naked concrete which disfigures so much recent Soviet - not to mention North American - architecture." (Chapter 11, parentheticals mine)

Mr. Mowat isn't even trying here.Happily, most of the prose is totally unlike the dull, fatiguing mass shown above, but the stark difference serves as a reminder that he didn't do all of the writing.He doesn't tell us how much time he spent in this small city, but from what he describes generally we could assume it was a short stay with a factory tour and a lot of drinking and being treated like a big-shot-published-many-times hero by local writers and artists.No library inspections, radio listening, or dance recitals. Though I suppose we can give him credit for actually SEEING the hospital from the outside.

And incidentally, the last sentence of the quote is emblematic of an amusing recurrence in the book.Any idea, fact, or quote given that is tinged with a hint of criticism towards the Soviet system is balanced with a shot at Western democracic government or culture.I mean it, EVERY SINGLE TIME.The credulous reader will be dismayed to realize that our way of life shares only the vices of Soviet Russia, and none of the virtues.

I got about halfway into this book before putting it down in annoyance.The descriptions of lands and people faraway and unknown to me WERE quite interesting.Places like Yakutsk and Mirny are no longer the unfathomable abstractions that they were before.But I came to realize that many of the descriptive passages were just copied out of leaflets and brochures supplied by his wonderful Party escorts.I don't know about any of you, but my time's too short to spend swallowing propaganda.I could be watching Fox News instead!:)P

If you want to learn about Eastern Russia, find a source that isn't so beholden to pleasant pictures of failed ideologies.PJ O'Rourke comes to mind (he has written a wonderful description of a ride on the Trans-Siberian railroad and a visit to the city of Irkutsk and Lake Baikal).

Why did communism collapse?
I envy Farley Mowat and his wife Claire for their journey throughout Siberia in the 19060's.Communism was roaring along very well, the Small People of the North (the Native Siberians who had small numbers) were holding on to the past and embracing the present.The State was, overall, welcoming to this Canadian writer, and the people were amazingly hospitable.Farley and Claire were able to see the Sleeping Giant as few others were able to, probably even most Soviet citizens.

While I read of the amazing technological wonders, the fantastic movement of goods, the incredible food and drink, the wonderful education that anyone was able to get, I had, in the back of my mind a huge dose of skepticism.A Soviet explained to the author that *they* knew what was propaganda and what was the truth, whereas North Americans are just the opposite, swallowing marketing and political propaganda without guile.Because the US government is in the midst of a propaganda war, that people actually believe Fox news, that the US has been involved in another oil war, well, yes, I can believe that.I do worry about the path the North of Asian Russia has taken since the fall of communism and what the US style capitalists are doing to the well made plans of the 1960's.

I recommend this book, although it is not an easy nor quick read.The author complains about being bogged down in statistics from proud Siberians, and I felt the same way from him.Some of the organisation seemed a bit scattered; we seemed to return to similar themes, yet in different settings. It was also impossible to tell where the author went on which trip, or even how many trips he took to Siberia.Overall, that doesn't matter I suppose.

Anything but boring!
What a shame that this book is out of print.It tells of the once-forgotten Small Peoples of the Far North, who live on the frozen tundra.It is masterfully written with understanding, respect and sharedlove.Through education and respect for the land, Siberia has grown andprospered, perhaps more than any other region of what was then the SovietUnion.This bookcalls for an up-to-date sequel to show what has happenedin and to Siberia since the collapse ofthe USSR.

Boring
Communist manifesto ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

an excellent selection, worth reading
farley mowat is special, no doubt about it:a wonderful way with words, just weaves them together, and his subjects are fascinating, intense, powerful, often quite humorous, and his looks into the human and natural world are worth sharing.if you like farley mowat, and have read anything by him before, or even not, this is a good sample selection of a great and multi-talented writer. ... Read more

Product Description
High Latitudes chronicles the author’s journey across northernCanada in 1966. Engaging in what Margaret Atwood, in her introduction,calls "a salvation escapade," Mowat hoped to write a book basedon his experiences that would debunk the then-current idea of theNorth as a playground for developers and polluters. Until now, thatbook remained unwritten. Mowat’s compelling blend of suspensefulstorytelling and larger-than-life characters immerses readers in theArctic, a place Mowat dubs a "bloody great wasteland." In avoice alternately filled with rage, humor, and pathos, Mowat seasonshis story with photos, maps, and verbatim transcriptions oftestimonies from northern peoples — Inuit and white — at a timewhen the old ways of life were disappearing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not seals, not whales, and not wolves... this time Mowat is an advocate for the "Eskimo"
In 1966, writer Farley Mowat was sent east to west to explore the people and places of the Canadian Arctic.In 1993, he put this trip, and his tape recordings of the people he met, into this book.

It is haunting. Sobering.Maddening.Saddening.

It is a face of Canada's Far North that may never be recorded again.Mowat continues being the voice of the voiceless, the recorder of the unrecordable.I still need to read People of the Deer, which apparently has a similar theme.

And Mowat pulls no punches... he picks on missionaries, government workers, and even native people that work to destroy a complicated, self-sustaining society.In addition, he tells the personal stories - sad, endearing, heroic - of many Inuit, in their own words.

A few passages I want to remember:

"The transmutation of beluga into gold was to be Whale Cove's first great industrial achievement" (p. 17).

"He's a social anthropologist from some big university studying our habits.Those guys are everywhere in the north now, asking personal questions and busy taking notes like we was bugs for them to study.They crawl over us worse than lice" (p. 240; comments by Mary Carpenter).

"You want to know what I got out of my twelve years' schooling?I lost my Eskimo language.I lost contact with my parents, with most of my brothers and sisters, with the old people who were my relatives.When I left Aklavik mission school they sent me to Yellowknife.That was even farther from home.After Grade 12 they finally let me go home to Sachs at last.That was the first time since I was five.I didn't know the place.I didn't know what to say or what to do.I didn't know my parents.I couldn't talk Eskimo no better than one of the white missionaries!But you know what was the worst thing of all?I didn't know who I was any more..." (p. 242; comments by Mary Carpenter).

And the story of "Soosie E5-22" (chapters 18-21)... ah, the tragedy!

Who else tells these stories?Farley Mowat is the Lorax... "I speak for the trees."

This book has a short but enthusiastic introduction written by well-known writer Margaret Atwood:"High Latitudes gives us, with passion and insight, a vertical section of time past - the time that preceded our present.The choices that were made then affect our now, just as the choices we make now will determine the future.I'm sure Farley Mowat hopes that politicians today will be smarter than they were then, though he probably isn't betting on it" (p. xi).

A tragic topic, an impressive writer
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Another great adventure story by Farley Mowat
"The Curse of the Viking Grave" is the seqel to "Lost in the Barrens".Both books are great adventure stories for young people and adults.My dad is in his 80s, a lifelong outdoorsman, and he really enjoyed reading this book.As in "Lost in the Barrens", there are a lot of authentic details about survival and the history of the north, including fascinating parts about hunting methods of the Eskimos, early Viking explorers, and the "stone men" of the tundra.There are many lessons about personal strength and courage, and valuing others.This is one of my favorite books to re-read and to pass on to youngsters and anyone who likes roughing it in the out of doors.

The second best Farley Mowat book!!!!!!!
This is the sequel to lost in the barrens and is as good as it. I will recomend it to anyone and you should go but it today.

A vivid journey into the heart of the Barrens�
This is the sequel to "Lost in the Barrens" (1956), written in the mid-1960s. Both books tell the story of a youth who is orphaned and sent to be with his trapper/outdoorsman uncle up in the far north of Canada. Inthis volume, the southern authorities appear on the scene, wishing toremove the still underage central character back to the south, for "his owngood." In company with an Indian girl and an Eskimo lad, our hero sets offinto the northern wilderness, trying to keep one step ahead of the police.Mowat then brings in the story of an old Viking grave which he had alreadywoven into the first volume. What follows is a voyage of discovery duringwhich the three members of the team help each other to overcome thehardship of the land, as they travel down a river road known only in thefolk lore of the northern tribes, and not used in generations. The storyhangs finally on this question: will they make it?

It is a thrillingjourney and a fine novel and if your children don't appreciate it, I'm sureyou will. It's a fascinating journey into native cultures as well, althoughI believe there is some debate about what right a man like Farley Mowat hasto even get involved with "their" culture. For me, the sensitivity of bookslike this one, whether towards man or the environment, speaks volumes byitself. ... Read more

Product Description
Novel of the life of the Eskimo people as they confront the survival of "sense of self" in a changing world along with survival of family and way of life in a diffcult environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Desperate People
About: They were rich, the caribou were abundant. Their dogs were many and strong. The children in the tents were happy and there was never any fear of going hungry. Then came the ruthless white man's civilzation. And with it came slaugther of the herds, starvation of the flesh, and torture of the spirit. Courageous, proud in their age old way of life and now fighting to save themselves from extinction.

Excellent
This book is the continuation of the story of the Caribou-Eskimo (Ihalmiut), of whom Mowat first wrote about in his first book, People of the Dear.The latter was an account of his experiences among these people while doing research for the government in 1947 and 1948.The Desperate People relates the plight of the Ihalmiut over the course of the next ten years.During this time, the Ihalmiut suffer considerably, the victims of exploitation, prejudice, governmental bungling, ignorance, and willful mistreatment.It is a chronicle of the decline of a once independent, self-sufficient people into a wretched, servile and dependent lot.The book left me feeling angered and ashamed.It is a book that should be read by all Canadians.

This book... monkeys
I thought this book stunk.He must of been really desperate to publish a book.It was like reading a porly written history book.I couldn't understand anything he said.I didn't know who was who and where everything is.He repeated himself alot and jumped around.It really bit, even though I gave it a star it deserves no stars.

Canada�s Edward Abbey takes us to the last of the People
"The Desperate People" is a very different book from its sister volume, "People of the Deer." Although it tells a continuing story, it was written many years later and, unlike the previous volume, Farley Mowat himself doesnot play a direct role in the narrative. Although one feels that he isnever more than a heartbeat away from the action, he does not intrude uponit. It is the People's story; he is just the teller. As for the story hetells, it is not a pretty one.

In the book, he evokes a scene in acoastal town of the Arctic, in which a supply ship is making a stopover.Excitement runs through the townspeople as the ship's crew and passengersare brought to shore. It is a very bright moment in an otherwise dull,monotonous routine. One of the passengers detaches himself from the crowdsleaving the vessel and makes his way through the town to an encampment onits edge. Tents are struck there and as he approaches, it happens that oneof the occupants is outside and sees him approaching. It is an Eskimodressed in rags and wearing an unmistakable air of dejection. Suddenly thevisitor recognizes the man and hails him, but is not answered.

Thevisitor is Mowat and the Eskimo is Ohoto, a member of the Ihalmiut, one ofthe People. The two have not set eyes on each other for more than tenyears. From that last meeting, looking backwards, Farley Mowat reconstructsthe life of this little-known inland tribe as they prepare, unknowingly, tomeet their doom. The story has grandeur as well as the appalling odour ofdecay. It has the sensitivity to show us that the fragility of the Ihalmiutmay well turn out to be our own. It is also a finely written work, whichhad me yearning for some of the places described within and it may affectyou that way too. At any rate, this second and perhaps final book about thePeople is so plainly filled with human understanding that one has to bevery indifferent indeed, to take nothing from it.

Very interesting.
I think the arthur was really desperate when he set out to write a book about the people that is not his race and at the time of his travel, thepeople he wrote about were normads and now today, they are reading hisbook. It is interesting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Adventure Calls
Farley's Follies (as the author renames this collection in his foreword) is an enchanting encounter with our Northern Neighbors.After the introduction of the sailing librarian father, and his floating boat-mobile, I was thoroughly locked into the magical land of travel via armchair.Clever illustrations could have (should have?) included a map as these stories take the reader all over Canada: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and the tundra of Hudson Bay.Depression refugees, trading the re-invented fishing boat for the prairie ark/schooner, pet owls, a magic mutt, naturalist training, an artic expedition, sailing adventures, amazingly tolerant and encouraging parents, and letters home from WW2, the reader watches the man emerge in this an exceptional compilation.-Mamalinda

A great introduction to Mowat's work
Like most Americans, I had never heard of Farley Mowat until I made the association of the Disney film "Never Cry Wolf" with his name on a book spine one day.I loved the movie, so I figured I might as well try out the book.

I adored Never Cry Wolf, but you often hear that a writerhas one good book in him (or her), and after that it is all downhill. Furthermore, I looked in the library catalog and Mowat had dozens oftitles!I had no idea which ones to try, they had odd titles!So I pickedup this reader, to get an idea which of the titles I might want to pickout.

After reading this collection, I decided I wanted to read them all. Mowat is simply the best Canadian writer, and one of the top of thiscentury, in my humble opinion.I have now read five of his books, and mycollection continues to grow.Even the books that are represented aschildren's books (like The Dog Who Wouldn't Be) are a joy to adults aswell.

Mowat has the keen eye of observation that Mark Twain had, butwithout the viciousness of the satire... he is much more coy and subtle inhis musings on families and nature.Many of his works involve the Arcticnorth, Saskatchewan, the high seas, and animals; but I have yet to find apoorly written chapter in any of his works.

If you want some proof thatMowat is worth buying, pick up this Reader and see for yourself.I read afew small portions to my writers club as samples of excellent writing, andthey loved it.It reads smoothly, like a storyteller would speak, like aGarrison Keilor tale.

He is a controversial figure, is my understanding. Purportedly, he is not allowed to visit the United States, because in onebook he claimed to shoot his rifle at overflying US warplanes.Who knowsif this is true; Mowat admits to a bit of freedom in embellishing a tale;which is only right, since it is more fun that way.Don't worry aboutthese details, just read some of it and enjoy it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An eye-opener that was fun to read
I am a long time fan of Farley Mowat's work and by chance managed to get my hands on this, one of his more obscure books, and one that I had been wanting to read for a long time.

It was a fairly quick read, I plopped myself down on the couch this evening and now only a few hours later, I've finished reading the book and done a few quick web searches to access curent imigration law.

The book itself was a fun read, threaded with the humor and wry comments that I've come to love about many of Mowat's books. More than that though it was an eye-opener and I found myself becoming increasingly angry (and concerned) about imigration law. Put simply Mowat was refused entry to the country in the mid 80's under the McCarran-Walter Act a fun little law (repealed in the 90's) that allows the INS to refuse entry to anyone on fairly shallow grounds. In this case Mowat seems to have been denied entry because of his conservation (tree-hugging) beliefs. So although the book was delightful, it gave me a definite chill as it produced definite worries about governmental regulations of freesom of speech. Especially when just a little research seemed to indicate that although this particular act was scrapped in the early 90's, there have been many attempts to bring back pieces of it, and my grasp of government as a foreign language is not good enough for me to fully comprehend current law as laid out the INS information websites.

Altogether worth both a read and some further inquiry. I'm now curious as to whether Mowat has since been granted leave to enter the usa.

This is a silly book....
This is a silly book, about a silly story, about what may even be, quite a silly country. Perhaps you should read it to find out why. Well done, Farley. Obviously not one of your best, yet it had to be written anyway, Isuppose... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The least of the Three
This is the third and last volume of Farley Mowat's TOP OF THE WORLD TRILOGY dealing with exploration in the extreme north. Like the others, it is primarily a reproduction of the source narratives with Mowat's own comments, editing and observations thrown in.

The first two books made for interesting and engrossing reading. This one is interesting but the writing style is way too dry to be called engrossing.

As the title suggests, this volume is dedicated to the exploration of the North American tundra. There are tails of depravation and heroism but, for me, they do not compare to the search for the pole or the northwest passage.

This books has its place but is not my favorite.

Third and final volume in excellent history of the Arctic
The final volume in the "Top of the World" series, "Tundra" is a land-based, rather than sea- and ice-based version of the earlier books. Canadian author Farley Mowat completes a marvellous history of the Arcticby looking at some of the first recorded overland journeys into Canada'sfar north. This is country that Mowat came to know well. After the war hespent several seasons in the Arctic travelling the Barren lands withmembers of a branch of the Inuits, the Ihalmiuts, soon afterwards to becompletely wiped out, mainly by contact with Europeans. Mowat tells thestory of their demise in "People of the Deer" and a companion volume, "TheDesperate People." "Tundra," on the other hand, is not Mowat's story, butis taken from primary sources, mainly diaries of those who did thetravelling, and is a vivid and intense recounting of the up-riverjourneying of some of history's most adventurous travellers. Farley Mowathas done a great job of making this material accessible. If you have anyinterest in the Arctic, or Canadian history, or to some extent, the nativepeoples of Canada (Mowat has been criticised, probably unfairly, for histreatment of native people in his books), or if you just want a good plainadventure story, I highly recommend the three books in this series.

Third and final volume in excellent history of the Arctic
The final volume in the "Top of the World" series, "Tundra" is a land-based, rather than sea- and ice-based version of the earlier books. Canadian author Farley Mowat completes a marvellous history of the Arcticby looking at some of the first recorded overland journeys into Canada'sfar north. This is country that Mowat came to know well. After the war hespent several seasons in the Arctic travelling the Barren lands withmembers of a branch of the Inuits, the Ihalmiuts, soon afterwards to becompletely wiped out, mainly by contact with Europeans. Mowat tells thestory of their demise in "People of the Deer" and a companion volume, "TheDesperate People." "Tundra," on the other hand, is not Mowat's story, butis taken from primary sources, mainly diaries of those who did thetravelling, and is a vivid and intense recounting of the up-riverjourneying of some of history's most adventurous travellers. Farley Mowathas done a great job of making this material accessible. If you have anyinterest in the Arctic, or Canadian history, or to some extent, the nativepeoples of Canada (Mowat has been criticised, probably unfairly, for histreatment of native people in his books), or if you just want a good plainadventure story, I highly recommend the three books in this series. ... Read more

Product Description
The author of A Whale for the Killing employs the correspondence between himself and his father, Angus, during World War II, to evoke a picture of his experiences at war and of his relationship with his father. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Stink of Gunpowder Distilled
Profane and coarse, this book has all the finesse of trench warfare in a mortar attack. It is a book I'd rather my daughters didn't read, yet I feel that they MUST. Like so much of Farley Mowat's work, MY FATHER'S SON gives a chapter of Canadian history that was never taught in school. Brutal, obscene and probably unfair at times, it consists mostly of a collection of letters exchanged between a son and his parents separated by an ocean and a war. It is refreshingly free of political correctness. The blunt honesty of a 20 something nature lover crouched in a slit trench while he dispenses death and comrades die around him -- comes with the uncensored vocabulary of men and women caught in hell. Distilled from the stink of gunpowder and the scream of falling shells in the muddy trenches of Italy, it is 200 proof, uncut. This tea-totaler has gasped at every sip, taken offense at the language and morals, yet ranked it among the most worthwhile books he has ever read. It won't be found on the shelves of Bible Book Stores, with good reason. Yet if this writer had the authority, it would be back in print and mandatory reading before any Canadian could graduate from High School. Out of the many thousands of books I have read over the years, MY FATHER'S SON is a story with few peers. It doesn't fit any genre, it makes its own. It doesn't read smoothly and comfortably, it rends the fabric of cozy prejudice. It doesn't glorify war, it paints it as the hell it is. Perhaps more than anything else, it reminds me of the price my freedom cost, a reminder I don't always want to receive.

This is a book that shouldn't be out of print, but copies are readily available on the used book market.

The Stink of Gunpowder Distilled
Profane and coarse, this book has all the finesse of trench warfare in amortar attack.It is a book I'd rather my daughters didn't read, yet Ifeel that they MUST. Like so much of Farley Mowat's work, MY FATHER'SSON gives a chapter of Canadian history that was never taught in school. Brutal, obscene and probably unfair at times, it consists mostly of acollection of letters exchanged between a son and his parents separated byan ocean and a war.It is refreshingly free of political correctness.The blunt honesty of a 20 something nature lover crouched in a slit trenchwhile he dispenses death and comrades die around him -- comes with theuncensored vocabulary of men and women caught in hell.Distilled from thestink of gunpowder and the scream of falling shells in the muddy trenchesof Italy, it is 200 proof, uncut.This tea-totaler has gasped at everysip, taken offense at the language and morals, yet ranked it among the mostworthwhile books he has ever read. It won't be found on the shelves ofBible Book Stores, with good reason.Yet if this writer had the authority,it would be back in print and mandatory reading before any Canadian couldgraduate from High School. Out of the many thousands of books I haveread over the years, MY FATHER'S SON is a story with few peers.It doesn'tfit any genre, it makes its own.It doesn't read smoothly and comfortably,it rends the fabric of cozy prejudice.It doesn't glorify war, it paintsit as the hell it is.Perhaps more than anything else, it reminds me ofthe price my freedom cost, a reminder I don't always want to receive.

This is a book that shouldn't be out of print, but copies are readilyavailable on the used book market.

Farley Mowat (finally) goes to war
This is another fine memoir from the author of "And No Birds Sang," "The Regiment," and "Aftermath," all books relating in part, to Farley Mowat's participation in the Second World War. (Although "The Regiment" does not specifically concern Mowat's adventures, much of its path is common to his own.) "My Father's Son" is also a tribute to his father Angus, and acknowledges the contribution made by him to Mowat's progress as a writer.Mowat senior was also a published author, but never achieved the pre-eminence of his son.

Most of the book is concerned with the military details of Mowat's own experience, starting with his failed attempt to be inducted into the army due to his youthful appearance! He eventually succeeded in getting into the Hasty Ps, his father's regiment. So father and son were able to salute each other in uniform for a time, the one as a major, the other as a private. From there we are taken through the lengthy process of training, embarkation, arrival and billeting in England and the further long wait to go to war. Those who know Mowat's writing will enjoy this book for the usual reasons; there is an urgency to his writing and a singular facility for finding the right words, even for conveying the mundane. Those who are interested in Mowat the person, will as usual, find him hesitant to completely open up about his personal life. Never mind; he tells us a great deal about himself by leaving certain things unsaid. This is a good read if you can find it. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a portrait of the Albans, a seafaring tribe who originated in the country now known as Scotland. Battered by repeated Celtic, Norse and Roman invasions, the Albans fled west, first to Iceland, then to Greenland and finally across the Atlantic to Canada. ... Read more