I read this book last year, and have been recommending it nonstop, so it’s about time to commit it to wmtc. My Notorious Life was an obvious book for me…
Buried on page 364 of the hardcover edition of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty — almost two-thirds into the book — is one sentence that,…
Ideally, history teaches us about the past so that we can gain perspective on what came before and learn some lessons so that we don’t make the same mistakes made…
Historic sites that attract a lot of tourists know that if they loose their historical look that the tourists will stop coming, so how do you locally produce renewable energy…
If you enjoy language, and history, and humour, you will probably enjoy Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter. A slim book…
The 1883 volcanic eruption known as Krakatoa was the largest, loudest, and most destructive natural event in human history. The explosions (there were many) were heard almost 3,000 miles away.…
Gods of the Upper Air, by Charles King, which I recently wrote about, highlights several books that were highly influential in their time, for good and for ill. In The…
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century by Charles King is a compelling, fascinating, impeccably researched, and…
Why did Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides choose or approve a nano-clip of prime minister Pierre Trudeau saying “just watch me” to illustrate a cringeworthy social media video justifying Premier…
I read Louise Erdrich long ago, in the 1980s and ’90s, devouring several titles, including Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and my favourite, Tracks. Erdrich remained on my radar, but…
They thought they were doing the right thing. They thought they were helping children. Now we know better. I recently heard this from a library customer. They were referring to…
I’m sure many of you have read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. It’s an award-winning bestseller that garnered…
As an Ideology, Conservatism tends to use already developed ideas. Conservatives tend to go back into the past and look for the best ideas to lead us in this time.…
Revolutionary thought of the day: “The actual status of the poorest and most unfortunate woman in society determines the possible status of every woman.” From the mission statement of the…
Councillors Mariane McLeod and Yvonne Hamlin have both filed their papers to run for the mayor of Collingwood after a mere single term serving in the least effective, most inept…
Mark Bittman’s Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal is a fascinating, readable, and wide-ranging nonfiction. With clear and simple language, Bittman unpacks the many threads…
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is without a doubt one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. I’m in awe of…
The Turning Point: 1851 — A Year That Changed Charles Dickens and the World was written for me. I love Dickens. He’s among the core writers whose work means the…
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Wmtc readers may know that I am endlessly fascinated with ancient civilizations. Allan and I will go anywhere to see ruins from antiquity or Neolithic sites. My desire to see…
