Biography
Anahareo Grey Owl and I: a New Autobiography
(Davies, Canada). The story of Grey Owl's Iroquois wife, their
fight to save the beaver from extinction and her shock at
discovering that her husband was in fact an Englishman. Good
insights into the changing life of Canada's natives in the
twentieth century.
Grey Owl The Men of the Last Frontier; Pilgrims of the
Wild; The Adventures of Sajo and Her Beaver People; Tales of an
Empty Cabin (all o/p). First published in the 1930s, these
books romantically describe life in the wilds of Canada at the time
when exploitation was changing the land forever. Grey Owl's love of
animals and the wilderness are inspiring and his forward-thinking,
ecological views are particularly startling.
Richard Gwyn Smallwood: the Unlikely Revolutionary
(McClelland & Stewart, Canada). Detailed biography of Joey
Smallwood, the Newfoundland premier who pushed his island into
Confederation in 1949. Gwyn's exploration of island corruption and
incompetence is incisive and intriguing in equal measure.
Paul Kane Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of
North America (Dover). Kane, one of Canada's better-known
landscape artists, spent two and a half years travelling from
Toronto to the Pacific Coast and back in the 1840s. His witty, racy
account of his wanderings makes a delightful read.
James MacKay Robert Service: Vagabond of Verse
(Mainstream, UK). Not the first, but certainly the most substantial
biography discussing this prominent Canadian poet's life and
work.
Peter F. Ostwald Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy
of Genius (W. W. Norton & Co). A biography by a
psychiatrist (100 percent Freud-free) of Canada's most famous
musician. The eccentric pianist comes across as a rather inhuman
egotist but with a talent to make this sufferable to many of his
followers.
Constance Rooke Writing Home: a PEN Anthology
(McClelland & Stewart). A handful of Canada's leading
contemporary authors muse on the idea of home. Though more an
insight into the inner workings of writers' minds than Canadian
culture, this book's "sampler" style makes it a welcome partner on
cross-country journeys.
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