National Network for Equitable Library Service

Big Bear, chief of a Plains Cree community in western Canada in the late nineteenth century, was a transitional figure between the height of Plains Indian culture and the modern era. During the 1870s and early 1880s, Big Bear became the focal point of opposition for Cree and Saulteaux bands that did not wish to make treaty with Canada. During the early 1880s, he spearheaded a Plains diplomatic movement to renegotiate the treaties in favour of the Aboriginal groups whose way of life had been devastated by the disappearance of the buffalo.

Revenge has never been so sweet. A critical and commercial hit, Revenge was followed fanatically for each of its four seasons. Consistently the #1 show in its timeslot, Revenge was ABC's biggest primetime hit since Lost, and the first series to match the kind of success Lost had in the coveted 18-49 demographic. A fast-paced and complicated character-driven show with many plot twists and unanswered questions, fans will welcome insight and analysis into Emily Thorne's master plan in this intelligent but playful companion to the series.

38 pieces that will be remembered for seasons to come

For 25 years, sports journalists south of the border have been collected in best-of anthologies. With Best Canadian Sports Writing, editors Stacey May Fowles and Pasha Malla offer a long overdue rejoinder from the North, showcasing top literary sports writing from diverse homegrown talent.

“Motörhead, remember me now, Motörhead, alright!”

A “come from away” exploring love, loneliness, and adventure in remote Newfoundland

Featuring tributes from award-winning writers

Barack Obama, junior senator from Illinois, first captured America’s attention with his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Now, as presumptive Democratic candidate for President, Obama’s superb and captivating oratory style has earned him comparisons to John F. Kennedy and even Martin Luther King – and on the campaign trail Obama has achieved near rock-star status.

Canadian songwriters have always struggled to create work that reflects the environment in which they were raised, while simultaneously connecting with a mass audience. While nearly every songwriter who successfully crossed this divide did so by immersing themselves in the American and British forms of blues, folk, country, and their bastard offspring, rock and roll, traces of Canadian sensibilities were never far beneath the surface of the eventual end product. What were these sensibilities, and why did they transfer so well outside Canada?

Along the Shore examines the Toronto waterfront, past and present, through the lens of four lakefront communities and districts — the Scarborough shore (including the Bluffs), the Beach, the Island, and the Lakeshore (New Toronto, Mimico, Humber Bay, and Long Branch). Each retains a direct and immediate connection with Lake Ontario and the natural world. Exploring the history, landscape, geography, and people of each of these waterfront areas reveals a rich heritage that has gone largely unrecognized and is for the most part forgotten.

Canadian-born Alice Munro has established herself as one of the world's finest contemporary short story-writers. Since the publication of her first collection, Dance of the Happy Shades in 1968, she has tantalized a steadily expanding readership with her ability to present, "ordinary life so that it appears luminous, invested with a kind of magic." In Alice Munro: A Double Life, the first full-length biography of Munro, Ross charts the development of Munro as a wife/mother and serious writer, and her struggle to balance the demands of this "double life."