Reference

Plan your wedding without the weight of outdated customs and get hitched in a way that is authentic, fun, and true to who you are.

From the minute couples become engaged, they are pressured to buy into a one-size-fits-all wedding. By breaking down the antiquated traditions of that #blessedweddingday, The New Wedding Book will help you and your betrothed throw those icky traditions to the curb in honour of having the wedding of your actual dreams — not the one you've been force-fed for decades by the wedding-industrial complex.

Inspiring couples to plan their wedding in a way that is meaningful to them, Bilodeau and Cleveland debunk the manufactured traditions, advocate for realistic budgets, offer brilliant advice from real-life couples, and confront the crushing pressure for weddings to be perfect.

The Write Track is a personal and practical look at the author's freelance experience as she tells how she made it from uncertain early days to the growing confidence of a veteran. This guide is packed with the information a freelance writer needs to know, including:

• a writer's self-evaluation
• profits from brainwaves
• details of the writing life and the writing business
• a writer's rights and responsibilities
• and those important "first steps" into the freelance world

If you want to make a living as a freelance writer in Canada, you need to read The Write Track.

From the engagement to the honeymoon, the act of getting married is surrounded with tradition and superstition. In All About Weddings, the ultimate question-and-answer book on matrimony, light is shed on the mysteries behind the rituals and rites of marriage; the past, present, and future of the enduring ceremony are explored worldwide; and the meaning of everything from boutonniere and confetti to woo and wet bargain is explained. Along the way you'll also discover:

• What is the origin of the word "wedding"
• Why does the bride throw her bouquet?
• What is a shivaree?
• Why are cakes served at weddings?
• Where did the expression "tie the knot" come from?
• Why does a bride have bridesmaids?
• How did the custom of a dowry originate?
• How did "stag parties" originate?
• What is the highest-grossing wedding movie of all time?

• Where did the word Canuck come from?
• How did an aristocratic French girl become a Canadian Robinson Crusoe?
• What famous explorer played hockey in the Arctic?
• Who was the first black woman elected to Canada’s Parliament?
• What unlikely team beat Canada for the gold medal for hockey in the 1936 Winter Olympics?
• How did the Halifax Explosion occur?

We guarantee this collection of Canadian quizzes is Y2K-proof. After all, asking tricky questions of friends and family is older than recorded time and certainly pre-dates computers. But take care. The making and doing of quizzes can start as a novelty, quickly move into a pastime, and then become an obsession. And before you know it, quizzing has become a habit that will last well into the next millennium and probably beyond.

There are many kinds of quizzes, ranging from divertissements to tests. There is a little bit of both in Quizzing Canada, for our goal is to entertain and to inform. We've organized the quizzes thematically around holidays, both ancient and modern, and devised the questions to test your knowledge and pique your curiosity about elusive lore and customs. Most of all, this book is meant to be fun. Entertain your companions on long car trips, test your parents' knowledge of historical trivia, use it as a teaching tool, but most of all, have a good time.

Canada has given the world the real Winnie the Pooh, the phrase "Beatlemania," and the man who invented the Academy Awards. If it weren't for Canada, we might not have the pie-in-the-face gag, basketball, time zones, or the dotted white line on the middle of highways.

And anyone who still thinks Canada is dull obviously doesn't know about the Canadian who was the longest serving prisoner on Alcatraz, or the night that members of Parliament threw books and toy balloons at each other during a wild debate in the House of Commons. The Great Canadian Trivia Book explores the noteworthy and the notorious, the factual and the phenomenal, the obscure and outlandish sides of the Great White North.

In the middle of the conservative 1950s, rock and roll hit popular culture like an explosion — a Big Bang, Baby! And the fallout from that explosion is still electrifying music fans today.

Popular music expert Richard Crouse has ventured deep into the far reaches of rock history to bring together this dynamic collection of facts and oddities. Big Bang, Baby will entertain and enlighten music fans of all eras and will challenge even experienced rock trivia junkies.

The Bible has had a profound impact on the world. Now Doug Lennox, the vicar of Q&A, serves up an entertaining but informative slice of biblical lore, literature, and history. Discover the top four box office successes for biblical-themed movies in North America, find out what The Matrix and Moby-Dick have in common with the Bible, and learn quirky insights into many of the Good Book’s major and minor cast of characters and fabled events. You’ll “eat, drink, and be merry” with this collection of minutiae showcasing highlights of the bestselling book of all time!

• Who is the only left-handed person mentioned in the Bible?
• Who asked Jesus Christ to perform his first recorded miracle?
• How many passages has God said to have written in the Bible?
• Who was taken up to heaven in a “chariot of fire”?
• What caused Moses to break the tablets of the Ten Commandments?
• How many versions of the Bible are there?

Did you know that Canada's Criminal Code still has provisions outlawing the practice of witchcraft and "crafty sciences"? Did you know that blasphemy is a crime in Canada? And did you know that putting a picture of a red poppy on your website could get you in trouble with the Royal Canadian Legion?

Lawyer and author Bob Tarantino takes readers on an entertaining and informative romp through Canada's legal labyrinths in a book that spotlights the country's past and present strange-but-true laws and legal history. He examines odd statutes and arcane jurisprudence across the spectrum of Canadian endeavours, from war and religion to sex and culture to politics and business. Frequently, he demonstrates the parallels between yesterday's prohibitions and today's trends such as the edict against duelling and the legalities of twenty-first-century hockey slugfests, or the confiscation of so-called crime comics in the 1950s and the controversy surrounding violence in contemporary video games.

Q. Who's got the answer to the greatest brainteasers in Canadian sports?

A. Ed Zawadzki Canada's sports trivia guru.

Back for a second edition of the smash hit The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book, Ed Zawadzki has come up with more fascinating facts and long-forgotten legends.

- Who was the first Canadian professional wrestling champion?

- What was the largest suspension in NHL history?

- What Canadian was the first pitcher to throw both left-handed and right handed in a major league game?

The answers are right here in The Ulitimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book, Volume II.

The latest book by Canada’s Trivia Guys is an entertaining where-are-they-now look at the fate of some 100 celebrities, newsmakers, and significant artifacts from this country’s past. Lake Ontario swimmer Marilyn Bell, CFL legend Russ Jackson, Canada’s first automobile, and Roger Woodward, a boy who survived the waters of Niagara Falls more than 40 years ago, are among those tracked down. Long after making headlines or burrowing their way into our collective consciousness, these Canadian icons have travelled different roads or in some cases kept more quietly to the path that gained them attention in the first place.

Kearney and Ray spice up their stories with dozens of fascinating facts. With website links to further information, this book is a great resource to learn more about Canada’s heritage.

Do you know which televised awards show gives a prize for "Favourite Smile"?

Or which Oscar host announced that he was going to raffle off a car during the ceremony?

Do you know who won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress of the 20th Century?

In Reel Winners, Richard Crouse, Reel to Real movie critic and CBC Radio's "titan of trivia," gives you the lowdown on movie awards, from eight decades of Hollywood self-congratulation to international awards to the toasts from the fringe (like The Skinnies, which celebrate actors and their skin conditions). Reel Winners is the definitive guide to the inside scoop on movie awards.

Building on the success of his previous bestsellers, Now You Know, Now You Know More, and Now You Know Almost Everything, this fourth volume is headed straight for the bestseller list! It is Doug Lennox at his best as he masterfully dispenses the answers to quirky questions, never losing sight of the joy of discovering the "why" of ordinary things.

Discover the fascinating histories behind people, places, and words:

WHY DO WE SAY THAT SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN TREATED BADLY HAS BEEN "HUNG OUT TO DRY"?

Discipline on early British sailing ships was necessary but often extreme. The cat-o'-nine-tails left sailors scarred for life, but keelhauling (tying a victim with a rope and pulling him under a ship) was feared most. If the prisoner survived, he was suspended from a yardarm where he was left hanging for a predetermined period of time.

WHY IS A MILITARY DINING HALL CALLED A "MESS"?

The term goes back to the Middle Ages, when British sailors began calling their meagre and often grub-infested meals a "mess." It evolved into meaning the general area where the sailors gathered to eat. Later it referred to a specific area where men gathered to eat, drink, and socialize.

"When it rains, it pours," especially when it comes to best-selling author Doug Lennox's Now You Know Extreme Weather. Global warming, killer hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, melting permafrost -- weather concerns us all, and now with this tightly packed compenium of questions and answers, everyone can get the lowdown on things like:

What makes a perfect storm perfect?

Where's the world's hottest place?

Why was Hurricane Katrina so destructive?

Shiver me timbers and avast ye hearties! We think we know pirates, from Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow to Errol Flynn as Captain Blood, or literature's Long John Silver and Captain Hook. But what do we really know? The true Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Sir Henry Morgan, and lots more, from ancient keelhauling to twenty-first-century buccaneering, are all here in Q & A commodore Doug Lennox's Now You Know Pirates. Arrrr!

• What is the origin of the word pirate?
• Who were the Barbary Corsairs?
• What did pirates do to St. Patrick?
• What is the difference between a pirate and a privateer?
• What is the Oak Island Treasure?
• How many female pirates have there been?
• What are "pieces of eight" and "doubloons"?
• Who were the buccaneers?
• How old is piracy?

As Canadians, we all think we know hockey inside and out, but Doug Lennox, the head referee of Q&A, delivers the score on everything from All-Stars to Zambonis and stickhandles the skinny on who wore the first mask in hockey, how the term hat trick originated, and just where hockey was invented. Along the way, you’ll discover all sorts of fascinating things about the giants of the game, from Jean Beliveau and Sidney Crosby to Gordie Howe and Alexander Ovechkin.

• Who was the first black player in the NHL?
• Where did the word deke come from?
• What was the greatest women's hockey team of all time?
• How did the Rocket Richard riot start?
• Who was the first Russian to play in the NHL?
• When was the Stanley Cup not awarded?
• What team beat Canada for the gold medal in the 1936 Winter Olympics?

The phenomenal success of the Now You Know and Now You Know More has encouraged this third Book of Answers. Now You Know Almost Everything continues with the same formula of dispensing knowledge concisely, never losing sight of the joy and fun of discovering the why of ordinary things.

In Now You Know Almost Everything you will discover answers to hundreds of questions:

• Why can't grooms see their bride on the day before the wedding?
• Why is a swindle called a "double-cross"?
• Why do people say, "That's all she wrote"?
• Where did the word "Canuck" come from?

Now You Know Almost Everything makes sure that you just about know it all.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and tidal waves, fires, mine cave-ins, bridge collapses, ship sinkings, airplane crashes, explosions, and plagues — natural and human-engineered calamity and catastrophe have many forms and guises. In Now You Know Disasters, Q & A ringmaster Doug Lennox showcases the what, why, when, where, who, and how of everything that's gone tragically and terribly wrong, past and present.

• How does a tsunami occur?
• Why do Canadian engineers wear iron rings?
• Who was Richter in the Richter scale?
• What was the worst freshwater ship disaster ever in North America?
• What is wildfire?
• Who was Typhoid Mary?
• How is "ring around the rosie" related to disaster?
• How did the Halifax Explosion occur?
• What was the worlds worst airplane crash?

From oversized socks filled with treats to firs in living rooms and strange stories and songs, Christmas makes us all scratch our heads now and then. Now You Know Christmas will help everyone make sense of the holiday season, with answers to questions like:

How fast would Santa have to travel in order to deliver toys to all the children in the world in one night?

Why are Christmas songs called "carols"?

Why did the Wise Men bring gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts?

This is a follow-up to last year's runaway bestseller Now You Know ... The Book of Answers, which went through five printings and sold over 20,000 copies!

Why do we shout "Fore" on a golf course? Why is confetti thrown at a wedding? Exactly how long is a "moment" or a "jiffy"? Why is breaking a mirror bad luck, and a rabbit's foot good luck?

In this second book, Lennox continues to trace the concise and fascinating history and reasons for hundreds of expressions in our everyday language, as well as customs and habits, in the same entertaining format that was so successful last year. These gems are from the original syndicated radio scripts broadcast daily to millions across Canada through the Sound Source Network of Standard Broadcasting.

Why are golf assistants called caddies? Why do the British drive on the left and North Americans on the right? Why is football played on a "gridiron," and a leg injury called a "Charlie horse"? The answers to these questions and the origins of hundreds of other expressions and customs are brought together in this fascinating collection of the history behind everyday words and routines. With all the conciseness of his original radio scripts, Doug Lennox "cuts to the quick" in telling you the things you always wanted to know.

Everybody seems to be a golfer or at least knows someone who is. The game is one of the world’s most popular sports, and now Doug Lennox, the links pro of Q&A, hits the green with a barrage of golfing trivia on everything from albatrosses and barkies to Vardon grips and zingers. All the titans, male and female, take a swing, including Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Kathy Whitworth, Vijay Singh, Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, and, of course, Tiger Woods.

• What is the oldest playing golf course in the world?
• Where was golf invented?
• How does the term sandbagger connect golf with criminals?
• What member of British royalty introduced golf to Continental Europe?
• Who was the first female golfer to compete in a major men’s professional match?
• What type of golf club did astronaut Alan Shepard use on the moon?

With hit cop TV dramas like the various CSI and Law and Order shows, Bones and Criminal Minds. everybody seems to think they're a forensics expert. But what do we really know? Now, with Now You Know Crime Scenes, we can all get the dope on:

How long does it really take to analyze a DNA sample?

Who started the first forensics laboratory?

Who invented criminal profiling?

How do you do a walk-through?

Once again Doug Lennox, the toastmaster of trivia, serves up a mammoth selection of some of his most cherished Q&As culled from his previous books. Also featured in this wide-ranging compendium are 150 brand-new questions answered with Doug's inimitable flair for unearthing intriguing arcana on everything from animals and the arts to superstitions and show business. Customs, conventions, expressions, everyday words, rituals, and traditions -- Doug has dug deep to deliver the goods on a vast array of perplexing subjects.

• Why is a warm autumn called "Indian summer"?
• What is the origin of "nicknames"?
• Why is a decorated parade vehicle called a "float"?
• Why is the rubber around a car wheel called a "tire"?
• Why are sailors known as "tars"?
• Why is a bad dream called a "nightmare"?
• Why are published periodicals called "magazines"?

Every day Canadians buy groceries at Sobey's, develop film at Black's, or grab a coffee at Tim Horton's without giving it a second thought. These brands are in our lives and in the public eye. We're familiar with the names, but what do we really know about the people who lie behind them? I Know That Name! will answer these questions for you. It's full of fun facts, intriguing trivia, and engrossing explorations of more than one hundred Canadian men and women who beat the odds to become household names, including Timothy Eaton, Laura Secord, and J.L. Kraft.

Did a Canadian kill famed escape artist Harry Houdini? Are the streets of Yellowknife really paved with gold? What was Canada's connection to those famous "Paul McCartney is dead" rumours of the late 1960s? And just how long does it take a drop of water to flow from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean?

The Great Canadian Trivia Book II brings you all these answers and more. In the much-anticipated sequel to their bestseller, The Great Canadian Trivia Book, award-winning writers Mark Kearney and Randy Ray dig even deeper into Canada's curious characters, storied past, natural phenomena, cultural idiosyncrasies, and the peculiarities of our leisurely pursuits.

In the pages of this intriguing book, you'll discover the Canadian who was responsible for introducing the glove to professional baseball, the story behind Canada's blue two-dollar bill, how the robbery phrase "hands up" was connected to Canada, and whether a goalie can take a face-off in a hockey game.

Think it's unlikely a Canadian might have been president of the United States? That Sir John A. Macdonald was the only one in his family to achieve political fame? Or that a Canadian rock group would turn down a chance to play at the famous Woodstock festival of 1969? The Great Canadian Trivia Book II will have you thinking again. And again.

Did you hear the one about the canal builder who forgot canals need water? The battle where everyone ran away? Or the boat made of ice, and the town that mixed up time? How about the shovel invented for soldiers with a hole in it? Colossal Canadian Failures is a lighthearted look at Canada's unsung heroes the eccentrics, the failures, the misguided, and the just plain overoptimistic who never met an idea they could resist, no matter how crazy. From engineering blunders to business and political failures and more, Colossal Canadian Failures provides a muchneeded ego boost for anyone who thinks they've said "oops" one too many times.

Sure, Canada was built on dreams and hard work, but it was also built on failure - mix-ups, mistakes, screw-ups, and boondoggles. Failing at things, and laughing about them, has long been a characteristic of our citizens.

Where else but in Canada would governments send farmers to land that couldn't be farmed? Where else would an argument over the metric system almost result in the death of hundreds? Who else but Canadians would march against non-existent enemies? Where else would lumberjacks be used to defend the borders?

Are there politicians better than ours at spending millions, against all odds and good advice, on things that just won't work? Is there any nation better at re-electing those politicians no matter what they do? What other country should adopt as its national slogan "If we don't laugh, we'll cry"?

Here are more of the things that seemed like a good idea at the time.

What are "snow worms"?

Are there more moose than people in the Yukon?

What is the meaning of the word "Niagara"?

Where will you find the world's largest perogy?

Does Elvis have a street in Ottawa named after him?

What was Pierre Elliott Trudeau's favourite snack food?

Which province was the last to shift traffic from the left-hand side of the road to the right?

These are some of the questions that are asked - and answered - in 1000 Questions About Canada. Every reader with an ounce (or a gram) of curiosity will find these intriguing questions and thoughtful answers fascinating to read and ponder. This book is for people who love curious lore and who want to know more about the country in which they live.

Few people have read as widely in the field of Canadiana as has John Robert Colombo. The curiosity of this Toronto writer, editor, and anthologist knows few if any bounds when it comes to the lore, literature, history, culture, and character of Canada. He has an inquiring mind and he seems able to find national and even international twists to subjects of interest or importance.

Fascinating Canada, his latest book, is the product of over half a century of research, reading, writing, and thinking. Some years ago the author produced a trilogy of question-and-answer books 1,000 Questions about Canada, 999 Questions about Canada, 1,000 Questions about Canada. The first two were published by Doubleday Canada, the third one in 2001 by Dundurn Press. The same format is adapted to the material in the present book, but this time the majority of the questions are short whereas a good many of the answers are quite long discussions of the subjects at hand: concise questions followed by considered answers.

Here is a book about the Canadian past, present, and future. The information in Fascinating Canada is organized under four headings (People, Places, Things, Ideas) and there is a detailed Index for ready reference. This book may serve as a work of popular reference, but it has been written to stimulate inquiry and spark the sense of surprise in the minds of readers who know something about this amazing country but perhaps not as much as the author. Open this book and begin to read … and match wits with author and researcher John Robert Colombo.

Here in one big book is all the trivia and facts about Canada anyone needs to know. The Big Book is jam-packed with facts and stories. There are stories of important Canadian artifacts and history including what became of Canada's World War II spy camp. All regions and provinces are covered, as well as important Canadian figures like John Molson, Elizabeth Arden and Russ Jackson. If that isn't enough there will also be pieces explaining whatever happened to such Canadian icons as the last spike, the first skidoo and the first Tim Hortons donut shop. Some of the items are "classics." Others are little known facts. Approximately 25% of the material has never before appeared in print. This fascinating Big Book brings together for the first time in one package the most notable facts and trivia from the archives of the trivia guys' collection.

While baseball is touted as America's favourite pastime, everyone will know the score with this grand slam of Q&A that's sure to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Doug Lennox hammers it out of the park by filling us in on who's won the most Cy Young Awards, what the Green Monster is, and the five ways that a player can be called "out." In this treasure trove of baseball lore, you'll learn all about the leagues and teams that have come and gone, the players who are legends, and the achievements and records that have become the stuff of myth and fable.

• Where and when did Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run?
• What major league team was known as the Blue Jays long before a team existed in Toronto?
• Who were the Bash Brothers?
• Where was baseball first played?
• Who wrote the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"?
• Did Fidel Castro try out for the New York Yankees?

It's easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback, but the true football fan has the answers all week long. Doug Lennox, the all-pro of Q&A, leads the drive as he tells us why a touchdown is worth six points, who first decided to pick up the ball and throw it, and how a children's toy changed the sport's biggest championship. Along the way we'll meet players great and not-so-great and encounter the various leagues that have come and gone throughout the world.

• Why is the sport called "football"?
• Who first used the term sack?
• Why did one American president consider banning football?
• What football team was named after a Burt Reynolds character?
• Why are footballs shaped the way they are?
• How many times have NFL and CFL teams squared off?
• Which came first - the Ottawa Rough Riders or the Saskatchewan Roughriders?
• Whose Super Bowl ring is a size 25?

Ever wonder where the figure skating terms axel, salchow, and lutz came from? Or why a curling tournament is called a "brier"? And how about a "haymaker" in boxing or a "high five" in any sport? Well, Doug Lennox, the world champion of trivia, is back to score touchdowns, hit homers, and knock in holes-in-one every time with a colossal compendium of Q&A athletics that has all anyone could possibly want to know from archery and cycling to skiing and wrestling and everything in between. What's more, Doug goes for gold with a wealth of Winter and Summer Olympics lore and legend that will amaze and captivate armchair fans and fervent competitors alike.

• What do the five Olympic rings and their colours represent?
• Why does the winner of the Indianapolis 500 drink milk in victory lane?
• Who was the first player ever to perform a slam dunk in a basketball game?
• Why are golfers' shortened pants called "plus-fours"?
• When was the Stanley Cup not awarded?
• Why does the letter k signify a strikeout on a baseball score sheet?
• Where is the world's oldest tennis court?

When it comes to Q&A trivia, Doug Lennox has no peer. Sir Isaac Brock, Tecumseh, Laura Secord, Norman Bethune, Terry Fox, and Roberta Bondar are all Canadian icons we've come to cherish. Doug gives the dope on all those famous heroes and many more, but you'll also discover the amazing courage, pluck, and accomplishments of Upper Canada Rebellion heroine Elizabeth Barnett, privateer Joseph Barss, the Angel of Long Point Abigail Becker, the First Lady of Labrador Mina Hubbard, and Second World War pilot Charley Fox - genuine heroes all!

• Who was the "musketeer in petticoats"?
• Who was the "Laura Secord of Gananoque"?
• What War of 1812 privateer was the founder of a major Canadian bank?
• How did an aristocratic French girl become a Canadian Robinson Crusoe?
• Who was the first Canadian firefighter to die in the line of duty?
• How did Tom Longboat astound the world in 1907?
• Who was the first Black woman electedt o Canada's Parliament?
• How did a dog named Gander become a Canadian war hero?

Known around the world as football, soccer is the world's most watched and played sport. Now Doug Lennox, the striker of Q&A, scores with a pitch full of tidbits that delivers the goods on Pelé, Maradona, Beckham, Zidane, and other superstars, as well as the history, traditions, and rules of the game. Doug has compiled a World Cup of trivia about a truly universal phenomenon that has legions of passionate, and sadly sometimes violent, fans.

• How did soccer originate?,
• Who was the first soccer player to score a hat trick in a World Cup final?
• What was the largest attendance ever for a soccer match?
• What is the "technical area"?
• Where was the world's first soccer club formed?
• What was the first movie ever made about soccer?
• Where was the first World Cup held?
• What are the Laws of the Game?
• What were the 10 worst losses of life in soccer history?

We're all familiar with the trials and tribulations of the current British Royal Family, but there are more than 25 royal families that still wield power in the world today from Japan and Thailand to Saudi Arabia and Scandinavia. The crown prince of Q&A, Doug Lennox, is at it again, this time with a cornucopia of facts and frivolities about the escapades, excesses, and extravagances of the world's monarchies, past and present. From betrayal and beheadings to pageantry and privilege, discover the truth about life behind the castle walls.

• Which wife of England's Henry VIII had six fingers on one hand?
• What royal connection does Thomas Crapper, inventor of the flush toilet, have?
• What is the royal residence in Monaco known as?
• What royal family in the world today has ruled the longest?
• Who was the "Hammer of the Scots"?
• Why are members of royal families said to have "blue blood"?
• Which member of the British royal family competed at the Olympics?
• Where did the word czar come from?
• What did Marie Antoinette say before she was executed?

A collection of quotations from Canada’s greatest literary theorist.

"There is no Canadian writer of whom we can say … that their readers can grow up inside their work without ever being aware of a circumference." Northrop Frye came to that conclusion after a detailed study of the imaginative achievements of Canada’s writers from the earliest period to 1965, when that sentence from his study first appeared in print. Over the decades since then, the statement has come to be regarded as a benchmark of individual and national literary achievement.



The Northrop Frye Quote Book is a specialized dictionary of quotations on all subjects that is based on the thoughts and writings of one person. It is the handiwork of a single contributor, albeit the cogitations of a remarkable one. It is also evidence that there is a Canadian writer of whom it may be said that we can grow up inside his work "without ever being aware of a circumference."

John Robert Colombo has written, translated, edited, or compiled over two hundred books, including seven dictionaries of quotations. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and a Fellow of the Frye Centre at Victoria University.

Jean O’Grady, a graduate of the University of Toronto, served as the associate editor of The Collected Works of Northrop Frye. She is also the author of the biography of Margaret Addison, the first dean of women at Victoria College.

Here is a list of three dozen of the top literary locales in the country. The selection of sites is necessarily subjective, yet it attempts to represent geographical, historical, social, and cultural concerns as well as strictly literary interests. Had this list been prepared by the editors of Michelin Guide, they would have added asterisks or stars to the entries:

It is the opinion of the author of Canadian Literary Landmarks that all thirty-six sites are "Worth a journey." It is recognized that the average person is unlikely to visit No. 1, not to mention No. 36, but as these sites happen to be the first and last entries in the book, they mark a convenient and symbolic beginning and ending. (No. 1 being L’Anse aux Meadows, Epaves Bay, Nfld. and No. 36 being the North Pole, NWT).

Sherlock Holmes Handbook sums up a Canadian scholar's lifetime expertise about Sherlock Holmes -- the characters and themes, the publishers and readers, Victorian London and the Houdini connection, radio actors and cartoonists, the fans who cling to Holmes's reality and the professors who tease out motifs from the fifty-six short stories and four novels.

The first edition of Sherlock Holmes Handbook appeared in 1993. This edition catches up on new films, new books (a few with a hint of the supernatural) and the advent of the Internet, which has spread Holmes's fame and Sherlockian fun even further worldwide. The intervening years have brought three multi-volume editions of the Sherlock Holmes stories, with hundreds of footnotes providing new insights and new amusement. They have also seen Holmes repeatedly on the amateur and professional stages, including a few Canadian productions. And there have been changes to everything from copyright rules to libraries, booksellers and audio recordings.

500 Years of New Words takes you on an exciting journey through the English language from the days before Shakespeare to the first decade of the 21st century. All the main entries are arranged not alphabetically by in chronological order based on the earliest known year that each word was printed or written down.

Beginning with "America" in 1507 and spanning the centuries to "Marsiphobiphiliac" in 2004 (a person who would love to go to Mars but is afraid of being marooned there), this book can be opened at any page and the reader will discover a dazzling array of linguistic delights. In other words, this book is unputdownable (the main entry for 1947). If Shakespeare were alive today, he would buy this book.

The home wine market has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade. The clear and well-ordered explanations in The Encyclopedia of Home Winemaking make it easy reading for the home winemaker and an essential reference guide that will be used for years.

Maps for Family and Local History shows how three great land surveys can provide information on ancestral homes, as well as fascinating historical snapshots of specific areas. Covering 1836 to 1943, the Tithe, Valuation Office, and National Farm Surveys provide a wealth of information on rural and urban localities, on dwellings, settlements, and landscapes as well as the status of householders. The text gives the rationale behind the surveys and covers each in detail. Fully updated by map experts from The National Archives, this illustrated guide is the perfect companion to researching those maps.

Surnames have always provided key links in historical research. This groundbreaking new work shows that first names can also be highly significant for those tracing genealogies or studying communities. Standard works on first names have always concentrated on etymology. George Redmonds goes much further: he believes that every name has a precise origin and history of expansion, which can be regional or even local; up to c. 1700 it may even have centred on one family. This text fully explores the implications of this belief for local and family history, and challenges many published assumptions on the historical frequency of first names.

For 12 years Dale Goldhawk journeyed through the streets of Canada and into the hearts of thousands of Canadians. Written in Goldhawk's punchy, to-the-point style, this book links his life as a journalist and advocate with those who were his clients. For the first time, he reveals the background battles and adventures he and his team had, as well as the stories of his clients and where they are today. The narrative paints a vivid picture of how working on Canada's most original advocacy team changed their lives as journalists and Canadians.

The Canadian UFO Reports is a popular history of the UFO phenomenon in Canada, something that has captured the imaginations of young and old alike. Drawn from government documents and civilian case files - many previously unpublished - the book includes a chronological overview of the best Canadian UFO cases, from the very first sighting of "fiery serpents" over Montreal in 1662 to reports from the past year. There are chapters on the government's involvement with UFOs, UFO landing pads, media interest, and even UFO abductions.

What were the "ghost airplanes" seen over the Parliament Buildings in 1915, or the flying saucers seen by military officers over Goose Bay Air Force Base, Newfoundland, in the 1940s and 1950s? Was a prospector burned by a UFO in Manitoba in 1967? Did a UFO crash off the coast of Nova Scotia? Was Quebec invaded by UFOs in 1973? Find out here.

Defective cars, contaminated food, insurance company abuses, botched vacations, or government errors and indifference. The Art of Complaining evens the playing field.

Most people hate to complain and so they will put up with defective cars, contaminated food, insurance company abuses, botched vacations, and government errors and indifference. The Art of Complaining evens the playing field.

The Art of Complaining gives readers an arsenal of successful complaint tactics and claim letters compiled by Phil Edmonston, Canada’s best-known consumer advocate and the author of the best-selling Lemon-Aid car guides. The Art of Complaining takes readers on a 45-year journey of consumer advocacy seen through the eyes of this former Member of Parliament, Ralph Nader Associate, and former member of the boards of Consumer Reports and The Quebec Bar Association. Edmonston has battled carmakers, dealers, insurance companies, lawyers, and government officials, both in the courts and in the streets. Indeed, Phil is Canada’s toughest customer.