An Astronaut’s Guide To Life On Earth by Chris Hadfield
Hadfield
takes readers into his years of training and space exploration to show how to
make the impossible possible. He developed an unconventional philosophy at
NASA: Prepare for the worst-- and enjoy every moment of it. By thinking like an
astronaut, you can change the way you view life on Earth-- especially your own.
–Summary.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
“In
1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before,
eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital.
She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a
psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele--Sylvia Plath, Robert
Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles--as for its progressive methods of
treating those who could afford its sanctuary. Kaysen's memoir encompasses
horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow
patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel
universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late
sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives
lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental
illness and recovery.” –Back cover.
In
Search of R. B. Bennett by P. B. Waite
This
biography of R.B. Bennett explores the statesmanship, ideas, and temperament of
Canada's eleventh prime minister, presenting an enigmatic portrait of a
difficult and fascinating man.
Love,
Hope, Optimism by James Turk and Charis Wahl
“In this book, co-editors James L.
Turk and Charis Wahl have gathered stories and anecdotes about Jack Layton from
a wide range of people who knew him at different stages during his life and career. These
contributions offer an engaging and informal biographical portrait of Jack as a
young man in Hudson, Quebec, as a lecturer at Ryerson University, as a Toronto
city councillor, and as the leader of the NDP.” –Back cover.
Marjorie Too Afraid To Cry: A Home
Child Experience
by Patricia Skidmore
In
1937, 10-year-old Marjorie Arnison was shipped from Britain to Prince of Wales
Fairbridge Farm School near Victoria, British Columbia. For years she wouldn't
talk about her past. It wasn't until daughter Patricia explored archival
records and shared them with her mother that a home-child saga emerged.
–Summary.
My Story by Elizabeth Smart
Ten
years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart's
powerful memoir reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life
in the wake of a brutal crime. –Summary.
Nation Builders: Barnardo Children in
Canada by
Gail Corbett
"This
book unmasks one of the greatest human interest stories in Canadian history:
the emigration of tens of thousands of children from Britain, from the late
1800s to the early 1900s, to become home children in Canada. Through first-hand
accounts and archived materials, Corbett sensitively and accurately records the
pilgrimage of the children who, against great odds, proved that Canada was the Promised
Land. Today Barnardo Children and their descendants are legion, and they are
counted among Canada's greatest nation builders.” –Publisher.
Props On Her Sleeve by Mary Buch
"A
first-hand account of the experiences of a young Canadian airwoman who served
both in Canada and on overseas duty, this series of 150 letters brings home the
day-to-day immediacy of life in uniform during the Second World War. Moments of hilarity interspersed with impatience
and frustration are recorded verbatim, along with an underlying sense of
urgency about winning a war." –Publisher.
Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban
Missile Crisis
by Robert Kennedy
During
the thirteen days in October 1962 when the United States confronted the Soviet
Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the
behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F.
Kennedy. In a clear and simple record, he describes the personalities involved
in the crisis, with particular attention to the actions and attitudes of his
brother, President John F. Kennedy. He describes the daily, even hourly,
exchanges between Russian representatives and American.