National Network for Equitable Library Service

On the morning of July 1, 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel, the men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment climbed out of their trenches and advanced into no man’s land. Eric Mackenzie Robertson went over the top on that fateful day—and survived. Almost unbelievably, just four years later, Robertson would become the first born and bred Newfoundlander to compete in the Olympics.

How did a Catholic bishop stop the riot of 1861? Which British monarch physically assaulted a priest in St. John’s? What ancient relics are kept at the Basilica? Did a British princess help build Newfoundland’s greatest Catholic church?

In the early hours of February 15, 1982, tragedy struck the Ocean Ranger oil rig when it capsized and sank in a severe weather storm 170 nautical miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland. All of the eighty-four crewmen perished, including fifty-six men from the province. This was Canada's greatest maritime disaster since World War II. Rig is a powerful story filled with first-person accounts and previously unpublished photographs.

Connecting the Continents tells the story of the struggles and successes of a pioneer cable station whose elite group of operators added a new social class to the community. In the process, they reshaped life in Heart's Content, giving it a flavour unique among the outports of the province.

The Jack Ford Story: The Newfoundlander in Nagasaki is an amazing story of endurance, courage and survival. In 1940, Jack Ford was an employee of the Newfoundland Railway in a remote settlement of Newfoundland. Having volunteered for service in World War II at the age of twenty-one, Ford encountered the realities of war when the troop ship he was traveling on to England was attacked several times by German U-boats. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, Jack Ford was there - in a prisoner of war camp.

Levi Conley has spent his life making a hard living off the water. Fishing defines who he is. But after being betrayed by his business partners, who are also his brothers, he flees out west for the “big bucks” promised by work as an apprentice welder. The work is well-paid, as promised, but it is also hazardous. And there is the unexpected collaboration with Jon Smith, a young native and contemporary artist; Levi respects his craftsmanship but balks at his politics.

First in Line: The Incredible Life of Leonard Stick documents the life of Leonard Stick, a distinguished war veteran, lawman and federal politician who was the 'first' in many historically significant events throughout his lifetime. Stick was the first man to enlist with the Newfoundland Regiment, regional No. 1, when it was reconstructed at the outbreak of WWI. He was also a member of the First Five Hundred, also known at the Blue Puttees and fought in the Battle of Beaumont Hamel. He was promoted to sergeant on September 21, 1914.

An army may march on its stomach, but it needs more than hot dinners to fight. As Canadians battled through Northwest Europe in the Second World War, how did they reinforce their front lines? An Army of Never-Ending Strengthprovides detailed insight into the administration, structure, and troop and equipment levels of the First Canadian Army during 1944–45. Captain Arthur W. Gullachsen demonstrates the army's effectiveness at reinforcing its combat units and draws a powerful conclusion.

Twelve-year-old Macy is an amateur treasure hunter who finds lost things along the southern Saskatchewan shores of Buffalo Pound Lake. When her mom announces she's leaving her park ranger job at the lake to be a police officer in the city, Macy decides she needs to find a treasure big enough to put Buffalo Pound on the map so her family can stay put. But instead of a treasure, Macy finds a mermaid kidnapped from the West Coast and brought to the Prairies by a monster known only as 'The Beast.' Macy must find a missing magic shell to reconnect the mermaid with her family.

In this long-awaited biography, author Harvey Sawler traces the life of Ron Hynes, one of the most respected singer-songwriters in Canadian history. Through personal conversations and interviews, Sawler captures the spirit of an artist whose stock-in-trade has always been authenticity over mere commercial acceptability, providing rare insight into the life of the man who penned some of the country’s best-loved music.