National Network for Equitable Library Service

King's Men is the story of the Loyalist regiments who became the soldier founders of the Province of Ontario, the Loyal Colonials who joined the Provincial Corps of the British Army, Canadian Command, during the American revolution. Mythology on the United Empire Loyalists who founded two Canadian provinces is ingrained. We often envisage loyal families marching out of the victorious United States at the close of the American Revolution. But these myths lead us to overlook a fascinating period in the lives of one group of Loyalists – the soldiers who became Ontario's founders.

How do we begin to describe our love for our children? Pamela Richardson shows us with her passionate memoir of life with and without her estranged son, Dash. From age five Dash suffered Parental Alienation Syndrome at the hands of his father. Indoctrinated to believe his mother had abandoned him, after years of monitored phone calls and impeded access eight-year-old Dash decided he didn’t want to be "forced" to visit her at all; later he told her he would never see her again if she took the case to court. But he didn’t count on his indefatigable mother’s fierce love.

In 2005, recent graduates Alex Herman, Paul Matthews, and Andrew Feindel realized they werent entirely sure where they were going in life. Then they had an idea. Over the next two years, they interviewed 70 well-known Canadians and asked them how they got started. The answers they found were not always what they expected. Kickstart profiles over 30 prominent Canadians, including professional athletes (former CFL star Norman Kwong), TV personalities (Valerie Pringle), Native leaders (Matthew Coon Come), and former prime ministers (Brian Mulroney).

Kathleen Rice was an inspiring woman who lived ahead of her time. Born in St. Marys, Ontario, she graduated as a gold medallist in Mathematics at the University of Toronto in 1906. After a conventional beginning teaching school in Ontario and Saskatchewan, Kate broke free of the mold, searching for new frontiers as a prospector in Manitoba during the gold rush. She formed a partnership with Dick Woosey and began a life in the remote areas around Herb Lake, prospecting and trapping.

Just Mary and Maggie Muggins are names that will arouse memories in those who grew up with CBC radio and television in the 1940s and 1950s. The creator of these and other children’s shows, former Fredericton schoolteacher Mary Grannan, became a radio star when she hit the national airwaves in 1939, her popularity peaking when Maggie Muggins moved to television in 1955. Long before The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup appeared, her work helped to shape the legacy of gentle children’s programming on CBC.

This fascinating and bloodcurdling book takes the reader through a collection of amazing ghost stories and paranormal investigations across Ontario that have never before been reported. The circumstances behind fifteen unusual cases of hauntings and ghostly manifestations are explored together with the detailed sagas of full-scale investigations into six further spooky inexplicables occurring in or near Toronto. The book concludes with a look into a complete investigation of a haunting, including a guide that explains the techniques used to conduct a paranormal investigation.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) has sought to improve the lives of generations of blind Canadians. Established in 1918, this philanthropic organization has guided blind people out of a time of poverty and abuse, bringing them the same rights and freedoms as all Canadians. This book explores the history of the CNIB - from the men who crafted its charter to the people who have made it so successful. Millions of Canadians have been touched by the services it provides or by its message of hope.

John J. Robinette, Canada's greatest trial lawyer, was admired and respected by the bench and his fellow lawyers alike. A quiet, unassuming man outside the courtroom, he was a consummate performer when appearing before a judge and jury. Robinette became a household name as the defender of Evelyn Dick, who was charged with killing her husband and infant son in Hamilton in 1946, and of Steven Suchan, a member of the infamous Boyd Gang.

One of the legendary figures of Ontario history, John Graves Simcoe was the commander of the Queen’s Rangers during the American Revolution. In 1791 he was appointed the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, and upon his arrival in 1792 he founded the town of York (present-day Toronto). John Graves Simcoe completes a trilogy of Simcoe books published by Dundurn Press. Mary Beacock Fryer’s Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe was first published in 1989, while Our Young Soldier: Lieutenant Francis Simcoe, 6 June 1791-6 April 1812 was released in 1996.

In 1946, Winnipeg’s struggling medical student received an injection of new life when scientist and army doctor Joe Doupe came home from the war. He assembled the school’s first research group and in 1949, took over the physiology department. Doupe soon blended science and clinical teaching, objecting to their seperation in the curriculum, which was usual at that time. He required Winnipeg medical students of the 1950s and early 1960s to take a critical look at the scientific knowledge they relied on and in their methods of scientific inquiry.