Elizabeth Simcoe's diary, describing Canada from 1791 to 1796, is history written as it was being made. Created largely while she was seated in canoes and bateaux, the diary documents great events in a familiar way and opens our eyes to a side of Canadian history that is too little shown.During her time in Upper Canada (now Ontario), Mrs. Simcoe encountered fascinating figures, such a explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, and Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant. She took particular interest in the...

Voyageur Classics is a series of special versions of Canadian classics, with added material and new introductory notes. In this bundle we find five biographical and autobiographical titles that shed light on some of Canada’s most important figures at crucial times in the country’s development. William Kilbourn brings to life the rebel Canadian hero William Lyon Mackenzie: able political editor, first mayor of Toronto, and the gadfly of the House of Assembly. The Scalpel, the Sword...

When Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was gunned down in February 1932, he went to his death without anyone knowing who he really was—most people believed the name "Albert Johnson" was an alias. He'd eluded a well-organized, well-equipped posse for seven weeks, surviving solely on wits and determination in the bitter cold of a Canadian Arctic winter. Some 75 years later, he was being pursued again, this time by a team of filmmakers and forensic scientists bent on determining h...

This special three-book bundle tells the story of the mystery of Oak Island, Nova Scotia, where in 1795 three boys discovered the top of an ancient shaft. Two hundred years of courage, back-breaking effort, ingenuity, and engineering skills have failed to retrieve what is concealed there. Theories of what the treasure could be include Captain Kidd’s bloodstained pirate gold, an army payroll left by the French or British military engineers, priceless ancient manuscripts, the body of an Arif...

According to Wikipedia: "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages. Burton's best-known achievements include trave...

Between 1959 and 1966, the late CBC Radio journalist Imbert Orchard travelled across British Columbia with recording engineer Ian Stephen interviewing nearly a thousand of the province’s pioneers. The resulting collection - 2,700 hours of audiotapes describing both extraordinary events and everyday experiences - is considered by historians to be one of the best sources of primary information about the province. To the general public, however, the tales in these tapes remain virtually unkno...

As Bob and Mildred Lee, they amazed audiences with their death-defying motorcycle act. In reality they were Bob and Mildred Restall, parents of three, who balanced their glamorous show-business career with a happy, stable home life.In October 1959, the Restalls embarked on the ultimate family adventure, as Bob led his family to the east coast of Canada to dig for the famous treasure of Oak Island. For nearly six years they lived without telephone, hydro, or running water while news...

From 1919 to 1970, Olaf Hanson was a trapper, fur trader, prospector, game guardian, fisherman, and road blasting expert in northeastern Saskatchewan. He told his life story to popular Saskatchewan author A. L. Karras, who wrote this historical memoir in the 1980s. In an uncompromising, straightforward style, Karras and Hanson reveal the geography, wildlife, natural history of the region as well as the business and social interactions between people. Their book offers a look at the vanishe...

In the barren lands of Canada far north of the Arctic circle, summers are quick and cool, mere short interruptions in the true business of the polar regions, winter. Winters there can be dangerous with temperatures that plunge to awesome depths during the long, lonely hours of Arctic darkness. Powerful blizzards shriek across the land for days at a time, causing all animal life to seek shelter from the cutting blast, essentially putting a temporary end to normal activities of life, such as...

The working life of the distinguished surveyor Guy Blanchet reflects the story of northern Canada in the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning his career in the boreal forests of Alberta and Saskatchewan, using pack horses and dog teams, Blanchet went north to map large areas of the Barrens by canoe, and soon became caught up in pioneer northern aviation. His story encompasses the Great Depression and the Second World War, which in turn led to his work finding the routes for oil p...

Hiram Percy Maxim was an American radio pioneer and inventor. He was the son of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Machine gun. In addition, he was the nephew of Hudson Maxim, an inventor of explosives and ballistic propellants.A Genius in the Family is a memoir about his relationship with his father. Like father, like son, invention runs in this family. The memoir is a fascinating read about the balance of inventions and fatherhood.Expertly formatted with a linked table of conten...

After three decades of hard work Carola and Elmar, her husband and captain, are about to fulfil their lifelong dream: To sail south on Ashanti, their CS 36T sailboat. Despite their misgivings of abandoning house and family, and whether their boat and 33-year marriage will survive the adventure, they risk storms and gales to traverse the tumultuous Great Lakes to Florida and the Bahamas.This journey, like life itself, may not all be smooth sailing, but together they discover many hi...