Memoir & Biography

The Molly Fire

The Molly Fire is an unconventional book. More anthropological than a memoir, too fragmented for any strong narrative lifeline, this book is a miscellany in the best, most exploratory and curious sense of the word.Photographer, ... Read More »

May 11, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

Farewell, Babylon: Coming of Age in Jewish Baghdad

By Naim Kattan, Sheila Fischman, trans.

Over a lengthy career, Iraq-born Montrealer Naim Kattan has written more than 30 books of fiction, poetry, and criticism, for which he has received a cache of awards, including France’s Légion d’Honneur and the Order ... Read More »

April 18, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

Terry

By Douglas Coupland

Douglas Coupland admits that “the definitive work” on Terry Fox is Leslie Scrivener’s 1981 biography, Terry Fox: His Story. Coupland’s book, in contrast, is more of a tribute in pictures and words, and a reminder ... Read More »

March 22, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

★ A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan

By Nelofer Pazira

Nelofer Pazira, the Afghani-Canadian star of the film Kandahar, became something of a celebrity after the film was released in the wake of Sept. 11. A Bed of Red Flowers is a memoir of Pazira’s ... Read More »

March 21, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years As Jean Chrétien’s Diplomatic Advisor

By James Bartleman

The trouble with James Bartleman’s new diplomatic memoir is that he has his own tough act to follow. For sheer entertainment value, Rollercoaster can’t compete with his previously published On Six Continents, replete as that ... Read More »

March 14, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

★ I am a red dress: Incantations on a Grandmother, a Mother, and a Daughter

By Anna Camilleri

Anna Camilleri is more than a red dress. The Toronto native is a writer, spoken-word artist, anthologist, and curator who has performed across Canada and the U.S. Camilleri’s I am a red dress is a ... Read More »

March 11, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

Public Life, Private Tragedy

By Steve Paikin

John P. Robarts: Ontario premier from 1961-1971, dedicated modernizer of the province’s schools and universities, creator of its community college system. The University of Toronto’s Robarts Library – one of the most daunting such edifices ... Read More »

March 11, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

Kingdom of Ten Thousand Things: An Impossible Journey from Kabul to Chiapas

By Gary Geddes

Every year, thousands of hours are spent earnestly debating whether Christopher Columbus was a brave explorer or a genocidal imperialist. Vancouver poet, writer, and academic Gary Geddes’ new book brings to a mainstream audience a ... Read More »

February 7, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

The Greek for Love: A Memoir of Corfu

By James Chatto

There probably aren’t many city dwellers who haven’t considered – perhaps while sitting in traffic or being accosted by an aggressive panhandler – pitching it all and going to live in the country. Then they ... Read More »

January 21, 2005 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography

★ This Terrible Business Has Been Very Good to Me

By Norman Jewison

Anyone who has enjoyed watching movies during the last 40-plus years should read this book. It’s that simple. In This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me, veteran Canadian director Norman Jewison details his life ... Read More »