Books, Biographies & Memoirs, Regional Canada, Maritime Provinces

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M. Wylie Blanchet
The Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest (Adventura Books)
by Seal Press (Paperback)

After her husband died in 1927, leaving her with five small children, everyone expected the struggles of single motherhood on a remote island to overcome M. Wylie Blanchet. Instead, this courageous woman became one of the pioneers of “family travel,” acting as both mother and captain of the twenty-five-foot boat that became her family’s home during the long Northwest summers. Blanchet’s lyrically written account reads like fantastic fiction, but her adventures are all very real. There are dangers—rough water, bad weather, wild animals—but there are also the quiet respect and deep peace of a woman teaching her children the wonder and awesome depth of the natural world. “Filled with observations on natural history and the wonders of the wild, (Blanchet's) prose, like the waterfall she describes, sings.”—Kliatt

Richmond P. Hobson
Grass Beyond the Mountains: Discovering the Last Great Cattle Frontier on the North American Continent
by McClelland & Stewart (Paperback) (Release Date: 1978-01-01)

Patrick Lane
What the Stones Remember: A Life Rediscovered
by Trumpeter (Hardcover) (Release Date: 2005-09-13)

In this exquisitely written memoir, poet Patrick Lane describes his raw and tender emergence at age sixty from a lifetime of alcohol and drug addiction. He spent the first year of his sobriety close to home, tending his garden, where he cast his mind back over his life, searching for the memories he'd tried to drown in vodka. Lane has gardened for as long as he can remember, and his garden's life has become inseparable from his own. A new bloom on a plant, a skirmish among the birds, the way a tree bends in the wind, and the slow, measured change of seasons invariably bring to his mind an episode from his eventful past. What the Stones Remember is the emerging chronicle of Lane's attempt to face those memories, as well as his new self—to rediscover his life. In this powerful and beautifully written book, Lane offers readers an unflinching and unsentimental account of coming to one's senses in the presence of nature.

Joseph A. Springer
The Black Devil Brigade: The True Story of the First Special Service Force in World War II
by Motorbooks International (Hardcover)

They were the shock troops of the American Army. In their ranks were lumberjacks, miners, skiers-men from the United States and Canada who were accustomed to hardship and living on their own. Their training was extraordinary: forced marches of 100 miles in the Montana wilderness with 50-pound backpacks was typical. Weapons training was equally rigorous and the men became as dangerous with their hands and a knife as they were with rifle and machine gun. In Italy they became the unit called to accomplish the impossible. At Monte Cassino, and at Anzio, they did, earning the respectful accolade from their German enemies: Schwartzer Teufel-Black Devils. For the first time ever, the men of the First Special Service Force tell in their own words the full and complete story of their unit which is regarded as the parent of today's Green Berets.

Cathy Converse
Following the Curve of Time: The Legendary M. Wylie Blanchet
by Touchwood Editions (Hardcover)

M. Wylie Capi Blanchet has accompanied many a seafarer on the B.C. coast her bestselling book, The Curve of Time, introduced us to a resilient, adventurous, and enigmatic woman ahead of her time. Widowed in 1926, Capi cruised the coast in her 25-foot boat, the Caprice, with her five children and their dog. Beyond this incredible story, however, little is known about the rest of her life. What tied Capi to the West Coast, despite her upbringing and family ties in Eastern Canada? What made her see possibility in a boat that had been sunk to the bottom? Insiders recollections, and her own travels along Capi s route help Cathy Converse explore this very private woman. In revisiting these villages, inlets and islands described in The Curve of Time, Converse evokes Capi s spirit and enriches the impressions she left behind.

A.L. Karras
Face the North Wind (Western Canadian Classic)
by Fifth House Books (Paperback) (Release Date: 2005-03-07)

Celebrating our 20th classic back in print, the Western Canadian Classics series is designed to keep the best western Canadian history, biography, and other works available in attractive and affordable editions. These popular and bestselling books are selected for their quality, enduring appeal, and importance to an understanding of our past. From the author of the classic North to Cree Lake, Arthur Karras, Face the North Wind is the compelling true story of cousins Fred Darbyshire and Ed Theriau, who spent almost five decades, from 1924 to 1975, trapping and living off the land in northern Saskatchewan. Working an area roughly defined by Cree, Wollaston, and Reindeer Lakes, Fred and Ed evolved from innocent greenhorns to expert trappers at a time when modern conveniences were unheard of in that part of the country. Intertwined with the two men_s experiences are gripping accounts of the annual Hudson_s Bay Company fur brigades along the Churchill River, encounters with ...

R.D. Lawrence
The North Runner
by Natural Heritage Books (Paperback)

"A remarkable story about the bond between a man and his dog ... Lawrence combines adventure with a keen appreciation of the natural beauty of the land."- Publishers Weekly The North Runner is a true and moving story of the building of trust between a man and an exceptional dog that was half wolf, half Alaskan Malamute, and the resulting mutual affection and respect between them. R.D. Lawrence, a biologist and internationally recognized naturalist, takes us on a remarkable journey as he and Yukon embark on a life in the wilderness of British Columbia. Working as a team, the man and wolf-dog explore thousands of miles, survive the rigours of the wilderness and encounter the natural world in all its grandeur and brutality. This story ranks as a nature classic.

A. L. Karras
North to Cree Lake: The Rugged Lives of the Trappers Who Leave Civilization Behind (Western Canadian Classics)
by Fifth House Books (Paperback) (Release Date: 2003-02-14)

Originally published in 1970, North to Cree Lake is the true story of two brothers who embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The onset of the Great Depression meant there were few opportunities for young men on the prairies, so the pair decided to pursue their dream of trapping in the North. This is a vividly recounted tale of life in the northern Saskatchewan wilderness, "the old North, land of mystery and deep silences" only accessible by canoe in summer, by dog team in winter, or by aircraft. The young men embrace the challenges of travelling in the North, and not only survive, but thrive. North to Cree Lake is full of fascinating details about everyday life in the North - what they ate, how they travelled, how to prepare moose nose - and offers insights into the men who chose to live in such an isolated and perilous region. Karras wrote North to Cree Lake many years after he left northern Saskatchewan, but the clarity of his memories is remarkable, as is his deep ...

Jonathan Cott
Conversations With Glenn Gould
by Little Brown & Co (P) (Paperback)

One of the most idiosyncratic and charismatic musicians of the twentieth century, pianist Glenn Gould (1932–82) slouched at the piano from a sawed-down wooden stool, interpreting Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart at hastened tempos with pristine clarity. A strange genius and true eccentric, Gould was renowned not only for his musical gifts but also for his erratic behavior: he often hummed aloud during concerts and appeared in unpressed tails, fingerless gloves, and fur coats. In 1964, at the height of his controversial career, he abandoned the stage completely to focus instead on recording and writing. Jonathan Cott, a prolific author and poet praised by Larry McMurtry as "the ideal interviewer," was one of the very few people to whom Gould ever granted an interview. Cott spoke with Gould in 1974 for Rolling Stone and published the transcripts in two long articles; after Gould's death, Cott gathered these interviews in Conversations with Glenn Gould, adding an introduction, a ...

R.M. Patterson
Trail to the Interior (Rm Patterson Collection)
by TouchWood Editions (Paperback) (Release Date: 2007-04-15)

Trail to the Interior is R. M. Patterson s rich account of exploration and personal adventure in the Cassiar district of British Columbia. The trail is the historic track from Wrangell, Alaska, along the Stikine and Dease rivers and across the height of the land into the valleys of the Liard and the Mackenzie. Explorers and traders of the Hudson s Bay Company and the Russian American Company had ventured this river route, and Raymond Patterson followed in their footsteps. Travelling by riverboat and canoe, camping by quiet water and hiking the rugged hills, Patterson came to know the people and the past of the Cassiar district, and the great wilderness stretches into the Yukon. Trail to the Interior is a classic to be savoured by outdoors adventurers and armchair explorers alike.

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