On the morning of April 8, 2006, residents of the hamlet of Shedden, Ontario, woke up to the news that the bloodied bodies of eight bikers from the Bandidos gang had been found dead on a local farm. The massacre made headlines around the world, and the shocking news brought a grim light to an otherwise quiet corner of the province. Six Bandidos would eventually be convicted of the first-degree murder of their biker brothers.Like other outlaw bikers, Bandidos portray themselves as m...

The spiritual godfather of Canadian bikers tells the story of his fascinating life.You could call Bernie Guindon the Sonny Barger of Canadian bikers (but not to his face). The founder of Satan's Choice, Guindon led what was in the 1960s the second-largest biker club in the world (after the Hells Angels, which Bernie would join briefly in the early 2000s) to national prominence and international infamy. His life wasn't all bikes and crime. He was also a medalist in ...

On September 4, 1995, several Stoney Point Natives entered Ipperwash Provincial Park, near Sarnia, Ontario, and began a peaceful protest aimed at reclaiming a traditional burial ground. Within seventy-two hours, one of those protestors, Anthony (Dudley) George, was dead, shot by an OPP officer.In One Dead Indian, after covering the tragedy from the beginning, journalist Peter Edwards examines the circumstances surrounding George’s death and asks a number of tough questions...

You may never again think of Canadians as law-abidingRespected crime reporters Peter Edwards and Michel Auger have pooled their research and expertise to create The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime. Sometimes grim, sometimes amusing, and always entertaining, this book is filled with 300 entries and more than 150 illustrations, covering centuries of organized crime. From pirates such as “Black Bart,” who sheltered in isolated Newfoundland coves to s...

The Vietnam War was Australia's longest and most controversial military commitment of the twentieth century, ending in humiliation for theUnited States and its allies with the downfall of South Vietnam. The war provoked deep divisions in Australian society and politics, particularlysince for the first time young men were conscripted for overseas service in a highly contentious ballot system. The Vietnam era is still identified with diplomatic, military and political failure.Was Vie...

1812 was the year in which the Peninsular War swung in the favor of the combined forces of the British, the Spanish and the Portuguese. This was the result of a series of victories over the French gained by the allied armies under Wellington, and this is the subject of Peter Edwardss compelling new history. The year began with Wellington launching a series of raids in Estramadura to distract French attention from preparations for an assault on Ciudad Rodrigo, which was taken in late-Januar...

Jura, Islay and Colonsay sit at the wilder, less visited end of the Hebridean island chain. Jura, in particular, is one of the last genuinely remote walking destinations in the British Isles, with a roadless west coast, the iconic triple summits of the Paps of Jura, and the notorious whirlpool of Corryvreckan drawing walkers seeking something well beyond the ordinary.This comprehensive Cicerone guidebook by Peter Edwards covers 22 day walks and one five-day 89km (5...

Sir Arthur Tange was one of Australia’s most influential public servants during the latter half of the 20th century. This award-winning biography examines the career of a man who served the Chifley, Menzies, Gorton, McMahon, Whitlam and Fraser governments at a time when department heads still wielded considerable power.Reviewing the book in the Australian Financial Review on its initial publication in 2006, Geoffrey Barker declared it was ‘a book that deserves to...

“I’ll regret my actions until my dying day.”Millionaire businessman Jack Gillings is on his deathbed when he hands his father a manuscript chronicling the events that forced their family to move from their home town thirty-two years earlier.When five mates alone in the forest make a decision that will change their lives forever, Jack learns that trust does not always run parallel with preconceived ideology, in events still causing ripples throughout today's society....

György Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre (1974–77, revised 1996) has consolidated its position as one of the major operatic works of the twentieth century. Few operas composed since the 1970s have received such numerous productions, bringing the eclectic score to a global audience. Famously dubbed by Ligeti as an ‘anti-anti-opera’, the piece is a highly ambiguous, apocalyptic fable about the human condition, fear of death and the final judgement. As the first book in English solely dedica...

We all travel; it is only the extent and modes that vary. Whether it is walking to the shop, scooting along in our wheelchair, driving to work or flying internationally we are now more mobile than ever. Travel is not without its challenges though. Some are incidents are infuriating especially when you have a deadline to meet and others are hilarious. Those who travel infrequently often envy those whose work revolves around travel. But it is not all wine and roses. In the last few years of ...

Robert Marsden Hope (191999), a NSW Supreme Court judge, shaped the structures, operations and doctrines of Australia's intelligence agencies more than any other individual.Commissioned by three Prime Ministers to conduct major inquiries, including two royal commissions, Justice Hope prescribed the structures, legislation, operational doctrines, and national and international arrangements that would ensure Australia had agencies that were effective in countering th...