Small things can often mean a great deal. For the past five years readers of the Toronto Star's website have been telling each other that, as they shared their stories in a feature called "Acts of Kindness." The common thread is that a stranger helped when it was needed most, without thought of a reward and often without leaving a name.Since its debut in December, 2004, "Acts of Kindness" has become a daily fixture at thestar.com. About four thousand stories have ...

Dixie & the Dominion is a compelling look at how the U.S. Civil War was a shared experience that shaped the futures of both Canada and the United States. The book focuses on the last year of the war, between April of 1864 and 1865. During that 12-month period, the Confederate States sent spies and saboteurs to Canada on a secret mission. These agents struck fear along the frontier and threatened to draw Canada and Great Britain into the war.During that same time, Canadians...

The biennial Around Alone yacht race (now known as the 5-Oceans Challenge) is the most thrilling adventure in the world for the sailors passionate enough to undertake it. Among the competitors in 2002 was Derek Hatfield, a former fraud-squad Mountie, whose forty-foot Spirit of Canada had cost him almost everything he had. In this nail-biting account of the race, Adam Mayers brings to life the joys and the agonies of racing alone — and the dreams that drive these men and women to s...

Since the 1940s, Marxist thought has blossomed in Nigeria. The history of 'Naija Marxism' is also that of the country's labour movement, its feminist movement, its social thought and political economy. It has been the mainstay of party politics in the case of illegal Marxist party formations and legal anti-feudalist forces and in the NGO sector. Long gone are the days when Marxism meant imported pamphlets and a disconnected ideology.Drawn from years of research in Nigeria and elsew...

Adam Mayer's Military Marxism: Africa's Contribution to Revolutionary Theory, 1957-2023 explores African Marxist theory and the intellectual merits of Afro-Maxist schools of thought to show how they have developed and impacted sub-Saharan Africa from the Cold War to the present. He also discusses the efficacy of the movements influenced by Marxism and how they are contested today. Through in-depth research, Mayer answers the following questions: Who were the African Marxist intell...

Up-close, personal, and yes, funny — this is the must-have celebrity memoir of the year.This candid, first-person memoir chronicles Russell's life from his humble beginnings in suburbia as a scrawny, brown, bullied kid with ADD all the way to his remarkable rise as one of the world's top-earning comics. This is a shockingly honest book filled with poignant memories of his family, his life and his career. Call Me Russell is a deeply inspirational story for aspiring ...

Selected from 15 years of radio-show archives and re-edited by the author, this onderfully eclectic essay collection gives a glimpse into the thoughtful mind at work behind The Vinyl Cafe. From meditations on peacekeeping to praise for the toothpick, The Vinyl Cafe Notebooks runs the gamut from considered argument to light-hearted opinion. Whether McLean is visiting a forgotten corner of the Canadian Shield, a big-city doughnut factory, or Sir John A. Macdonald's gravesite, his ob...

For ten years, listeners of The Vinyl Cafe have shared their personal stories with Stuart McLean on The Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the segment, Stuart and his long-time radio producer, Jess Milton, have collected their favourites. The result is a wise, wonderful anthology of stories about rituals and romance, road trips and guitar licks, Saturday-night hockey games and Sunday morning pancakes. A story about an exploding outhouse sits right beside one a...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author who is “among the very small group of top-notch true crime writers” (Booklist) comes the eleventh installment of Ann Rule’s Crime Files, exploring heart-stopping true tales of those who commit murder with no conscience, no remorse, and no regrets.A ship’s pilot legendary for guiding giant freighters through the narrows of Puget Sound, Rolf Neslund was a proud Norwegian, a ladies’ man, ...

With 101 heartwarming and inspiring stories by Canadians and for Canadians, this book will delight, amuse, and invigorate Canadian readers.Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada is full of inspirational, amusing, and encouraging stories that will touch the heart of any Canadian. Stories include a wide range of topics written by Canadians, from daily life to Canadian holidays, along with tales from tourists and visitors.

From Lisa Birnbach, the author of The Official Preppy Handbook, comes True Prep, which looks at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapts to the new order of the Internet, cell phones, rehab, political correctness, reality TV, and . . . polar fleece.

Sprung from their hugely successful podcast Canadianity, Taggart (that guy from that band) and Torrens (that guy from that show) share a collection of showbiz tales from the road and relatable everyday anecdotes, all wrapped up in a nostalgic fondness for this great country. Canadianity takes readers on a cross-country journey, shining the spotlight on notable local heroes (or bahds), the best places to crush food and the greasiest watering holes, coast to coast to coast....