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…
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. The post Protected: The Blue Finger of Fate appeared first on mark a. rayner.
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…
Gary Paulsen wrote some of the best children’s literature, most famously Hatchet. The tale of a boy who must survive on his own in the woods until he is at…
Dense mangrove forests provide an ecological boost wherever they are found because they protect both land and sea species. They are really ecosystems unto themselves with nuance and each with…
In October, The New York Times published this piece by musician and activist Tom Morello. I’ve read it several times, and shared it on social media, and still I can’t…
Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction. It is impeccably researched — nearly every page yields another revelation —…
At Your Library by Laura Kaminker Celebrate and commemorate Remembrance Day with a good book or three Readers have told me they enjoy the themed booklists I’ve shared. Remembrance Day…
Food price volatility and production due to climate change is upon us already, and you’ve probably noticed it at your local grocer through increase costs. Farmers are grappling with climate…
I have always been, and always will be, on the side of the anti-fascists and anti-authoritarians. At present, in 2021, that represents about 30% of the people. That may sound…
On September 30, many Canadians will have the day off in honour of a new holiday: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The holiday was created in response to the…
This must be the book-nerd-iest post ever, and unless books are your profession, possibly the biggest book geek-out you’ll ever read. And I’m proud to bring it to you. You…
The mechanistic materialist world view, which the West, beginning with Europe, adopted a mere 400 years ago, and then exported through economic, financial, military and cultural colonialism and neocolonialism to…
Should historical figures be judged by the best things they have done or the worst. Should they be judged by the standards of today or of their time. Should some…
When I was a child, my family had a book called In Henry’s Backyard. My siblings and I read it repeatedly. The book tells the story of a man who…
No, Michel de Montaigne did not write about ice cream. I just used his name to entice you into this musing. But given the wide variety of topics he did write…
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is a fascinating nonfiction. Part hidden history, part contemporary journalism, plus a dash of personal memoir, this ambitious book offers a new perspective on the…
On The Use & Abuse Of History
A typical account of history is presented in the video linked below, and here are some reflections on it, and on the general practice, or malpractice, of professional historians, and…