Dundurn Press

After years working in homicide, retired Toronto detective Steve Ryan reflects on six cases he will never forget.

Retired detective Steve Ryan worked in Toronto’s homicide squad for over a decade. For Ryan, the stories of Toronto’s most infamous crimes were more than just a headline read over morning coffee — they were his everyday life.

After investigating over one hundred homicides, Ryan can never forget the tragedies and the victims, even after his retirement from the police force. In The Ghosts That Haunt Me, he reflects on six of the many cases that greatly impacted him — seven people whose lives were senselessly taken — and that he still thinks about nearly every day. While the stories are hard to tell for Ryan, they were harder to live through. Yet somewhere between the crimes and the heartache is a glimmer of hope that good eventually does prevail and that healing can come after grief.

Although many adults believe they have had encounters with strange creatures from alien spaceships, not everyone has actually reported their experiences to official investigators. But if you're a young person it's even less likely that people will believe you and more likely that your story will never be officially recorded. After all, who would believe a kid?

I Saw It Too! is the first collection of stories told by children, documenting what they saw and when they saw it. These accounts are real cases of UFOs they've seen or alien creatures they've encountered that were reported to government or military officials, UFO investigators, and journalists.

Inside you will find eighteen of these strange, fascinating, and believable tales recounted by young people from around the world with story illustrations by Stacey Archer with Lonigan Gilbert. The truth is really out there, and renowned ufologist Chris Rutkowski has tracked it down!

From the award-winning author of The Polished Hoe comes this delightful memoir about the trials, joys, and ultimate disillusionment of a small Barbadian boy experiencing British colonialism in the 1940s. Alive with the warmth and colour of the Caribbean, singing with the lilting cadence of Barbadian speech, this is renowned author Austin Clarke’s own story–the story of the trails, joys, and ultimate disillusionment of a small Barbadian boy experiencing British colonialism in the 1940’s. Authentic and vivid, Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack details the life of a boy whose mother struggled against insurmountable odds, yet succeeded in giving her son the best available education. It is a dazzling account of a slow, dogged climb upward in a society whose rigid customs, rules and expectations were imported from England and accepted almost without question by the islanders. It is the story of a boy bent on making his mark in that society, despite the cruelty of British schoolmasters and the incongruity of studying for his Senior Cambridge examinations in a mango tree–his improvised study–in a vast field of sugar cane. Throughout this first volume of Clarke’s autobiography courses his irrepressible exhilaration with life itself, his deep delight in the antic humour of people who populated his childhood, and his unshakable pride in his heritage.

A devoted and powerful champion of Canadian arts and culture, David Silcox has a life story that dazzles with tales beyond the easel and canvas.

“An affectionate portrait of a man who — through enthusiasm, charm and an unparalleled network — had an extraordinary impact of Canada’s cultural evolution.” — Charlotte Gray, author of The Massey Murder

Son of a Prairie Dust Bowl preacher, David Silcox rose through the ranks of the Canadian cultural establishment to promote Canadian artists internationally.

From his early days as the first Arts Officer of the Canada Council in the mid-1960s, to his position as Deputy Minister of Culture for the province of Ontario in the late 1980s, to his command of Sotheby’s Canada in the last decade of the century, David Silcox supported the successes of visual artists such as Tom Thomson, Christopher Pratt, Harold Town, and David Milne. With the eye of a practised treasure seeker, he was responsible for the return of a number of Canadian art gems by artists such as Paul Kane and Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven back to native soil.

This first-ever biography of David Silcox showcases a champion of Canadian art through his life and efforts to elevate artists from home around the world.

A nostalgic look back at fifty years of children’s television from the beloved — Polka Dot Door, Mr. Dressup, Today’s Special — to the bizarre — Kiddo the Clown, Coming Up Rosie, Maniac Mansion.

“ImagiNation took me down memory lane, sharing behind-the-scenes stories about the shows that coloured my world when I was a kid.” — Erica Ehm, former MuchMusic VJ

From the time CBC sputtered onto screens in 1952, children’s television has been at the centre of Canada’s cultural output. The country’s first television host was an ornery puppet named Chichimus, who set the stage for future Toronto-based puppeteers, producers, directors, and actors to make children’s television their own. With the studios of CBC, TVOntario, CFTO, and eventually YTV all located in Toronto, the city’s televisual output was staggering and fed by the imagination and hard work of the local talent.

Featuring over one hundred children’s programs broadcast between 1950 and 2000, ImagiNation is a memory-filled trip for anyone who spent their weekdays after school or Saturday mornings staring at the idiot box. The story of each Toronto-produced series is covered — from inception through production to broadcast — along with the tales of local stations and the people who made it all happen.

Fans of The Friendly Giant, Degrassi Junior High, Readalong, YTV, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Agnes, and much more will find their favourites — plus shows they’ve forgotten they loved (or loathed). Whether you adored Pearl Van Oyster, Hammy Hamster, the Fraggles, or the Grogs, ImagiNation is a trip you won’t want to miss.

• Can white men jump now?
• Have three-pointers become the new layup?
• Should traditional ten-foot rims be raised?
• Who is the GOAT?
• Why is Canada a basketball hot spot?
• Is the WNBA the next big thing?
• Are hip hop and hoops kissing cousins?

Fascinating stories of the age-old tug-of-war between prisons struggling to keep inmates inside and escapees desperate to get out.

A convict who returned to the prison he had recently escaped from in a vain attempt to foment a mass breakout; a murderer on the run who veered from folk hero to persona non grata after killing a police dog; a fugitive from the United States who was seized in Canada after being featured on America’s Most Wanted; a repeat escapee who shot himself, preferring death to recapture; a serial killer on the prowl in a small community — these are just a few of the felons whose prison break escapades continue to enthral and terrify.

Along with probing the origins, structure, and shortcomings of a variety of historic and contemporary correctional institutions, On the Lam brings into sharp focus the attempts — sometimes successful, occasionally deadly — of masterminds, tricksters, scoundrels, and innocents to claw their way to freedom.

• Stop overthinking and make smarter career decisions faster using research-backed tools.
• Land better jobs with unconventional strategies that help you stand out from the crowd.
• Bounce back from setbacks using science-backed techniques for resilience and antifragility.
• Future-proof your career by mastering human skills AI can’t replace, like storytelling, judgment, and influence.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau takes on the Quebec Question with a bang, not a whimper.

In Max and Monique Nemni’s third and final volume of their Pierre Elliott Trudeau biography, the man who would be statesman is granted his life’s wish. In his fifteen years as prime minister of Canada, Trudeau oversaw the controversial White Paper of 1969 on Indigenous policy, the fateful October Crisis of 1970, and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution together with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In retirement, he exercised immense influence over Canada’s later constitutional politics and was principally responsible for defeating both the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords during the government of Brian Mulroney.

Loved and hated in almost equal measure, Trudeau was an iconoclast, shaking up Canada’s two solitudes as no other prime minister has ever dared to do. In this meticulously researched and argued political biography, Pierre Trudeau is seen wrestling with the most difficult — and momentous — decisions of his career.

How deep does corporate dominance go in Canada? The second book in Nora Loreto’s landmark series dives into the corporate web spun around Canada’s economy, society, and politics.

The joke goes that Canada is three mining companies in a trench coat. Or three oil companies in a trench coat. Or three telecom companies in a trench coat. It’s funny because it’s almost true: a handful of corporations exert a disproportionate amount of power over Canadian democracy.

Corporate profits are at a record high, and the divide between the rich and the poor has never been wider. Canadians are struggling with affordability, the housing crisis, and wages that don’t cover basic needs. The combination of these forces is a pressure cooker that politicians have promised to tackle, except they can’t: they are too restricted by corporate power to confront the roots of the problems Canadians face.

The first book in the Canada in Decline series examines the rise and fall of Canada’s social safety net. In this next volume, Loreto goes further, identifying why Canadian politicians seem impotent in the face of corporate Canada.

Fully revised with new destinations to explore, renowned travel personality Robin Esrock curates Canada’s most unique and memorable experiences.

Having reported from over 120 countries on seven continents, award-winning travel journalist Robin Esrock has spent decades chasing the extraordinary. In the latest, fully updated edition of his bestselling book, Robin journeys to every province and territory to reveal the inspiring activities and destinations one must do — and can only do — in Canada.

Get ready to:

• feel the hot breath of a polar bear
• sail in the Galápagos of the North
• backcountry horseback ride in the Rockies
• hike the East Coast and West Coast Trails
• ice canoe across the St. Lawrence River
• taste the world’s most memorable cocktail
• cruise across the Northwest Passage
• float in Canada’s very own Dead Sea
• and much more …

With his trademark storytelling, humour, and curiosity, Robin Esrock celebrates Canadian travel experiences that are absolutely unique, instantly memorable, wholly inspirational, and waiting to be discovered.

• Timely topic: As wildfires become a seasonal threat, this book celebrates the technology and the people involved in aerial firefighting and gives insight into the dangers and heroism involved
• Showcases people and the airplanes that have revolutionized wildfire fighting, giving an accessible history of the evolution of our ability to fight wildfires
• Author is Canada's foremost aviation history author, and has a deep knowledge of the world of airplanes

Your brand is the most important part of your business — it’s a living thing. Learn to find, shape, and share your brand story with the world.


Consider this: every individual and business tells a story to the world, and that story is their brand. It’s alive, constantly developing, experienced in real time by everyone around it. Now ask yourself, Are you consciously shaping and broadcasting that brand story? Is it under your diligent care and control, or is it running amok, causing chaos everywhere it goes? Or, perhaps even more tragic, is it sitting in a corner sulking, wondering why no one notices it?

BrandJitsu™ is a practical and effective way to strengthen your living brand, like a muscle, so that it tells the story you want it to tell — a meaningful and memorable tale that will not just attract the attention of your ideal customers but also the best employees, partners, and suppliers.

Mastering BrandJitsu™ won’t take years. It’s a skill that can be quickly learned and applied as soon as you finish reading this book. It teaches you to sharpen your focus, strategically align your brand’s DNA, and ensure your story is not just heard but felt, leaving a lasting impression on everyone it touches.

The shocking crimes of a trusted teacher wrought lasting damage on Inuit communities in Canada’s Arctic.

In the 1970s, a young schoolteacher from British Columbia was becoming the darling of the Northwest Territories education department with his dynamic teaching style. He was learning to speak the local language, Inuktitut, something few outsiders did. He also claimed to be Indigenous — a claim that would later prove to be false. In truth, Edward Horne was a pedophile who sexually abused his male students.

From 1971 to 1985 his predations on Inuit boys would disrupt life in the communities where he worked — towns of close-knit families that would suffer the intergenerational trauma created by his abuse.

Journalist Kathleen Lippa, after years of research, examines the devastating impact the crimes had on individuals, families, and entire communities. Her compelling work lifts the veil of silence surrounding the Horne story once and for all.

The remarkable story of how one ship — doomed by war — intersected lives and crossed into history.

Completed in 1913 for Canadian Pacific, the Empress of Asia plied the oceans for nearly 30 years. Built for long-haul ocean travel during peace-time, she saw wartime service as an armed merchant cruiser and troopship before Japanese dive-bombers destroyed her in 1942.

Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, she brought continents and people together, delivering mail and multimillion-dollar consignments of silk. As a luxurious passenger liner, she was a “Greyhound of the Pacific,” braving epic storms and smashing transpacific speed records. From stokehold to bridge, steerage to first-class staterooms, she steamed with a kaleidoscope of lives, including courageous and recalcitrant crew, immigrants and refugees seeking a better life or relief from disaster, drug smugglers, weapons dealers, and the idle and not-so-idle rich.

This is the dramatic story of how that one ship and the lives of those on board intersected during a tumultuous period of world history, culminating in her sinking off Singapore in the Second World War.

A provocative and revealing look at the scandals and corruption behind the Sweet Science’s greatest fights.

Controversy is the one constant running throughout modern boxing’s history since its inception in England during the seventeenth century. Boxing’s Greatest Controversies takes an incisive look at some of the highest profile fights in history — from the infamous and racially charged Jack Johnson vs. Tommy Burns fight in 1908 to the shocking Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield fight in 1997 — laying to rest many of the popular rumours surrounding them while also considering the social, cultural, political, and sporting impacts of these fights on the world stage. Did the eras shape the fights or did the fights shape the eras? Boxing history is vibrant and continuous and its controversies never end — they just get passed down to the next generation of fight fans. These prized bouts are among the most enduring and notorious fights boxing has ever produced.

• The police procedural series is perfect for fans of Louise Penny or Tana French
• Author is a former psychologist who brings a deep knowledge of human motivation to her characters that makes for riveting, character-driven classic police procedurals light on violence and high on emotional depth

Praise for Shipwrecked Souls:

“Two families with ancient wartime secrets collide in this riveting return of the beloved Inspector Green... A beautifully told story.” — Iona Whishaw, bestselling author of the Lane Winslow Mysteries

Does the past define who we are, who we become?

In April 1942, Suzanne’s mother was an eight-month-old baby when her family was torn from their home in Victoria, British Columbia. Arriving at Vancouver’s Hastings Park, they bunked in horse stalls for months before being removed to an incarceration camp in the Slocan Valley. After the Second World War, forced resettlement scattered Japanese families across Canada, leading to high intermarriage rates and an erosion of ethnicity. Loss of heritage language impeded the sharing of stories, contributing to strained generational relationships and a conflict between Eastern and Western values.

This hybrid memoir and fourth-generation narrative of the Japanese Canadian experience celebrates family, places, and traditions. Steeped in history and cultural arts, it includes portraits of family and community members — people who, in rebuilding their lives, made lasting contributions to the Toronto landscape and triumphed over adversity.

The entrepreneur Time magazine called “the Bad Boy of banking” is back with crucial insights about the importance of business culture in a dizzyingly complex global marketplace.

In business, breaking rules is easy. What’s really hard is what comes next: building the right company culture — the lifeblood of effective leadership. In a complex, 24-7 globalized marketplace, how do you answer the question “Who are we?” Culture-driven leadership is as much about the why as the how. Long-term and short-term. Reacting and reflecting. It means identifying, creating, and sustaining a company culture. For a culture-driven leader, spending time “above the clouds,” or finding the sweet spot of perspective, can make all the difference.

Entrepreneur and pioneering financial services CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann offers a seasoned antidote to navigating blind through our increasingly competitive landscape. Drawing on ten key principles from his time at ING Direct and his many years’ experience on the front lines of innovative customer-focused leadership, Kuhlmann explores real-world leadership challenges and both the bullseyes and missteps of Disney’s Robert Iger and Starbucks’s Howard Schultz, as well as Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and others. Kuhlmann makes a compelling case for how leaders can use the right culture to meet the formidable challenges that lie ahead.

In the end, it’s about making leadership count. And making a difference.

Do you know who was in the first on-screen nude scene in a Canadian feature film? Or which David Cronenberg film was raided for obscenity? Why was Oliver Reed arrested while shooting The Brood ? Which iconic Canadian television series was syndicated in over fifty different countries? Which Canadian film critic wrote a full-page retraction after reconsidering a positive review he gave a film? And what role did Canada play in the creation of Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider?

With an eye for the unique and the absurd, 101 Fascinating Canadian Film & TV Facts, from one of Canada’s leading film critics, is a lively and humorous look at the best and the worst, the firsts and the lasts, and the groundbreaking truths behind Canada’s film and television industry.